It was a reasonable weekend in Boroondara and the 86% clearance rate certainly indicates that good properties will attract good competition, and that even those that are not so good will sell, as long as they priced correctly. Numbers have been very good at most opens and auctions but, then again, the pickings are slim.

We attended seven auctions and six of these sold on the day. The standout auction for me was 2 Nicholson Street in Hawthorn East (Judy Balloch, Kay & Burton). The crowd was huge at this auction and auctioneer Scott Patterson directed bidding traffic well, drawing every last bid out of each of the six bidders. It just shows the importance of ‘feel’ in a home: this one had it in spades and the fundamentals were good. It also pays to get a good architect or interior designer involved. I have seen many homes in recent months with plenty of WOW but devoid of any real thought or substance.

Other auctions that we monitored, which are essentially ‘land sales’, were:

13 Edward Street, Kew (Richard Winneke, Jellis Craig) sold for $2,200,000, equating to $3670/m2. Block width (24.5m) no doubt was a factor here – a very strong result, no question about that.

14 Courang Road, Glen Iris (Richard Kerr, Tim Dwyer Real Estate) sold for $1,364,000, equating to $1515/m2. Again, the frontage was good here at 21m. This is consistent with other recent sales in nearby Rosedale Road (no.s 64 and 10, which were around about 800m2, selling for $1,226,000 & $1,300,000 respectively in the past few months).

Stock is tight, and looks to remain this way in September. Most would notice that the best selling agents are greeting you at the door at the opens of these properties at the moment rather than junior staff – a sign of the times. The two Tostevin brothers (James and Hamish) were at a few properties together this week and they have some very good listings.

According to two selling agents that I spoke to late Saturday (Scott Patterson & Richard Winneke), numbers are very strong at opens and properties are selling well, if priced right. Richard mentioned to me that there has been strong enquiry/demand in recent weeks for upper-end properties in Kew in particular. We can understand this, as there really has not been much sold in that realm this year. Another factor on many buyers’ radars is getting a property in time for the 2013 school year. Even more reason to make good decisions, we would say, rather than rush in and buy a home that is not a good one.

Design smart,

Architect Adam