David Lack of Biggin and Scott Real Estate has had a strong week with two off market sales in Port Melbourne and one under the hammer today in Middle Park. A renovator’s special at 139 Mill Street sold for $1,180,000, with four bidders. The first of the off markets was a four bedroom family home in Beacon Cove selling between $1.75m to $1.95m. The second was a three bedroom home in Australis Circuit selling in the range of $1.5m to $1.75m

Cafe of the week is Spout Cafe at 50 Glen Eira Road, Ripponlea. The owners have clearly seen a gap in the market and have run with it. It’s open for breakfast and lunch and offers an eclectic menu with a number of Middle Eastern influenced dishes. The short black I ordered arrived with a rich burnished coffee crema and really hit the spot.

James Private Client Briefings contain far greater and more client-specific detail than what you see  below and are available for full service James Search and Negotiate clients throughout Melbourne.Contact  us: For a  private, confidential and no obligation discussion on what is really happening  in your street, precinct and suburb from a buyer’s perspective, contact Architect  Adam on 0413 318 079 or Gina on (+613) 9804 3133 or 0457 835 255 or Mal on 0408 107 988 from James Buyer Advocates.

Interestingly all the successful sales were for properties in the $1 million plus range – a segment where there is still some strength across Melbourne. Things are not quite so rosy in the $2 million plus range where we have seen a cooling off in the market right across Melbourne, including in Port Phillip.

Successfully  sold were:

• 405 Nott Street, Port Melbourne with Kaine Lanyon of Marshall White Real Estate – A nicely renovated two storey Victorian terrace with car parking. A strong auction with 6 bidders, sold under the hammer for $1,312,000

• 65 Mills Street, Albert Park with Oliver Bruce of Marshall White Real Estate – Double fronted period home with a reasonable floor plan, close to Albert Park Lake and the South Melbourne Market. Only one bidder, sold after auction in the range of $1.85m to $1.97m

• 82 Evans Street, Port Melbourne with Kaine Lanyon of Marshall White Real Estate – An unusually wide (7.3m) single fronted property, renovated with a good floor plan. Strong crowd of 100 despite the rain, passed in at $1.23m, and sold shortly after in the range of $1.25m and $1.35m

• 5 McGregor Street, Middle Park with David Wood of Hocking Stuart Real Estate – Single fronted Victorian terrace, in good order, no car parking. Two bidders, sold under the hammer at $1,127,500

Still on the market for now is:

• 3/242 Beaconsfield Parade, Middle Park with Andrew Stuart of Hocking Stuart Real Estate -  A third floor contemporary space of 200 sqm with views over the bay and CBD, no lift. A vendor bid of $1.8m, then passed in on a genuine bid of $1.81m and now for sale at $1.925m

What this means for buyers is that while you may need an auction strategy if you are buying a $1 million plus property, if you are buying a $2 million plus property you may need to think about an after-auction buying strategy.

This was the sale, two weeks before auction, of 177 Mills Street Albert Park, through Michael Coen of Hocking Stuart Real Estate, in the range of $2.3 million to $2.5 million. On the corner of Mills and Ashworth Street, just a stone’s throw from the beach, this well renovated property offered good accommodation for a small family or a single couple looking to be close to all the seaside action and the CBD.

The house had been up for sale as an “off market” property for some time. James Buyers Advocate architect Adam and I had inspected it earlier this year and rated it as 680, a good score.

The sale happened when the vendor decided to raise the profile of the property by taking it from an “off market” to an advised campaign. The buyer hadn’t been aware of it during its off market campaign and saw an advantage in purchasing before auction, taking any potential competition out of play.

What this shows is that as supply tightens buyers may need to adjust their strategies. Price thoughts and buying strategies may need to remain flexible as the market is still awash with “the unloved” but at the same time properties are selling before auction and a number of auctions are moving beyond conservative price thoughts of many buyers.

If you are unsure about a property’s value, or what strategy to use in buying your dream home – talk to us.

This week I will be visiting 309 Balaclava Road Caulfield North – designed by award winning DDB’s architect David McCallum for himself and family. Agent Darren Krongold of Garry Peer Real Estate mentioned that early interest was strong with 200 groups going through the first open on Saturday. Quoting $2.2m plus.

The other is 175 Canterbury Road Middle Park – a rare double fronted terrace only minutes to Fitzroy Street and the beach.

Cafe of the week is Giddiup in South Melbourne –a little space pinched from R.G.Madden in Coventry Street (corner Francis Street).  With great coffee from “Single Origin” (Sydney), a range of sandwiches and salads, it has a strong following.

• 35 Canterbury Road Albert Park – the sale was managed by Gerald Betts of R.T.Edgar Real Estate.    A two storey terrace, liveable now and with plans for an extension, double garage and studio. Good front room proportions and light. Passed in at auction on the 24/03/12 and sold on the 16/04/12 in the range of $1.55m to $1.65m

• 79 Beaconsfield Parade Albert Park – the sale was managed by Paul Western of Cayzer Real Estate.   On land of 409m2 this circa 1970’s property (STCA) offers a rare opportunity to rebuild your dream home. Passed in at auction on the 3/03/12 and sold on 4/04/12 in the range of $3.2m to $3.5m

• 57 Esplanade West Port Melbourne – the sale was managed by Simon Graf of Hocking Stuart Real Estate. A bright two storey new build, centrally positioned to access the beach and the Port Melbourne life style. Passed in at auction on the 31/03/12 and sold on the 1/04/12 in the range of $1m to $1.15m.

With low auction stock levels seemingly being the norm you will have to look outside the box if you are looking to buy a property – off markets is one such solution. Last week we were involved with an off market purchase in the Gaslight Park area of Albert Park. The sale was managed by Kaine Lanyon of Marshall White Real Estate; a single fronted Victorian terrace with second storey extension. The property was purchased on behalf of an overseas client in the range of $1.6m to $1.8m. The client engaged us because we were able to advise them about a number of off market properties.   This is becoming an increasing way of doing business as stock levels remain low in Port Phillip.

What a pleasant surprise it was when I visited, the former Gasworks Cafe, now known as PJ’s in Port Melbourne, to find a couple of old buddies from my old restaurant days in Bronwyn Stuart and Emma Binks (still of Hot Honey in Armstrong Street, Middle Park) now running the show. The menu is great if you want a quick snack or a long lunch. Fresh and healthy just the way I like it and eating outside in Melbourne’s autumn sun was a delight.

If you are looking for a home in Port Phillip possibly talk to me about off market properties.

Cafe Guy

Contact us: For a private, confidential and no obligation  discussion on what is really happening in your street, precinct and suburb from  a buyer’s perspective, contact Architect Adam on 0413  318 079 or Gina on (+613) 9804 3133 or
0457 835 255 or Mal on 0408 107 988 from James Buyer  Advocates.

Alternatively if you see us at an open for inspection or an auction please  feel free to come over and say hello – perhaps we could send you a buyer rating,  a result or simply open diaries and work out a time to sit down and talk about
the market, values, negotiation, alternative homes or your needs from a buyer’s  perspective.

For the record each of us is involved in 2 to 3 homes, around 20 inspections  and attending/assisting/bidding on up to 4 auctions on a weekly basis – all in  that specialist $M+ price range.

A sample of testimonials from satisfied clients http://www.jamesbuyeradvocates.com.au/testimonials.php

ALBERT PARK, 39 Geig St, Greg Hocking (Greg Hocking), passed in, $1,500,000

Contact us: For a private, confidential and no obligation discussion on what is really happening in your street, precinct and suburb from a buyer’s perspective, contact Architect Adam on 0413 318 079 or Gina on (+613) 9804 3133 or 0457 835 255 or Mal on 0408 107 988 from James Buyer Advocates.

Alternatively if you see us at an open for inspection or an auction please feel free to come over and say hello – perhaps we could send you a buyer rating, a result or simply open diaries and work out a time to sit down and talk about the market, values, negotiation, alternative homes or your needs from a buyer’s perspective.

For the record each of us is involved in 2 to 3 homes, around 20 inspections and attending/assisting/bidding on up to 4 auctions on a weekly basis – all in that specialist $M+ price range.

A sample of testimonials from satisfied clients http://www.jamesbuyeradvocates.com.au/testimonials.php

James Private Client Briefings contain far greater and more client-specific detail than what you see below and are available for full service James Search and Negotiate clients throughout Melbourne.

Contact us: For a private, confidential and no obligation discussion on what is really happening in your street, precinct and suburb from a buyer’s perspective, contact Architect Adam on 0413 318 079 or Gina on (+613) 9804 3133 or 0457 835 255 or Mal on 0408 107 988 from James Buyer Advocates.

Alternatively if you see us at an open for inspection or an auction please feel free to come over and say hello – perhaps we could send you a buyer rating, a result or simply open diaries and work out a time to sit down and talk about the market, values, negotiation, alternative homes or your needs from a buyer’s perspective.

For the record each of us is involved in 2 to 3 homes, around 20 inspections and attending/assisting/bidding on up to 4 auctions on a weekly basis – all in that specialist $M+ price range.

A sample of testimonials from satisfied clients http://www.jamesbuyeradvocates.com.au/testimonials.php

PORT MELBOURNE, 18 Hobsons Bay Pde, David Lack (Biggin Scott): Passed in, $1,600,000, no bidders

Contact us: For a private, confidential and no obligation discussion on what is really happening in your street, precinct and suburb from a buyer’s perspective, contact Architect Adam on 0413 318 079 or Gina on (+613) 9804 3133 or 0457 835 255 or Mal on 0408 107 988 from James Buyer Advocates.

Alternatively if you see us at an open for inspection or an auction please feel free to come over and say hello – perhaps we could send you a buyer rating, a result or simply open diaries and work out a time to sit down and talk about the market, values, negotiation, alternative homes or your needs from a buyer’s perspective.

For the record each of us is involved in 2 to 3 homes, around 20 inspections and attending/assisting/bidding on up to 4 auctions on a weekly basis – all in that specialist $M+ price range.

A sample of testimonials from satisfied clients http://www.jamesbuyeradvocates.com.au/testimonials.php

ALBERT PARK, 78 Beaconsfield Pde: Greg Hocking (Greg Hocking), passed in $2,350,000, no bidders