With 596 private sales during the week, agents are still ‘mopping-up’ and this is a good sign for the market. The topsy turvy clearance rate (up from last weekend from 62% to 65% for 477 auctions this weekend).  It’s school holidays currently and this has a softening effect on the amount of stock and number of sales at the high end of town. This was reflected this weekend with a 45% clearance rate in the million-dollar plus market.
Non referral auctions were the order of the day this weekend in Hampton and Brighton with Buxton. I don’t know if this was Melbourne wide with this particular franchise but it is a good idea. In this market with the inevitable pass-in and negotiate scenario why not get the auction over and done with as quickly as possible and also put pressure on the buyer to think they only have one opportunity to bid. It worked at two of their auctions I attended on Saturday.

At an auction in Malvern on Saturday a buyer tried to enter negotiations after the auctioneer had passed the property in to another buyer. Auctioneer John Bongiorno of Marshall White announced at later auctions that that person was not given the opportunity to buy the home; all he/she had to do was bid when the opportunity presented itself during the auction. This scenario is timely. Take note new auction regulations come into force this weekend. The State Government has closed a controversial loophole in auction conduct that did not prohibit late bids. The new rules prohibit auctioneers from accepting any bids or offers from buyers after the ‘fall of the hammer’. I have seen this tactic used over the years and it leaves a very sour taste in the mouths of all concerned; accept of course for the successful buyer!

His team may have won by a point in a hard fought game yesterday against the Brisbane Lions but unfortunately he was not successful in selling his home on Saturday.

We rated 9 Waverly Street, Sandringham highly at 786/1000. Internally the property is terrific and with an impressive façade. It does have some limitations however it is one of only a few modern homes in the street surrounded by Californian Bungalows and is on small land. The property had been on the market earlier this year , firstly as an auction then as a private sale by the owner for $1.35mil.The reserve now is $1.248mil and is in the very capable hands of Jenny Dwyer of Hocking Stuart, Sandringham.

A prominent Bayside agent’s home was auctioned on Saturday in front of 25 onlookers. Auctioneer Leigh Hallimore of Buxton conducted proceedings and was assisted by Christian Hegarty. The property was 10 Avondale Street Hampton. Leigh conducted a non referral auction and started proceedings with a vendor bid of $1.15mil. A young woman made a bid of $1.2mil and without consultation with the vendors the home was passed-in to her. A later offer of $1.23mil was made but the home remains unsold with a reserve of $1.29mil. We rated 10 Avondale Street Hampton 559/1000. The home has good accommodation and a Spanish Mission façade in a good location. In the rear of the property it does have low ceilings as a consequence of a flat roof extension and the kitchen could be better positioned.

Finally, just an observation made at an auction on Sunday in a suburb that is home to, I am told, a well known brothel. The young agent handling the sale of this home had done his job well. He secured editorial exposure for the property, his enthusiasm for the home was genuine and you could tell the agency was delighted to be offering the property for sale.  The marketing of the home was successful with the biggest crowd I have seen this year and there was a feeling of anticipation that this would be a good auction.
This is where the young agent’s good work began to unravel.

Enter stage left – The Auctioneer.
There is no doubt the market is tough for agents at the moment. Buyers are thin on the ground and it takes a lot of nurturing by the agent during the four week campaign to get at least one bidder to bid at auction.
At this auction the experienced auctioneer called for bidding and when offered a genuine opening bid refused it. When asked if the property was on the market by a second potential bidder he refused to answer. In fifteen minutes the auctioneer managed to put any potential bidders offside.
He must have lost sight for a moment that his role was to encourage bidding. He mentioned on more than one occasion that he prided himself on his ‘showmanship’ at auctions. I think he may be confusing this with ‘one-up-man-ship’.  The auction limped along, was passed-in and remains unsold.

Overall Off Market action is still reasonably quiet – while there are many on the market quietly a large number of them are without interest owing to asking price.