Subdued auction results in Sydney and Melbourne continue as lockdown tightens in Victoria
Sydney and Melbourne’s auction results were subdued at the weekend, as the cities continued to grapple with the fallout from coronavirus.
Home-owners were still reluctant to sell due to the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, with agents reporting listing numbers were still below average market levels.
Sydney recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 65.9 per cent on Saturday, after 470 auctions and 310 reported results. There were 69 properties withdrawn from auction.
In Melbourne, as stricter social-distancing rules were introduced to a dozen postcodes, the preliminary clearance rate was 62.2 per cent after 373 auctions and 235 reported results. There were 40 homes withdrawn from auction – including properties in coronavirus hot spots.
AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver said results had picked up a little, though clearance rates would still be weak once all results were tallied.
The weaker results were not a surprise given the impact COVID-19 and the restrictions in the state capital cities were having on the economy.
“There could be more weakness ahead, particularly in Victoria as the lockdown intensifies,” Dr Oliver warned.
The impact of significantly reduced immigration numbers in Sydney and Melbourne, higher vacancy rates and higher unemployment were yet to fully hit the property market, he said.
Agents in Melbourne scrambled at the weekend to move on-site auctions to online or off-site auctions as two more postcodes were added to the 10 postcodes already under stage three restrictions.
The postcodes of 3031, which includes the suburbs of Flemington and Kensington, and 3051, which covers North Melbourne, are now also locked down for the next four weeks.
The tougher restrictions mean residents are only able to leave home to buy food or essential supplies, for medical care or caregiving, and to exercise or to go to work or school.
In Ascot Vale, a suburb in one of the coronavirus hot spots, a historic home at 43 Kent Street also known as “Bolinda”, sold for $3.1 million after being passed in on the auction floor.
The home, originally built 165 years ago, has had only three owners – the most recent of whom have owned the house since 1962.
While it was one of the highest sales of the weekend in Melbourne, the price was lower than the $3.3 million to $3.4 million expected price range, said Brad Teal, of Brad Teal Real Estate.
“It was a disappointing price but the family who owned the home were relieved to sell,” he said.
A family bought the home after negotiating for two hours after the property passed in.
In another coronavirus hot spot farther north-west of Melbourne, Craigieburn, a four-bedroom house at 9 Emblem Way, Craigieburn, sold online with 11 registered bidders fighting it out for the keys.
Ray White Craigieburn’s Daniel Diamantopoulos said the property sold under the hammer for $685,000 to eager first-home buyers. The price expectation was around $650,000, he said.
“Despite reimposed restrictions in Craigieburn, we still attracted 11 registered bidders, and I have no doubt it was that competition that drove the price up to the final sales figure,” Mr Diamantopoulos said.
On the other side of the city, in a suburb not facing stage three restrictions, a five-bedroom house at 26 Taylor Street, Brighton East, sold for $2,275,000. The property had been advertised with an asking price range between $2.1 million and $2.2 million.
Jellis Craig’s Andrew Panagopoulos said four registered bidders, two of them active, completed for the home in one of Melbourne’s most desirable suburbs – with a family from Hampton walking away with the keys.
While houses were selling, people still seemed reluctant to list, Mr Panagopoulos said.
“There’s so much uncertainty now but I think as we get further through this it will come back,” he said.
In Sydney, where public auctions were able to go ahead in all suburbs, prices remained strong.
On the lower north shore, six bidders pushed the price of a tightly-held, mid-century Mosman house a whopping $730,000 above reserve.
The four-bedroom house at 12 Windward Avenue proved popular with buyers from the get go, with almost 150 groups inspecting the home after it hit the market for the first time in 59 years.
Bidding started at $3.7 million, then jumped to $3.81 million, with six of 14 registered bidders actively competing for the home with north facing views to Balmoral Beach. A buyer from the Northern Beaches, looking to relocate closer to the city, snapped up the home for $4.63 million. She plans to rebuild on the 683-square-metre block.
Selling agent Priscilla Ouvrier, of Di Jones Lower North Shore Mosman, was surprised by the result but said it showed the Mosman market was holding strong.
“Limited stock means there’s lots of interest for good homes,” she said. “Demand is far outstripping supply.”
Nearby, a half-finished home in Wahroonga proved popular with families, drawing 18 registered bidders.
Five of the bidders made offers on the home, pushing the price from an opening bid of $3 million up to a sale price of $3.91 million – $410,000 over reserve.
The five-bedroom house on 1416 square metres sold to a local family through David Walker, of Ray White Upper North Shore.
“[They] saw it as a blank canvas and an opportunity to deliver their dream home on one of Wahroonga’s best streets,” Mr Walker said.
In the north-west, more than 250 people turned out for the auction of a five-bedroom house in Ermington, which sold for $135,000 above reserve.
Bidding for the 355-square-metre property at 3 Seamist Avenue kicked off at $1.35 million, with six of the eight registered buyers — all families — making offers before the gavel fell at $1,585,000.
Selling agent Robert Bagala, of First National Real Estate, who showed more than 200 groups through the home, said it was an impressive result and a glimpse of what was to come from the little pocket – popular for its proximity to local shops, quality schools, the Parramatta CBD and city buses.
Records show the property last sold for $827,500 in 2011. It has been extended since, with the owners selling to upsize.
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