He huffed and he puffed and he huffed and he puffed. Na. Nothing happened. Tim Derham aka "Stinger" failed to extract a bid at 56 Clara South Yarra.

Key Points

• The market was 50/50 again today on its 17 monitored auctions, which – all applause to the agents – were all reported.
• The biggest sale was for 20000 sq ft+ land which sold north of the $3,200,000 pass-in figure by Heather Elder of Marshall White at 433 Wattletree Road, Malvern East (Dorrington Estate). That puts land on main road big Dorrington parcels at around $1700 per sqm.

BidderBuzz Auction – Jeremy Fox of RT Edgar -  4 bidders – 12 Springfield Avenue Toorak. Under the Hammer $2,485,000

The crowd of sixty plus spread out in the large backyard of this lovely home, beautifully boxed in by tall hedging. Starting at $2,000,000, it wasn’t long before bids were fired quickly from the four eager punters. The crowd was quite interested in the sale, hoping it would turn out well for the neighbourhood. And that it did, with auctioneer Jeremy Fox closing the bidding battle and bringing down the hammer at $2,485,000.

James Analysis: What a difference a different market, a south-facing rear block and a block of flats in your face next door makes to land values in this area.  Earlier in the year, north facing and no flats – well over $3,000,000 would have been the result. But with 4 bidders it was market value.

Stock Levels

Moving upwards but we haven’t seen the traditional spring rush yet

Agent Comments

James Redfern, Marshall White:“Spring is shaping up to be busy. In regards to the high end properties, there are still many buyers who are willing to pay good money for good, quality homes. We have had a number of inquiries from people considering selling in the next month or so, so it is showing signs of being busy again.”

Elliot Gill, BenMac: “Buyer-wise, the inquiries for ($3m+ properties) are strong but the well qualified buyers aren’t really there at the moment. There is not a lot on the market above $3m, but the good quality properties that are well priced are well sought out. I think there will be a little bit more on the market as we head towards Spring but I don’t think there will be a flood of $3m properties on the market; Regarding the election – it’s too close to call!”

And the Word from our Auction Reporters:

Doug Paget: “The sentiment was downbeat overall.”  From Marshall White: John Manton said he felt the market was “levelling” whilst Andrew Hayne commented “this weekend is unaffected by the election, yet stock after the election is looking strong”.

Iain Carmichael from Ben Mac was very candid and forthcoming, spelling out his action plan before the auction: “I will quickly put in a vendor bid of $1.4M and I expect the property to pass in”. The auction went exactly as he predicted, indicating some gloomy market sentiment.

Daniel Ehrenreich: Speaking with one of Abercromby’s auctioneers on the day, Rob Vickers-Willis, it seems certain actions by buyers are occurring more frequently. According to Mr. Vickers-Willis, people are generally waiting for the property to be on the market before making a bid; buyers are becoming far more cautious and discerning in their approach to buying property in South Yarra and other similar areas. Adding to this, Mr. Vickers-Willis stated that properties are generally being sold within the following week after being passed in at auction and usually within the first 48 hours.

Lydia Burns: “The auctioneers have been a great mood for the past few weeks, with many bidders simply looking for their opportunity to get their dream home. They have, however, been quite cautious in their bidding. It’s not very surprising in this hard economic time for many.” A quirky moment: Steven Abbott of Jellis Craig said that at one of his auctions this morning a neighbour of the house he was selling placed a negative board warning of local activities that they themselves did not approve of.

Clearance Rates & Monitor Table – 50% clearance rate this week – same as last week.

Buying Activity

Minimal reported outside auctions this week

We Only Buy Homes

Iain Carmichael: Our reporter loved his style but the bidders rejected his substance. No bidders. 20 Westgarth Street Malvern East