Hampton 10 Ocean: When it's a goodie they still come to watch. Jenny Dwyer of Hocking Stuart manages 3 bidders to an undisclosed bought after result in excess of $2,400,000.

What we saw today?

Of the 10 properties we covered in Bayside this weekend, 7 were pass-ins and 3 were bought.

The total number of bidders for the 10 properties was 14, putting our demand indicator Bidderman at 1.4.  However, 6 of the 7 pass-ins had no bidders at all!

Two different cases today with bidders were 10 Ocean Street, Hampton with Jenny Dwyer & Stephen Tickell of Hocking Stuart and 10 Cairnes Crescent, Brighton with Jonathan Dixon of JP Dixon.   Ocean Street, an iconic Hampton property, had 3 bidders. Bidding opened at $2,150,000 and the property was passed in at $2,390,000, selling after in the mid $2,400,000s.  10 Cairnes Crescent had 2 bidders, the property also passing in for $2,075,000 – however, this property remains unsold.

A few properties did sell well  under the hammer this weekend.  The large land sale at 31-33 Crisp Street, Hampton is one example.  It had a fantastic position, with 1745 sqm of land and a north rear garden.  John Speers of JP Dixon watched 3 bidders fight it out in front of a crowd  of about 90 – the property finally being bought for $2,860,000.  That’s $1638 per sqm.

Leigh Hallimore of Buxtons auctioned 6 Mayrose Crescent, Brighton East for $1,420,000 with 6 bidders.  That’s right –  6 bidders!  That means that of the 14 bidders across the 10 properties we covered, 6 of them (almost half) were at 6 Mayrose Crescent (and the other half were at Ocean Street and Crisp Street).

According to Miriam Carraro of Hodges Real Estate: “The property market has levelled out, but it hasn’t dropped. However, some properties are staying on the market longer”.  She thought strong prices were still being achieved.  In terms of the choice of methods of sale for properties at the moment, she thought that was subject to the type of property and the vendor’s wishes.

The Big One (see auction video)

At the auction of 6 Head Street, Brighton, which passed in on a vendor bid of $7,000,000,  auctioneer Jeremy Fox of RT Edgar mentioned that, “if properties were quoted in the right price range, they were all selling”. I think the case of 6 Head Street is an exception to that comment.  Below is Mal’s comment from his 822/1000 James rating:

“This is 838sqm of absolute beachfront on Brighton’s prestigious Golden Mile.  This should sell; it’s just a matter of time and the right buyer.

6 Head Brighton: Passed In $7,000,000

“It really doesn’t get much better than this if you want views, waterfront, space and a rare block. The house may or may not be your cup of tea but STCA, that is your call. What’s on offer is Absolute Golden Mile Beachfront. The last auction of this size and calibre I attended was the famous “late or not late” bid auction at 2 Cole St which was in many ways an almost identical offering. It sold for $7.3 million under strong competition last year. The market has changed dramatically since then; it’s been well up pre Christmas and more recently been down – but the Bay, the land and the view hasn’t. The quote is $7.5m+ and, if that relates to the reserve, then it is a fair quote and the final result – be it before, during or post auction – will be a fascinating one. Our experience is that the Golden Mile is transacting, having bought there for 2 clients within the last 3 months. Such are the vagaries of this market in June 2010 that this timeless. classic, exclusive Brighton waterfront address could get $8million and more in a heartbeat. However, it could also struggle well below that.”

Clearance Rates

32 monitored – 14 bought – 44% clearance rate (last week 40% / week before that  46%)

Apartments

We are monitoring two Golden Mile apartments at present: one for Private Sale and one for Expressions of Interest

3/9 Glyndon Avenue Brighton with Ian Jackson and Alex Schiavo of Kay and Burton. James Home Rating 812/1000 “If Jon Friedrich has built a bad apartment I haven’t seen it. He is one of Melbourne’s top apartment designers and architects and this one in Glyndon is no exception. Top level for security and light (north), lifts for the “getting olders”, underground car park for the car lovers (3) and three big bedrooms all with quality ensuites for the owners and their sleepover guests.

5/23 St Ninians Road Brighton with Sturt Hinton of Kay and Burton. James Home Rating 649/1000. “Position is not in question if you want water views – if you want coffee shops, rail and cinema on your doorstep then as with most of the Golden Mile you are on the edge of walking distance. Not that getting into and out of your car is a problem. Space security and lifts give you everything you would expect with a $5m price tag. The apartment itself lacks a little excitement as the spaces and flows are faultless but unimaginative. In the end it’s about the view and this is exceptional.”

Both ratings can be viewed at www.james.net.au and click on home ratings.

Plenty to think about in this changing market.

Why not click onto Ladies in Red and hear Bayside agents Jenny Dwyer and Barb Gregory discussing male to female real estate issues.

Happy Wife Happy Life

Hampton 31-33 Crisp: John Speer of JP Dixon put 3 bidders through their paces to get a result of $2,860,000 in front of a big crowd.