Anyone? Lachie Fraser-Smith does his utmost to drum up some bidding at 86 Park St, South Yarra, but to no avail. Passed in on a vendor bid of $1,700,000, no bidders and small crowd of 20

Key Points:

• I personally went to 8 auctions in Stonnington today – five were bought. Bidderman at the auctions I went to (7, 3, 7, 0, 4, 0, 4, 3)
• Agent chatter has been more upbeat this week than at any other time this Spring
• 376 Glenferrie Road Malvern with Iain Carmichael of Benmac – bought on Sunday morning for $4,415,000

Tim Wilson and Jeremy Fox get ready to do battle at 2 Bromley Toorak, but in the end there were not in the trenches and they stood there as generals and watched 3 bidders slug it out to $5,600,000 - $800,000 over reserve.

Week Ending November 27th:

The high end ($3m+) which like the proverbial brides nightie (not sure if I can say that) is up and down at the drop of a hat. A fortnight ago it was up and last week it was down – this week it was up and in a big way – below are some of the results.

Highlights:

• Toorak 2 Bromley with Jeremy Fox of RT Edgar for 5,600,000 – 3 bidders (see report)
• Hampton 3 Lorraine for over $3,000,000 with Nick Johnstone of JP Dixon (Expression of Interest)
• Armadale Adelaide (Off Market)
• Hawthorn 41 Wattle Road – good home on the market for some time bought for well over $5,000,000 through Paul Keane Jellis Craig
• South Yarra 2/155 Domain Road Marcus Chiminello of Marshall White bought for in excess of $7,500,000 or $20,000 per square metre  (Off Market)
• Toorak 88 Mathoura Road for $6,500,000 bought before – also Marcus Chiminello
• Armadale 12 Munro with Tim Derham, passed in at auction last weekend at $3,000,000 and has been bought afterwards.

$3m+ not so highlights:

• Brighton 12a Manor: Passed In $3,800,000: Zero Bidders
• Hawthorn 5 Yarra: Passed In $4,500,000: Zero Bidders
• South Yarra 16 William: Passed In $4,200,000: Zero Bidders
• Canterbury 35 Logan: Passed In for $2,860,000: Zero bidders

South Melbourne 9 Anderson: An exciting auction which had a buzz from the crowd, trams, birds and sounds of people playing sport down the street at the Melbourne Sports And Aquatic Centre. Geoff Cayzer was auctioneer and, although soft spoken, he was very entertaining with his humour and pre-auction speech. This lightened the atmosphere and allowed two bidders to fight it out after Mr Cayzer's opening bid of $2,850,000. The battle wasn't long though as after some 5 bids the hammer was brought down and the property sold for $3,250,000, which brought cheers and jubilation from the winning bidder's party. A great, fun and entertaining auction to watch.

Week Ending November 20th:

This market seems clear as mud in terms of short term directional pointers. Some good ones sold, some good ones didn’t and all on a turnover down on this time last year and down on September of this year. But the market hasn’t stopped completely in its tracks eg 50 Charles Kew with Paul Keane of Jellis Craig – going nowhere for some time then some interest, then bang a boardroom auction and well north of $4,200,000 was achieved on the night. On the quiet side, a second off market north of $13,000,000 in recent times – actually it was over $15million and in establishment Toorak – Mike Gibson from Kay and Burton the selling agent.

$3M+ Highlights

• Malvern 116 Stanhope: Paul Keane of Jellis Craig. Bought for just under $3,500,000
• South Melbourne 9 Anderson: Geoff Cayzer. Bought under the hammer for $3,250,000: 2 bidders
• Ivanhoe 9 Nyorie: David Oster of Jellis Craig. Bought after auction for $3,100,000: 2 bidders

$3M+ not so Highlights:

• East Melbourne 105 George: Passed In on a vendor bid for $4,500,000
• Malvern 1 Wilks: Passed In on a vendor bid for $3,000,000
• Armadale 12 Munro: Passed In on a vendor bid for $3,000,000

Great Expectations but in the end it was more like Bleak House as 50 Hotham Melbourne East failed to sell under the hammer. Passed In for $7,000,000. Glen Coutinho of Hocking Stuart

Week Ending November 13th:

………But this new state of affairs does not apply so much to the $3m+ market which was a little less shiny today after shining like a beacon 7 days ago. In fact there were a number of significant pass-ins at this level this weekend.

So in a nutshell: last week’s doom and gloom on low quality stock and a negative feel mid-week at open-for-inspections was followed by a bit of a bounce-back this weekend – with more homes selling than expected. But that’s not to say it’s a strong sellers market by any stretch of the imagination. At present the market is, in our opinion, between cool and warm, depending on the quality of the stock. We await with interest next week’s instalment as to where our late Spring market is heading.

Highlights

• 32 Linlithgow, Toorak (Jeremy Fox of RT Edgar) was the biggest sale of the day (see report below)
• 4 Snowden, Canterbury (James Tostevin and Duane Wolowiec of Marshall White), Bought after at an undisclosed price of more than $3,000,000.
• 35 Cole St Brighton (Ian Jackson of Kay and Burton), Bought at auction for a shade over $3,500,000 – after not selling at an Expressions of Interest campaign earlier in the year

Lowlights

• The weather
• Biggest Pass-In was at 50 Hotham East Melbourne, a great home with an 800+ James Rating. It failed to attract any bidding near the reserve and was passed in at $7,000,000
• $3M+ pass-ins at 188 The Esplanade Brighton, 3 Buley Hawthorn East, 18 Heyington and 12 Merriwee Toorak

Camberwell 18 Currajong: 3 bidders, 3 advocates and one great auction: Maurice Di Marzio: Bought under the hammer for $3,375,000

Week Ending November 6th:

What a difference a month and some increased stock levels make. If you have a look at our $3m section in October and compare it to our September report you will see a big difference in activity, especially when you consider the market had a clean run in October with no election and limited footy interruptions, and had five

Click on video to see $3m auctions live

auction Saturdays. This market is as fickle as the horse race we love to watch. In Winter this market was down, in September it definitely perked up and now the $3m+ and off-markets would appear to be edging downwards again. But again the statistics are hiding the full story: there were in fact a few sales over this level we have been asked not to report on, and we ourselves have purchased four off-markets over $1million in the last month, in Brighton, Clifton Hill, Hawthorn and Caulfield. Plus look at this weekend’s $3m+ results! The fact is, there is still plenty of activity – just not as public as in September. There are good homes available for sale off market if you know where to look.

• Elwood 45 Dickens: Jason Scillio: Under Hammer: $3,535,000:  3 bidders
  A large crowd gathered in the front garden of this magnificent property to hear Jason Scillio provide a well prepared preamble prior to inviting bids from a large crowd on this beautiful afternoon. After the usual hesitation, strong bidding emerged from three buyers and it was on the market at $3,450,000. The house was soon bought with a strong bid $3,535,000. (David James)

• Carlton North 810 Drummond:  Tom Roberts:  Under Hammer  $3,450,000:  3 bidders
  What a home. This is the best example of the saying ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’.  It is an ugly duckling from the street, but when you walk through the door you’re hit with one of the most stunning living area renovations I have seen in Inner Melbourne. The auction itself started with a pretend bid at $2,000,000 that was immediately countered by auctioneer Tom Roberts with a vendor bid at $3,000,000 and she took off from there. Three bidders and on the market at $3,300,000 before settling at $3,450,000 in front of a crowd of 125.

• Toorak 6 Benson: Gowan Stubbings: Bought around $3,000,000: 3 bidders
  A great auction to watch. Auctioneer Gowan Stubbings led the way, offering a vendor bid of $2,400,000 after a member of the crowd offered an initial bid of $2,350,000. With three bidders overall, it became a battle between two very confident, strong parties, both determined to fight it out to the very end. One bidder offered increments of $10,000 and even $100,000, while the other settled on $1000 increments each time. Ultimately, the $1000 bidder won, walking away with the property for an undisclosed amount close to $3,000,000. A very entertaining auction with a crowd of around 60. (Jen Milligan)

• Some solid results outside Saturday’s auction:
  Toorak 63 St Georges: Andrew Baines of Kay and Burton: Expression of Interest for just under $8 million. Went through this home and tennis court.It had a good feel and, just as the ad says, an exclusive street address. At around $4,000 per sqm it was a win for the buyer and seller.
  Two blocks of flats sold at mid week auctions: South Yarra 28 Tivoli ($4,825,000)  Philippe Batters: 46 Ulupna; Ormond ($3,700,000) Andrew Chisholm.
  Brighton 11 Kent Campbell Cooney was bought post auction for $4,100,000, which put south-facing, non beachfront land on the Golden Mile at $3,800 per sqm

• It was gratifying to see the number of professional advocates acting for buying clients this weekend. The Bidderbuzz auction at Currajong auction had three advocates, and there was one each on Benson, Drummond, Elwood. While the advocate didn’t win the chocolates for their clients every time, at least it shows more $1m, $2m, and $3m+ buyers are making informed decisions.

Give me one more bid: Elliot Gill, Bennison Mackinnon, tries to coax some bids from the small crowd at 15 Soudan St, Malvern. Bought after auction, $1,600,000, 1 bidder

Key Points: Slightly healthier clearance rate in Stonnington this weekend with 63% on reported $1-million-plus auctions. However, we only saw 1 property sell under the hammer out of the 8 auctions we monitored, with 2 bought before, 2 bought after auction and the other 3 passing in.

Toorak 6 Benson: Gowan Stubbings (Kay & Burton): The only hammer auction we attended in Stonnington. Bought, close to $3m, 3 bidders and a crowd of 60.

Key Points:

The big issue of the last two weeks week is what is happening in wash up after the Toorak – Malvern debacle on Super Saturday.

To recap on Super Saturday’s result: In Stonnington, of the nine auctions we witnessed on Super Saturday, none sold under the hammer, and the final Clearance Rate was 46%. Bayside’s was about the same, and it was really only Boroondara (Hawthorn and surrounds) that shone. 

What has happened since then? Have they been taken up in post auction dealings or do they remain unsold – creating a start of Spring overhang?

Well, of the 20 homes over $1 million that didn’t sell, only four seem to have sold as of yesterday (almost two weeks later). So that means 16 remain unsold. Hence the two week clearance rate for Stonnington since Super Saturday is still around 50%. That means stock overhang and this could drag down the price of new stock coming to auction before Christmas. If you are a Stonnington buyer that means opportunity. Opportunity on price and opportunity for choice.

Take Armadale – currently you have the choice of eight advertised homes in the $2 to $3 million range: Lambeth (2), Adelaide, Barkly, Munro, with more auctions coming on at Malvern Rd, Sutherland and so on.

It’s hard to remember the last time we had such bountiful choice on good homes in such a tight spot. We haven’t even gotten round to off-markets in Armadale at this level. Three come to mind in a second.

Remember that interest rates go up when things are going well. So if predictions for further interest rates rises prove correct this may simply be a lull in proceedings – and Santa has come early. We can see the current negatives of the markets for sellers but that shouldn’t be an excuse for buyers to freeze, as many did in the GFC. If the home is right for you and you are buying long term, then this could be a Stonnington window of opportunity.

Off Market and $3m+

• Toorak 63 St Georges Andrew Baines of Kay and Burton Expression of Interest for just under $8 million. We went through this home and tennis court: it had a good feel and, as the ad says, an exclusive street address. At around $4,000 per sqm, this result is a win for the buyer and seller.

Biggest Sale: Toorak 6 Benson: Gowan Stubbings (Kay & Burton) Under the Hammer, close to $3m, 3 bidders
“A great auction to watch. Auctioneer Gowan Stubbings led the way and offered a vendor bid of $2,400,000 after a member of the crowd offered an initial bid of $2,350,000. With three bidders overall, it became a battle between two very confident, strong parties – both determined to fight it out to the very end. One bidder offered increments of $10,000 and even $100,000, while the other settled on $1000 increments each time. Ultimately, the $1000 bidder won – walking away with the property for an undisclosed amount close to $3,000,000. A very entertaining auction with a crowd of around 60.” (Jen Milligan)

Biggest Pass In: South Yarra 36 Clara St: Justin Long (Marshall White) Passed in, $2,200,000, no bidders
“The agents from Marshall White were very up-beat about this property when I first arrived and, given the day was absolutely stunning, it looked as if we were in for a competitive auction. Conducting the auction on behalf of Marshall White was auctioneer Mr Justin Long who is always succinct and audible. After a very short time a vendor bid of $2,200,000 was placed in anticipation of giving life to this medium sized crowd. But they seemed more intent on catching up with friends than having any genuine interest in the property. In fact, they had no interest whatsoever and the property was passed in. Not surprisingly the crowd still filled the small street well after the auction had finished.” (Guy Angwin)

Agent Q & A: How do you value a home?
Andrew Hayne, Marshall White, Armadale:“When valuing homes you need to take into consideration many different aspects: land size, size and condition of the home, number of bedrooms, which way does the property face and also what else has sold of a comparable nature in recent times.”

South Yarra: 7 Motherwell, Andrew Macmillan (BenMac) was the only Stonnington auction we attended on Super Saturday that actually sold. Bought after $2,050,000, one bidder

Key Points:

• 7 of the 9 Stonnington auctions we attended had no bidders at all, while the remaining two had only one bidder each and this was on a good quality stock day.
• While there were 18 buys over $1 million, remember that $1 million is entry level here.

Why is the Stonnington market so poor?

Our left-field and unscientific opinion is that this is the most mistrusted $M+ market in Melbourne, and that buyers have had enough of the deceit when it comes to how a property is represented in terms of price. Some serious malcontent between buyers and selling agents won’t be helping either. (We will except Benmac on these grounds, who do quote and play fairly.) Contrast this situation with that in Boroondara, where Jellis Craig under Scott Patterson, Richard James and Richard Earle have re-engaged with the buying public in a significant way, post GFC, with great results. So there may be a lesson here for Stonnington agents. We would advise Stonnington sellers to check out how many bids you have on the table under your current quoting regime.

Biggest Buy we covered: South Yarra, 7 Motherwell, Andrew MacMillan, BenMac, Bought After Auction, $2,050,000, 1 bidder

“The small crowd gathered and the neighbours peeked out of their flats to watch the auction at 7 Motherwell Street. Auctioneer Andrew Macmillan attempted to extract an opening bid by suggesting to the crowd that in order to keep warm they needed to raise their hands and put in a bid. However this failed to warm anyone up and he was forced to put in a vendor bid of $1,950,000. This was met by a positive response from one member of the crowd who put in a bid of $1,970,000. However this was all the action for the day, and the property was passed in to the lone bidder. The property was bought afterwards for $2,050,000.” (Joshua Bong)

Biggest Pass In: Toorak, 3 Kingsley, Jeremy Fox, RT Edgar, Passed In $4,000,000, no bidders
“There is no doubt that this is one of the quietest and most sought after courts in Toorak. However, as auctioneer Jeremy Fox found out, clearly not appealing enough to sell at auction on Saturday. Mr Fox was quick to make a vendor bid of $4,000,000 which failed to ignite any interest and the property was passed in. Afterwards, a neighbour offered a gin and tonic – they certainly are civilised in Toorak.” (Guy Angwin)

Agent Q & A:

What are stock levels like post Melbourne Cup Weekend?

Brad Fleming, JP Dixon, Toorak: “I believe stock levels have increased in the past few weeks. Buyer demand for quality properties outweighs the properties actually listed and currently advertised.  It is important as a buyer to understand that many of us agents have ‘quiet’ listings that have not yet been advertised for sale, therefore calling agents directly would be recommended.”

Brad Cooper, Jellis Craig, Glen Iris: “It’s definitely picking up at the moment.  Both the 27th November and 4th December are shaping up to be really big days.”

Jeremy Fox, RT Edgar, Toorak: ”What we expect up until Melbourne Cup is lots of sales, as this high level of stock we are now seeing is going to disappear very quickly. At the moment we only have one auction listed  in December, consequently anyone looking for a home will have to wait until Feb and March of next year for more stock to become available.”

Results:

Good Karma: Karl Fitch (Noel Jones) at 19 Karma Ave, Malvern East. Bought under the hammer for $1,241,000 and a whopping 5 bidders

Key Points:

• Of the eight Stonnington auctions we attended, only two were bought under the hammer – 19 Karma Ave, Malvern East (Karl Fitch, Noel Jones), for $1,241,000, and 1 Nareeb Crt, Toorak, (Jeremy Fox, RT Edgar), for $2,710,000.
• Karma Ave had five bidders, but there were only five bidders in total across the remaining seven auctions we attended.
• Biggest sale of the day was 1 Nareeb Crt, Toorak (see details below)

Biggest sale, Toorak, 1 Nareeb Crt, Jeremy Fox, RT Edgar, Under the Hammer, $2,710,000, 2 bidders
“It had been raining all night and there wasn’t much hope that any auctions this weekend would be conducted outside. But, in what was probably an omen, as soon as Jeremy Fox commenced the auction at 1 Nareeb Court Toorak the clouds parted and the sun came out. Two bidders emerged to compete for this 60s home and after two breaks and some 18 bids, the property was for bought for $2,710,000.” (Guy Angwin)

BidderBuzz Auction of the Day: Malvern East, 19 Karma Ave, Karl Fitch, Noel Jones, Under the Hammer, $1,241,000, 5 bidders
“Often before auctions people come up to me and ask me what I am doing and as a result we begin a conversation. On this particular occasion, as it turned out, I had a conversation with a lady who was well connected with the home. Her father had built the home back in 1929/1930 as a family home for her (6 months old at time) and her mother to move in to. She was sad to see the home go but was philosophical about the need to move on. From that time on I had an empathy with the home and its outcome. And what an outcome it was – some 30 bids and five bidders who worked with the auctioneer, the lucky bidder purchasing the home for $1,241,000 to start their own history in this much loved home.” (Guy Angwin)

Biggest Off Market & Private Sales

• 98 Finch St, Malvern East, Nicole Gleeson, Kay & Burton, undisclosed – click here to see our $3m+ section for more details
• 20 Howitt St, South Yarra, Tim Wilson, RT Edgar, undisclosed- click here to see our our $3m+ section for more details

Agent Q & A

What advice would you give a buyer wanting to purchase a property between now and Melbourne Cup Weekend?
Justin Long, Marshall White, Armadale:“Enjoy the opportunity to select from a wider range of properties than has been available for some time. Be selective but if you find a home you really want, go for it. Don’t risk losing it for a couple of percent. The current “supply dream” will turn very quickly into a drought within the next 6 weeks and you may need to wait until next year to purchase.”
Brad Fleming, JP Dixon, Toorak:”Buyers who are wanting to purchase a property, between now and the Melbourne Cup, need to be ready to make a quick decision – especially with Private Treaty.  This is the time when an additional group of buyers travel to Melbourne with one purpose only: to buy a property for either investment, job relocation and university enrolments. And they leave only once have secured their property.  These buyers are well researched from the use of the internet, and they make appointments to inspect properties prior to arriving in Melbourne. So all they have to do is to choose a suitable property then buy immediately – with limited time being the greatest motivation.”
Mark Wridgway, RT Edgar, Toorak:”The same advice I would give any buyer: if the property suits your requirements (that is, if you can tick 7 out of 10 boxes) then you should buy it. Stock levels are at their highest now and heading towards Cup weekend, so maximum choice for the year is now. If you can’t tick 7 out of 10, then wait. Good Luck.”
Daniel Wheeler, Marshall White, Toorak:”If you’re looking to secure a property over the coming weeks, do so with confidence. Housing prices stem from consumer confidence and simple economics, and both factors are indicating that it’s time to act. With the current level of property available and the immediate lack of properties for sale beyond Melbourne Cup weekend (compared with previous Spring markets), the next two weeks are certainly an opportune time to buy.  Buyer sentiment is not the same as it was last month, or even earlier this year. That’s a good thing; you will see that properties prices will be ‘fair’. Why wait until stock levels drop? – as there will still be the same amount of buyers; just more competition.”

Armadale 5 Glassford: Justin Long of Marshall White: 3 bidders and bought under the hammer for $2,350,000.

Key Points

• Fall in Clearance Rate today
• Stock offering not as good as October 23rd
• Very little new stock in this week owing to Melbourne Cup in 4 weeks
• A lot of off market on offer
• $3m+ homes have come on in big numbers compared to winter

Biggest sale

5 Glassford St, Armadale, Justin Long, Marshall White, Under the Hammer $2,350,000
“Good solid crowd full of anticipation waited for Justin Long to start proceedings on this sun filled day. And bang straight out of the blocks with a hopeful $2million bid. Bang again 2nd bidder and we were off. This auction was a funny one – not funny ha ha – funny strange – nobody followed Justin’s bidding suggestions but things flew along anyway – especially when a third bidder joined in. This sight was a natural amphitheatre and there was a clear echo of everybody bids and Justin’s comments – sort of like a sound system out of sync. Anyway things were just warming up when the half-time break was called and to the surprise of many it was announced on the market and to everybody’s further surprise it was bought under the hammer for the same amount. The surprise was because this was a Marshall White auction and they tend to pass-in everything – however please this was the right thing to do – 3 active bidders and so market price was paid. A good fair auction.” (Mal James)

BidderBuzz auction of the day

Toorak 1/693 Toorak Road: Rodney Morley, TBM Woodards: 4 Bidders: Bought under the hammer: $1,460,000

Rocket Rodney was his usual bursting with energy self. He really does know how to make an auction zing and keep a crowd entertained . The occasional, as he puts it, politically incorrect joke combined with a couple of subtle digs to get the recalcitrant bidders moving and we more often than not have the makings of one of life’s little moments of enjoyment. 1/693 Toorak was no different – opened up at $1,200,000 and then strong bidding until it was on the market around $1,360,000 and bought for $1,460,000. 4 bidders and a good buy. Rodney is what you want in an auctioneer – flamboyant, fun and fair. Check out Rodney’s auctions – they are often better than Foxtel. (Mal James)

Agent Q & A:

October 23 is Super Saturday – What can we expect?

Gerald Delany, Kay & Burton, Toorak: “October 23 will see a big supply of property on offer. The confidence in the market will see the supply absorbed and we expect to enjoy a strong market through the spring. The economic confidence we are experiencing continues to carry through to property.”

John Bongiorno, Marshall White, Armadale: “Stock levels are a bit like a roller coaster – the following couple of weeks after Super Saturday see stock levels fall again so hence I believe it will be business as usual on the 23^rd.”

James Redfern, Marshall White, Armadale: “At this stage, compared to this time last year, we are seeing less property coming onto the Spring market….therefore I would suggest we should see good quality property still very much ‘in demand’ with buyers looking for quality homes in good locations. We might see however a late November / December rush of stock coming onto the market.”

Iain Carmichael, BenMac, Armadale:“I believe clearances should be good next weekend irrespective of the large number of properties on the market, attendance’s at open for inspections have all been good. What we will see after next weekend is a clearer picture as to where the market actual is at this point of time. Melbourne is the auction capital of the world and what an exciting weekend it will be.”

Forward Auction Bookings

Clearance Rates

Results

Some of our buyer prayers have been answered

Market: Even with significantly reduced auction numbers this weekend (owing to a more important event which finally delivered a result that proved there was justice in the world), we still saw a pretty healthy market result for sellers – with a 74% Clearance Rate on the 55 $Million+ auctions we monitored. Of those 55 auctions, 9 results were not reported. But even that is not unreasonable under the circumstances of the GF Replay.

There seems little doubt that the market is on the rise. The big interest now is how the market will absorb the stock surge that will culminate in Spring/Summer’s first Super Saturday on October 23rd.

And it really is Super Saturday - with a massive 81 $M+ auctions booked for Boroondara alone, and around 200 $M+ auctions booked in our key focus $M+ areas – Bayside and Inner East. Check out the size of the Weekly Review this week (it’s as big as a phone book). By comparison this weekend saw only one quarter of that number of auctions. So if you were at an auction this weekend, those four bidders you competed against may well be spread across four homes in a couple of weeks. Well that’s the “buyer-hope” theory anyway.

This Week’s Highlights:

• Two land sales showing vastly differing land values
  a) Land at 101 River Avenue Plenty (39,500 sqm), which can be subdivided, was auctioned  by Rob Stefanovski of LJ Hooker Greensborough and  bought for $3,830,000 or $96 per sq metre
  b) A large land parcel (1,813 sqm) at 3-5 Heath St Sandringham sold after a failed auction by Bill Jowett of Buxton for $2,800,000 or $1,544 per sq metre
• The major stock inflows that took place on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday when agents began their marketing campaigns for the next Super Saturday – October 23rd.
• The continued improvement of the $3M+ market – two examples below
  a) Off market in Black St Brighton (Peter Bourbaud and Barb Gregory) – bought for around $4 million
  b) 27 Moorhouse Armadale with Gowan Stubbings of Kay and Burton – bought after an Expression of Interest campaign for more than $5 million
• The Pies Forward Line pressure (whoops, sorry – I got distracted)

Auction Snapshot from this weekend: 133 Rathmines Fairfield: Michael Fry and Grant Leonard of Nelson Alexander. Bought under the hammer for $1,116,000. 5 bidders.
There was a buzz about this well located timber period home, which had had its quote lifted to $930,000 during the campaign. It was a surprising development given Grant’s comment that the property failed to attract any interest in the high $800s a few months ago with a quiet sale campaign. It was on the market with the first bid at $900,000. Second bid $950,000. Third bid $970,000. Fourth bid-  bang $1,000,000. Three more bidders joined in before the action stopped at $1,116,000. It was a well run auction campaign. I always enjoy a Michael Fry auction. He has a sophisticated grace about him incongruent with the fact that he is yanking the dollars from buyers’ pockets. Enjoyable to watch unless you’re an underbidder – which unfortunately this time we were.

Bumper Market Insight: We have an information packed Market Insight this week; even though there are no Market Wraps, Bidderman, reports or videos.  The footy replay threw this auction weekend into a bit of chaos, with a few auctions even changing days. But it was a very low stock weekend anyway, so no major damage. All $M results are at the end of this Market Insight. But the big news now is the next three weekends that will lead full bore into the Melbourne Cup Long Weekend.

Stock Levels and Price Assessment:
The big question the market will be asking now is: What will happen to prices on October 23rd? With this big stock influx, how is the price game of snakes and ladders going to pan out? Are we going to see the slippery snake and big price slide of May 2010 or will the market just take this in its stride, as it did this time last year, with prices climbing further up the ladder? Time will tell. Importantly as buyers you need to get yourself organised – and don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched.

With this apparent largess of choice, perhaps you don’t need brilliant home-seeking skills right at this moment. But you will need first class assessment procedures (e.g. sorting the goodies from the baddies in terms of capital growth prospects, and working out which one is best from a “happy wife = happy life” point of view). You will also need good negotiation strategies – because while you may have more choice, you will also have competition. Remember, our bidders per auction indicator Bidderman was strong on lower numbers in September, especially on good homes. On the flipside, some sellers expectations may be disappointed, so planning good negotiation strategies will improve your chances of grabbing a bargain when it presents.

Have a look at our Forward Auction Booking graphs below to get an idea of what is ahead of you: (click on a graph to enlarge)

There are also some exciting trophy homes on offer through private sale and off market – especially in the $3m+ segment.

Have a look at the New Stock Graph at the top of Market Insight – which compares the last week in September to the last week in June, (private sale and auction weekly new stock numbers are combined).

Special Report on the $3m Market

The $3m+ is back, after the self induced May hiccup that led to a very quiet winter.

There have been over 50 buys in the month of September at this level, with buyers coming from all quarters. Let’s pick one of the segments – around $4million. We have bought 3 homes at this specific level in the last few weeks. All were classic period homes with land of over 1000 square metres. Two were bought post auction (eg after a pass-in) and one was off market (Black St Brighton). However, the interesting thing were the buyer profiles. One buyer was a change of life family, one was a growing family that needed more space, and one was an expat family returning from overseas. This is a fairly accurate representation of the range of people we look for homes for. Of the last case – expats returning from overseas -Brighton high end agent Peter Bourbaud believes “this group will push the market along for the next few years, after a couple of very quiet years from the expat community”. We concur. Last year we conducted very little in business terms last year for expats. However in 2010 there has been a distinct pick up in action from expats returning home.

The James September $3m+ Report with all reported $3m+ boughts and solds can be viewed from the Home Page (next to Market Insight and below Buyer Masterclass) or click here

If you are new to the $3m market you may find the charts below (using 2007 to 2010 Valuer General, REIV and our own James Databases) of some value, as they help to show how the overall $3m+ market works. Note particularly that:

• The two powerhouse $3m+ suburbs are Brighton and Toorak (see 2009 results graphed below). However these two suburbs behave quiet differently from each other (see median graph). More on that another time.
• More $3m+ is bought later in the year than early. (2009 graphed below)
• There are some real name streets around and there are some falsies (where if you pay top dollar you will stand out like a beacon)
• Less than a quarter (25%) of $3m+ homes sell under the hammer at auction (click on September Graph below)
• A lot more activity is off market (not advertised) at this $3m+ level than any other price point, e.g. sub $3m.

Click on any of the graphs below to bring them up to full size

Agent Comments on the current $3m+ market

• “Prior to the school holiday period there was some renewed strength in $3m+ market due to things stabilising after the election and to the shortage of good quality homes. With the spring market in full swing it will be very interesting to see what happens with the increase of volume. But if the enquiry rates are anything to go by, October will be a strong month of sales.” Andrew Hayne of Marshall White Malvern
• “The $3 million plus market is strong, and we are expecting a big finish to spring in this market for good family homes.” Nick Johnstone of JP Dixon Brighton
  
• “There seems to have been a resurgence of buyer enquiry for the upper end properties recently.  It will be interesting to see if this follows through once we see increased stock levels after the school holidays and round 2 of the Grand Final.” Julian Augustini of Hodges Brighton
• Andrew Baynes from Kay and Burton South Yarra “Last Monday was the busiest auction sign up day for me in 10 years.”

Media Monitor: Domain – The Age 2/10/10. Headlined: “Hands up if you don’t have a clue” by Josh Jennings. Basically a solid article – but Josh, how many homes has Dr Damien Eldridge, Economics Lecturer from La Trobe University, bought using his quoted bidding advice this year? Would it have been 5 or 10 or 50? Going by his auction comments we were unclear as to whether you were holding him out as an expert – or simply providing supporting evidence to your headline.

We are not all brickbats here for the mainstream press. Congratulations to Chris Vedelago from The Age who this year has been consistently reporting the market as it really is and who actually seems to get out of the ivory tower (that so many property reporters are stuck in) and goes to auctions and talks to agents. We mightn’t always agree with you Chris, but we respect your work. Keep it up and keep getting out into the market.

Market News TV: On Tuesday of this week we ask the question: Is the ACCC or CAV the right watchdog for the real estate industry? Check out our Agent Opinion Videos.

Buyer Masterclass: We conclude our Negotiation Masterclass series with an article on Backward Bidding. From next week until Christmas we will be looking at “Pricing and Values” in Million Dollar Melbourne

Reported Results:

Big Crowds on Canterbury: 42 Wattle Valley. Bought After: Richard Winneke: Over $3,426,000: Photo courtesy Jellis Craig.

September Executive Summary:

Demand: Solid and increasing

• Reported Boughts: 46
• Bidderman: Substantial improvement in bidders per auction at the higher level. Random cross section of bidders. 1/3/2/1/3/1/3/2/2/3/3/3/2/1/0/0 for a month average of 1.875

Supply: New Stock Low

• Overhang from May however new stock is still light on at end of September and that which comes on at a reasaonble price is mostly being bought.

Price: Firming

• A number of stales (on market over 3 months) were purchased in Bayside reducing overhang – this will have an upwards effect on price if demand remains constant.
• Some new properties coming onto the market but new stock is still limited in Boroondara and Stonnington also encouraging price in an upwards direction.

Quote of the month: Stewart Lopez of Kay and Burton ” In this improving Upper End market, sellers are getting back the control that they lost with the stock splurge in May”

Highlights
Over $9 million
Hawthorn 24 Coppin: Jock Langley: Around $9,000,000 Private Sale. This basic house, on an acre on the river in Hawthorn’s river precinct, has been on the market for well over a year and had quotes at $15m then 12m and then…. A number of agents have worked on this. I went through this home last year and finally Jock Langley has got a sale through under $10m. It is a great block, its only fault until today was its price tag.
Brighton 292 New: Brian Devlin and Regina Schmidt: Around $9,000,000 Private Sale. Up for sale for less than a month, this grand looking home was purchased today for around $9,000,000. A very impressive block just down from Brighton Grammar.
Over $7 million
Toorak 11 Cole: Ross Savas: Private Sale: Quote $8,000,000 plus reported as bought for above that figure
Undisclosed Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/11-Cole-Court-TOORAK
Hawthorn East 49 Harcourt: James Tostevin: Bought After: Over $7,200,000: Bidderman 2
James Auction Report: http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8661/49-Harcourt-Street-HAWTHORN_EAST/
Brighton 6 Head: Jeremy Fox: Sold well after auction: Around $7,000,000
Full Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/6-Head-Street-BRIGHTON

Bidderbuzz Auction of the Month
24 Somers Malvern: Jeremy Fox: Under the hammer: $6,160,000: Bidderman 3
James Auction Report and Rating: http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8705/24-Somers-Avenue-MALVERN/
The sunfilled courtyard was a perfect setting for the Somers Avenue auction, with the lovely weather attracting a generous crowd of interested parties and onlookers alike. Auctioneer Jeremy Fox asked the crowd for an opening bid, but was disappointed with silence. It wasn’t long before a confident bid of $5,000,000 soon had the ball rolling though. Two parties continued with strong bidding, as the crowd watched on with baited breath. It was at $5,650,000 when another bidder keenly entered the fray, enquiring if the house was in fact yet ‘on the market’. There was clear buzz of anticipation amongst the crowd, as Mr. Fox conferred with the vendors, and finally confirming in the positive. Bidding continued fast and furiously between bidders, whilst the crowd remained captivated. The final knock-out bid brought on a genuine look of relief to the successful bidder. A truly entertaining auction, as you could hear echoed amongst the departing onlookers. (Nikki Hills)

Late Entries (Not Included in Stats)
Brighton Black St: Peter Bourbaud and Barb Gregory: Off Market: James Home Rating 852/1000. Price Undisclosed
Toorak 5 Myrnong: Darren Krongold and Sally Zelman: Private Sale: Price Undisclosed
James Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/5-Myrnong-Crescent-TOORAK
Armadale 23 Moorhouse: Gowan Stubbings: Expressions of Interest: Price over $5,000,000
James Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/23-Moorhouse-Street-ARMADALE

Apartments:
East Melbourne 144 Jolimont Road: Marcus Chiminello: Penthouse $3,250,000
Melbourne 301/401 St Kilda Road: Marcus Chiminello: Lucient $3,100,000

Albert Park
Albert Park 62 Beaconsfield: Kaine Lanyon: Quote $3,500,000 to $3,750,000: James Home Rating 655/1000: At Auction: Over $3,300,000
James Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/62-Beaconsfield-Parade-ALBERT_PARK

Armadale
81 Rose: Tim Derham: Bought Over $3,300,000. A  terrace home that needed a fair bit of work but did have rear access and was north facing to rear. Solid result.
James Undisclosed Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/81-Rose-Street-ARMADALE
21 Adelaide: John Bongiorno auctioned this “bulldozer or significant rebuild” home at 4.30pm today. Bought for $3,130,000 or just over $4,000 per sqm. Bidderman 3. Heather Elder and Rae Tomlinson
James Undisclosed Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/21-Adelaide-Street-ARMADALE
28 Seymour: Joanna Nairn: Quote $3,500,000 plus: James Rating 682/1000: Bought After Auction: Around $3,500,000: Bidderman 1
James Auction Report: http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/9007/28-Seymour-Avenue-ARMADALE/
1 Myamyn: Andrew Macmillan: Under the hammer: $3,215,000: Bidderman 2
James Auction Report: http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8670/1-Myamyn-Street-ARMADALE/
3 Avalon: Ross Savas: Bought: Reportedly over $7,000,000, but not confirmed:
James Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/3-Avalon-Road-ARMADALE

Balwyn
Balwyn 23 Bevan: Richard James & William Chen: Quote $3,300,000 to $3,600,000: James Home Rating 742/1000: Bought After Auction: Around $3,500,000: Bidderman 1
James Auction Report: http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8932/23-Bevan-Street-BALWYN/

Brighton
10 Campbell: Peter Kennett. Private Sale after a Pass-In Auction. In excess of pass-in $3,850,000.
James Undisclosed Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/10-Campbell-Street-BRIGHTON
20 Bent: Justin Follett. Private Sale . Within asking price range $3,800,000 – $4,000,000.
James Undisclosed Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/20-Bent-Street-BRIGHTON
7 St Ninians: Nick Johnstone. Private Sale. In excess of  $3,500,000.
James Undisclosed Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/7-St_Ninians-Court-BRIGHTON
292 New: Brian Devlin and Regina Schmidt: Around $9,000,000 Private Sale. Up for sale for less than a month, this grand looking home was purchased today for around $9,000,000. A very impressive block just down from Brighton Grammar.
James Undisclosed Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/292-New-Street-BRIGHTON
22 Tennyson: Marcus Gollings. Private Sale. In excess of $5,000,000.
James Undisclosed Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/22-Tennyson-Street-BRIGHTON
3/9 Glyndon: Stewart Lopez: Private Sale: Mid $3,000,000’s
James Rating: Click here http://www.james.net.au/rating/3/9-Glyndon-Avenue-BRIGHTON
6 Head: Jeremy Fox: bought well after auction: Around $7,000,000
Full Rating click here: http://www.james.net.au/rating/6-Head-Street-BRIGHTON
19 Wellington: Stewart Lopez and Sturt Hinton. Private Sale after Auction. Over $4,000,000
James Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/19-Wellington-Street-BRIGHTON
3 Wellington: Stewart Lopez and Sturt Hinton. Private Sale after Auction. Around $3,900,000
James Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/3-Wellington-Street-BRIGHTON
5/23 St Ninians: Stewart Lopez and Sturt Hinton. Private Sale under $5,000,000
James Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/5/23-St_Ninians-Road-BRIGHTON
6 Seacombe: Ian Jackson: Private Sale over $4,500,000
James Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/6-Seacombe-Grove-BRIGHTON

Camberwell
8 Canterbury: Peter Mitchell: bought after auction: Around $3,000,000: Bidderman 3
James Auction Report: http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/7926/8-Canterbury-Road-CAMBERWELL/

Canterbury
42 Wattle Valley: Richard Winneke: bought after, in excess of $3,426,000: Bidderman 1
James Auction Report: http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8807/42-Wattle_Valley-Road-CANTERBURY/
23 Chaucer: James Tostevin: bought after over $3,850,000: Bidderman 3
James Auction Report: http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8221/23-Chaucer-Crescent-CANTERBURY/

Elwood
31 Ormond: Marcus Gollings: Expressions of Interest: Bought over $4,000,000
James Undisclosed Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/31-Ormond-Esplanade-ELWOOD

Hawthorn
2 Berkeley: Rob Vickers-Willis: Bought at Auction: Bought over $3,000,000
James Undisclosed Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/2-Berkeley-Street-HAWTHORN
24 Coppin: Jock Langley: Around $9,000,000 Private Sale. This basic house, on an acre on the river in Hawthorn’s river precinct, has been on the market for well over a year and had quotes at $15m then 12m and then…. A number of agents have worked on this. I went through this home last year and finally Jock Langley has got a sale through under $10m. It is a great block, its only fault until today was its price tag.
James Undisclosed Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/24-Coppin-Grove-HAWTHORN
36 Chrystobel: Lisa Jarrett: Private Sale after auction: In excess of $3,500,000
James Auction Report: http://www.james.net.au/rating/36-Chrystobel-Crescent-HAWTHORN

Hawthorn East
49 Harcourt: James Tostevin: Bought After, over $7,200,000: Bidderman 2
James Auction Report: http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8661/49-Harcourt-Street-HAWTHORN_EAST/

Ivanhoe
59 Studley: David Oster: Under the hammer: $4,300,000: Bidderman 2
James Auction Report: http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8989/59-Studley-Road-IVANHOE/

Kew
63 Walpole: James Tostevin: Bought Before Auction: In excess of $3,000,000.

Malvern
24 Somers: Jeremy Fox: Under the hammer: $6,160,000: Bidderman 3
James Auction Report: http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8705/24-Somers-Avenue-MALVERN/
15 A Sorrett: Andrew Hayne: Week or so after Auction: Over $3,500,000
James Auction Report: http://www.james.net.au/rating/15a-Sorrett-Avenue-MALVERN
Elizabeth: Marcus Chiminello Off the plan $3,300,000
6 Bonview: John Bongiorno: Bought Afterwards in excess of $3,600,000: Bidderman 3
James Video Auction Report: http://www.marketnews.com.au/video/?vid=305
11 Moorakyne: Michael Gibson: Under the Hammer: $4,000,000: Bidderman: 3
James Rating and Auction Report: http://www.james.net.au/rating/11-Moorakyne-Avenue-MALVERN
17 Thanet: Mark Wridgway: Before Auction: Bought over $3,500,000.
James Home Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/17-Thanet-Street-MALVERN

Malvern East
31 Finch St: Andrew McCann: Under the Hammer: $3,360,000: Bidderman 2
James Auction Report: http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8376/31-Finch-Street-MALVERN_EAST/

South Yarra
38 Park: Warwick Anderson: Quote $3,500,000 plus: James Rating 725/1000: Bought After Auction: Above $3,000,000: Bidderman 1
James Auction Report: http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8476/38-Park-Place-SOUTH_YARRA/
19 Acland: Greg Herman: 4 bidders: Bought under the hammer: $3,600,000
James Auction Report: http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/6886/19-Acland-Street-SOUTH_YARRA/

St Kilda
Two Block of Flats:
4 Church: Claudio Perruzza: Bought at Auction $3,400,000
16 Charnwood: Adam Joske: Bought at Auction $6,060,000

Toorak
11 Cole: Ross Savas: Private Sale: Quote $8,000,000 plus reported as bought for above that figure
Undisclosed Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/11-Cole-Court-TOORAK
2/23 Tintern: Ross Savas: Private Sale: Quote $5,000,000 plus reported as bought for above that figure
Undisclosed Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/2/23-Tintern-Avenue-TOORAK
8 Macquarie: Jeremy Fox: Private Sale after auction. $6,400,000.
James Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/8-Macquarie-Road-TOORAK
4 Forrest Court: Peter Kudelka and James Scarff: Bought after auction $4,050,000: Bidderman 0
James Auction Report: Click here http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8829/4-Forrest-Court-TOORAK
1 Hopetoun: Justin Long: Bought after auction: Over $5,500,000: Bidderman 0
James Auction Report: http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8671/1-Hopetoun-Road-TOORAK/
803 Orrong: Warwick Anderson: Private Sale $4,500,000
Undisclosed Rating: http://www.james.net.au/rating/803-Orrong-Road-TOORAK
1a Como: Greg Herman: Private Sale: Over $6,400,000

Please Note: The $3m+ market can be a very shadowy one at times with regards to what is bought, if indeed it was actually bought and what price (cash and/or otherwise) was paid. At all times the prices we outline are never truly confirmed until they can be viewed six to nine months later at the Government stamp duties office – however we don’t publish without feeling there is a high degree of truth. This is why as buyer agents when pricing homes we never make decisions on one buy alone and why true land and building values plus an overall knowledge of all buys is vital in calculating correct market value.  At this price level it is also a very private world and we respect that when trying to balance market transparency v individual privacy. We accept we don’t get it right every time but we do try. We never discuss buyer/seller personalities; we do not reveal intimate details to the wider press and we do not disclose full details publicly where the source has asked us not to. Our sources are not just the selling agent, but underbidders, our own advocates, REIV, our auction reporters and other agents not connected with the sale/buy. If you aware of an error or omission please email mal@james.net.au and we will adjust – you will be treated confidentially if you wish.

A day for the Dogs? A happy Jack Bongiorno, Marshall White, (a one-eyed Magpies fan!) with a canine friend at 22 Willis St, Prahran. Passed in at $1,305,000, two bidders.

Key Points:

• We covered 8 auctions across Stonnington on Saturday and all of them were bought.
• Armadale 28 Seymour, Joanna Nairn. Quote $3,500,000 plus. James Rating 682/1000. Bought After Auction, around $3,500,000. Bidderman 1
• South Yarra 38 Park, Warwick Anderson. Quote $3,500,000 plus. James Rating 725/1000. Bought After Auction, above $3,000,000. Bidderman 1
• Thursday Auction: Armadale 21 Adelaide. John Bongiorno auctioned this bulldozer or significant rebuild home at 4.30pm today. Bought for $3,130,000, or just over $4,000 per sqm. Bidderman 3. Heather Elder and Rae Tomlinson
• Finally Bought: Toorak 8 Macquarie, Jeremy Fox. Private Sale after an auction. $6,400,000.
• Off Market Action:
  Malvern Elizabeth, Marcus Chiminello. Off the plan $3,300,000
  Armadale 81 Rose, Tim Derham. Bought Over $3,300,000. A  terrace home that needed a fair bit of work but did have rear access and was north facing to rear. A solid result.

Agent Q & A: Premierships and Stock?

John Bongiorno, Marshall White, Armadale: “COLLINGWOOD !!!! Because I’m not one-eyed just a little biased towards the Pies. Collingwood will absolutely thrash whoever gets through to the Grand Final” John Manton, Marshall White, Armadale: following on “Unless, Jack, there are injuries which will restrict player rotations!”

Paul Keane, Jellis Craig, Glen Iris: “Stock levels seem to be increasing although slowly. We would expect normal market conditions will start to improve in the latter part of Spring.”

Alex Schiavo, Kay and Burton, South Yarra: “There is not a large amount of stock, especially compared to last year, but interest is starting to pick up. Some nice listings picked up in the last week or two but not the volume.

Bidderbuzz Auction of the Day: 10 Hillard St, Malvern East, John Morrisby, Marshall White, Under the Hammer, Undisclosed, 6 bidders.

“A slow auction to start with, but things really picked up when the property was declared on the market at $1,640,000. Auctioneer John Morrisby led the charge, with a massive six bidders battling it out until the end. The property was bought under the hammer for an undisclosed amount. Reasonable sized crowd of 65 and a strong vibe.” (Kristen Hatt)

Biggest Auction of the Day: 28 Seymour Ave, Armadale, John Bongiorno, Marshall White, Bought After for an undisclosed amount above $3,250,000, one bidder, crowd of 150 people.

“When I first arrived at 28 Seymour Avenue, Armadale I was pleased to see that John Bongiorno was going to be conducting the auction of this impressive Victorian double-fronted property in the heart of Armadale. John Bongiorno is both professional and entertaining and when he quoted “we only sell to nice people in Armadale” I wondered where he was heading. It didn’t take long before he followed up with a second quote “this is an outstanding property just like Collingwood was last night”. These quotes, whilst entertaining, didn’t have any affect on the large crowd of 150 as it was necessary for John Bongiorno to quickly come in with a vendor bid of $3,200,000. An eventual bidder raised the bid to $3,250,000 and subsequently secured the right to commence negotiations.” (Guy Angwin)

Clearance Rates & Monitor Table:

Forward Auction Stock:

We Only Buy Homes

A big crowd of 80 turned out for the auction of 2 Hume St, Armadale. Despite his best efforts, Anthony Grimwade (RT Edgar) was forced to pass the home in for $1,025,000. Two bidders. Bought Afterwards

Crowd moving into position at 49 Harcourt St Hawthorn East - Bought Afterwards in excess of $7.2million. James Tostevin of Marshall White.

Another strong (well stronger than Winter) fortnight for auctions and private sales over $3m. Rather than wax lyrical lets look at some facts. See below for results, reports, ratings and analysis.

42 Wattle Valley Road Canterbury: Richard Winneke of Jellis Craig

Full Auction Report: Click here
http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8807/42-Wattle_Valley-Road-CANTERBURY

Auctioneer Jeremy Fox presiding in front of a crowd of 90 people at 24 Somers Ave Malvern. On the market at $5,650,000 and selling strongly under the hammer with Bidderman at 3.

Full Auction Report click here:
http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8705/24-Somers-Avenue-MALVERN

4 Forrest Court Toorak: Peter Kudelka Kay and Burton

Full Auction Report: Click here
http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8829/4-Forrest-Court-TOORAK

49 Harcourt Hawthorn East: Sold After in excess of $7,200,000

Full Auction Report click here:
http://www.james.net.au/rating/49-Harcourt-Street-HAWTHORN_EAST

1 Myamyn St Armadale: Andrew Macmillan of Benmac: $3,215,000: 2 bidders

Full Auction Report click here:
http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8670/1-Myamyn-Street-ARMADALE/

6 Head St Brighton: Jeremy Fox of RT Edgar: Around $7,000,000

Full Rating click here:
http://www.james.net.au/rating/6-Head-Street-BRIGHTON

Sold Afterwards in excess of $3,600,000: John Bongiorno: Marshall White: 3 bidders

Full Video Auction Report: Click here
http://www.marketnews.com.au/video/?vid=305

19 Acland St South Yarra: Greg Herman RT Edgar: 4 bidders: Bought under the hammer: $3,600,000

Full Auction Report: Click here
http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/6886/19-Acland-Street-SOUTH_YARRA/

44 Elizabeth St Malvern: Gerald Delany and Michael Armstrong of Kay and Burton: Passed In at $3,250,000: 0 bidders

Full Auction Report: Click here
http://www.james.net.au/rating/44-Elizabeth-Street-MALVERN

106 St Georges Rd Toorak: Mike Gibson: Kay and Burton: 0 bidders: Passed In $5,500,000

Full Auction Report: Click here
http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8555/106-St_Georges-Road-TOORAK/

61 North Road Brighton: Nick Johnstone of JP Dixon:

Full Auction Report: Click here
http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/7552/61-North-Road-BRIGHTON

22 Tennyson Brighton: JP Dixon - Marcus Gollings. Believed to be in excess of $5,000,000. Private Sale

22 Tennyson St Brighton:

• 16,640sqft/1,546sqm
• floodlit tennis court and
• heated pool
• 5.5 bathroom floorplan
• hydronic heating
• space for six cars including triple garaging behind the two sets of auto-gates.

63 Walpole St Kew: James Tostevin: Marshall White: Believed to be in excess of $3,000,000. Sold Before Auction.

1a Como Toorak: Over $6,000,000 Greg Herman of RT Edgar: Private Sale

Andrew Hayne (Marshall White) basks in the Spring sunshine - and the sale of 24 Netherlee St, Glen Iris. Bought under the hammer, $2,660,000, five bidders.

Key Points:

• We covered seven auctions in Stonnington on Saturday. Of those, four sold under the hammer and two after auction.
• Big crowds across the board, all auctions had in excess of 50 people.

Biggest Auction of the Day: 24 Somers Ave, Malvern, Jeremy Fox, RT Edgar, Under the Hammer, $6,160,000.
“The sunfilled courtyard seemed a perfect setting for the Somers Avenue auction, with the lovely weather attracting a generous crowd of interested parties and onlookers alike. No initial bids when asked.  Auctioneer Jeremy Fox went inside to check with his vendors on two occasions. There was a feeling of anticipation amongst the crowd, until the property was declared ‘on the market’ at $5,650,000.  A real buzz.  Fast and furious bidding between two bidders to the end.  The look of relief was evident on the face of the successful bidder! An exciting end.  A truly impressive auction result!” (Nikki Hills)

Bidderbuzz Auction of the Day: 24 Netherlee St, Glen Iris, Andrew Hayne, Marshall White, Bought Under the Hammer, $2,660,000, 5 bidders
“With the sun poking through on this mild Saturday morning, auctioneer Andrew Hayne kicked off proceedings with a vendor bid of $1,800,000. Within seconds, two bidders began battling for the property and they were joined by several more moments later. There was a jovial atmosphere in the crowd of around 100 people as Mr. Hayne poked fun at the bidders. The bidding came down to two parties who went back and forth, and who alone raised the price by $400,000. There were 5 bidding parties, but only two at the end. The Property was sold for $2,660,000 under hammer, which appeared to be above expectations. The gentleman with the final bid received rousing applause from the crowd and congratulations from his main rival.” (Daniel Ehrenreich)

Agent Q & A: What are your views on pricing?

Andrew Hayne, Marshall White, Armadale:“My view is that across the board all homes have to be competitively priced in order to gain maximum interest from as many buyers as possible. The more buyers that are interested in the property, the greater the opportunity of getting a better price.”

John Bongiorno, Marshall White:“Good family homes always sell well – floor plans can be fixed. It provides exciting opportunities. Always boils down to the position of the property, orientation and workability. People nowadays have a lot of imagination. A lot of houses get rid of the small rooms and now have extended living areas, such as kitchens and family rooms. People aren’t afraid to do the renovations. So long as location is good, people are willing to buy and are happy to renovate if necessary.”

James Connell, Marshall White : “Still good demand for quality positions. If the property has a poor plan and poor location, the market judges it harshly.”

Clearance Rates & Monitor Table:

Forward Auction Bookings:

We only buy homes

John "The Boss" Morrisby (Marshall White) can sense a sale in the air. 11 Evandale Rd, Malvern, bought after for an undisclosed amount over $1,550,000. Two bidders.

Key Points:

• Only two from the nine we attended were bought under the hammer, however five from the nine were bought after auction
• Big improvement on Clearance Rates on reasonable number of monitored auctions (21 $M+)

$3m+ sales this week:

• 1 Myamyn Street, Armadale – Andrew Macmillan of Bennison Mackinnon ($3,215,000)
• 6 Bonview Road, Malvern - Peter Bennison of Marshall White (0ver $3,600,000)
• 1 Hopetoun Road, Toorak – Justin Long of Marshall White (over $5,500,000)
• 15a Sorrett Avenue, Malvern (Passed In from several weeks ago) – Andrew Hayne of Marshall White (over $3,200,000)
• 19 Acland Street, South Yarra – Warwick Anderson and Greg Herman of RT Edgar ($3,600,000)
• 1a Como Ave, South Yarra – Michael Ebeling and Jeremy Fox of RT Edgar (over 6,o00,000)

A funny thing happened at an auction:
1 Hopetoun Rd, Toorak, John Bongiorno, Marshall White, Bought after, undisclosed amount:
Those that were there for the Hopetoun Road auction and left quickly would say “Hey Jack – nice suit, reasonable spiel – dud auction”. Those that hung around would say, when they heard it was bought and at a price believed to be well in excess of the vendor bid, would go “Hey Jack – nice suit, impressive post-auction manner, great result”. John Bongiorno and Justin Long, Marshall White.” (Mal James)

Agent Question: How are you finding the market?

Peter Kudelka, Kay & Burton: “People are sitting on their hands. If I hear one more time `I’ll wait and see’, then I think I’ll go mad! What are people waiting for? (Editor note: this was said with Peter’s typical dry sense of humour but it was an honest reflection – we like those that don’t spin) Buyers are out there and will make an offer, but not with the sense of desperation as per earlier in the year, and they feel if they don’t get it, then there will be another because the market is not really advancing. It has plateaued. Upper end apartments are still slow, except under a million. Investment stock is selling well. Apartment buying goes in waves and it is always interesting to see when the next wave is. The election has given people an excuse not to make decisions.”

Bidderbuzz Auction of the Day:
19 Acland St, South Yarra, Warwick Anderson, RT Edgar, 4 bidders: “After a day of pass ins and relatively low attendances, it was nice to attend an auction with multiple bidders all looking to secure a fine property in a much sort after area. Four keen bidders kept auctioneer Warwick Anderson’s attention as they showed their interest early, bidding strongly and quickly looking for that knock-out blow. It came fifteen minutes later for a price of $3,600,000.” (Guy Angwin)

Clearance Rates & Monitor Table:

We Only Buy Homes

John "Jack" Bongiorno (Marshall White) braves the wind and the rain at 6 Bonview Rd, Malvern. 3 bidders, bought after for an undisclosed amount in excess of $3,600,000.

"Yeah this is going to turn out OK." And it did - just a casual $800,000 over reserve for David Oster of Jellis Craig of Ivanhoe. Bought for $4,300,000. 2 bidders from the opening bid of $3,300,000.

August has seen a bit more noise in the $3m+ market and deals are seemingly back on the agenda at this price level.

Jon Friedrich-designed apartment 9 Glyndon Brighton with an 812/1000 James Home Rating sold for mid $3millions this week after a long time on the market wanting a bit more. Stewart Lopez of Kay and Burton

In Ivanhoe two bidders fought it out for over a million dollars to get to the $4,300,000 result, as the above picture states  - a full $800,000 over a fair and reasonable reserve. I went through the home prior to auction and I have to say it was a unique offering with an incredible “Gone with the Wind” feel and sweeping views of much of Melbourne.

Moving southwards we get to:

896 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn which has been on the market for an eternity, but has finally been sold this month for just under $5m through Phillip French of RT Edgar. Still with Phillip French, he reported a private sale of an apartment at 1/42 Grange Road, Toorak for in excess of $5,000,000.

Earlier this month we reported the auctions on two properties  in Moorakyne Ave, Malvern – Number 11 (Michael Gibson of Kay and Burton) and Number 4 (Justin Long of Marshall White), which sold for $4,000,000 and $3,000,000 respectively. Both had multiple bidding.

While we’re in Stonnington let’s look at a couple of sales through Marshall White’s Peter Bennison, Andrew Hayne and Justin Long.

• 6 Cross Street Malvern which was on the market longer than it takes an Independent to extract a deal for  just under $4,000,000.
• Huntingtower Road Armadale over $8,000,000
• An off market in Malvern East Gasgoine around $4,000,000

3 Wellington St Brighton with Kay and Burton - Passed in June 5th see our Auction Report - James Home Rating 702/1000. Sold this week for a bit under $4m.

Nathan Waterston of Bennison Mackinnon sold a lovely terrace home in 12 Jolimont, East Melbourne for just north of $3,000,000. His compatriot Andrew McCann got 31 Finch Malvern East away at auction for $3,360,000. As reported last week it needed a $million reno – so it was a solid price. There were multiple bidders at the auction.

We reported on 23 Chaucer, Canterbury a fortnight ago with James Tostevin of Marshall White – 3 bidders and sold just under $4,000,000. On the same day Steve Burke of Jellis Craig moved at auction 5 Callintina for $3,330,000.

But the news has been in Brighton in the last week or so.

1) John Knox House – 71 North Road. It had been on the market for a long time but it still wasn’t exactly given away – Sturt Hinton of Kay and Burton.

2&3) The Golden Mile was hot this week with two apartments at 3/9 Glyndon selling for over $3m, and 23 St Ninians, which had an initial asking price of near $5m, selling. Both were with Kay and Burton.

23 St Ninians apartment sold by Stewart Lopez of Kay and Burton for an undisclosed amount. They were asking around $5 million at the time I went through. I thought it lacked some floor plan imagination - but it had a view. James Home Rating 649/1000.

4) Also on the Golden Mile and also with Kay and Burton – Ian Jackson sold 6 Seacombe north of $4.5 million.

5&6) 3 Wellington now joins 19 Wellington as having sold recently. Both have been on the market all through the winter doldrums. It was sold by Stewart Lopez and Sturt Hinton of Kay and Burton for close to $4 million.

7&8) Gordon St, Hampton, used the unpopular Expressions of Interest method of sale to achieve a result of around $3.4million through Nick Johnstone of JP Dixon mid week. David Hart of Buxton got another away in the street (23) on Saturday, post auction, after it had been passed in at $2,725,000.

Throw in the reported $7.5million for 3 Avalon, Armadale – Ross Savas of Kay and Burton, Wattletree Road Glen Iris over $3.4million with Marshall White’s Heather Elder and Rae Tomlinson aka “Bonny and Clyde” and a few others – and it’s clear the Top End is not completely dead and buried.

But we do need to keep some perspective – we are a long way off Autumn’s deluge where back in May we saw 50 homes reported as having sold for over $3,000,000.

6 Seacombe Grove Brighton - sold for over $4.5m - Ian Jackson of Kay and Burton. Top 10 Melbourne Street and a James Home Rating of 733/1000.

Why is this happening?

Because buyers are there.

Why now?

The best guess is that buyers never left, but we needed some vendor price adjustments and they are now being made. If this is the case it may simply be a statistical coincidence as opposed to a market change – but it also may bring on some more quality stock, which may or may not give the market a more sustained lift. September is going to be quiet due to Election interference , so October will be the telling month to see if this market is trending back or remaining flat.

We only buy homes

It was game, set and match at 23 Chaucer Crescent today. Holding proceedings from the tennis court in front of a crowd of 100 people, James Tostevin accepted an opening bid of $3,500,000 and the game was on. Three bidders took the price steadily to $3,800,000 before Mr Tostevin referred to his vendor. Not yet on the market, the bidding continued until it reached $3,850,000. The property was passed in, but bought after for an undisclosed amount. Great atmosphere with three bidders over $3,800,000 - a strong result.

70 people turned up to 31 Lambeth Avenue Armadale - did nothing and went home again. A typical Stonnington auction.

Key Points: We covered 7 auctions across Stonnington today. Four had 3 bidders or more and 3 had none. This is a true reflection of Stonnington now: good stuff gets support but there is precious little of it on offer.

Analysis: Our view is that demand is there – and this is supported by our buyer agent enquiry stats covering the $2 million to $6 million price range. The clearance rates and auction action or lack thereof is, in our opinion, a direct reflection of nervous sellers who are not putting quality homes onto the market. The market data in Stonnington is not reflective of an underlying, unsatisfied, stronger-than-indicated $M+ market. We refer to our key auction photo above - plenty of people but no action. If you look at our James Home Rating of the home in question you’ll notice it has a 501/1000 rating, i.e. borderline quality. If it was a goodie it would be attracting bids.

Bidderbuzz Auction: 31 Hawksburn South Yarra – Tom McCarthy – 5 bidders – Bought $1,957,000
Are there signs that the winter hibernation is over? That might well be the case judging by this auction where five bidders fought hammer and tongs to secure this two storey Victorian Terrace with the unusual luxury of rear off-street parking. Auctioneer Tom McCarthy managed the bidders with skill, keeping them all in the game. But alas there was only one winner with the eventual purchase price of $1,957,000.

A personal observation: The only reason we tend to focus on the big agencies is because they have the most homes on offer (ok, plus we like them). However, there is a niche double act making some noise at the moment: Tom McCarthy and his partner Philip Moore both of Biggin and Scott are producing very consistent multiple bidder auctions. I like their style and I think right now they are giving both buyers and sellers a fair shake. Well done. Between $1m and $2m in the Prahran to South Yarra precinct they are one of the hotter games in town, if you want a fair dinkum result.

Agent Comments:

Andrew McCann, Benmac, Armadale : “Not much juicy stock (although) we are seeing more mid-range than high-end. Big homes are affected by footy finals and holidays.  I don’t think the election is a factor.  Any volumes look like being in October rather than the next six weeks.”

Jeremy Fox, RT Edgar, Toorak: “There is a little bit of indecision at the moment because of the election. There are a lot of people out there who are frustrated as they are all ready to buy, but there are not a lot of good, quality properties out there. Hopefully the uncertainty about the election will soon pass and stock levels will change.” Jeremy we 100% agree with you – there’s a first!

Clearance Rates & Monitor Table:

We Only Buy Homes

Rainy day but good result for Iain Carmichael (BenMac) at 12 Albert St, Malvern East. Bought under the hammer, with four bidders and crowd of 60.

What is it with redheads? They're running the country - and now they're taking over the auctions. We counted six in this photo in amongst auctioneer Phillip Kingston from Gary Peer. 7A Nightingale St Kilda East. Bought After $1,200,000. 1 bidder.

At 6pm Saturday the James Clearance Rate on the 22 $M+ Auctions we covered was 59%.

Our Demand Indicator Bidderman was 2.2.  Hmmm – an interesting increase but it was off a very low turnover.

Today’s Highlights

1)      Bidders were present at 18 of the 22 auctions we covered –  and at three auctions there were 6+bidders

• 23 Sunburst Avenue Balwyn North (Doug McLauchlan of Marshall White)
• 12 Lennox St Hawthorn (Russell Turner of Christopher Russell)
• 7 Monomeath Avenue Toorak (Justin Long of Marshall White)

2)      The Pies are top of the ladder – and the election is on

We couldn’t find many $M+ auctions worth covering and only one of the auctions we covered went over $2m this weekend. So with the small numbers – just coming out of  the winter hiatus – it was like a first back training run before we get into the winter season proper over the next few weeks.

Agent Quotes

Scott Patterson of Jellis Craig: “Sold 12 from 16 today throughout the company. Opens and auctions were well attended…those who wish to sell in next month or two could enjoy quite solid results due to lack of supply, because demand seems reasonable… August 28 is looming as big weekend, particularly as it is now the week after the election…only thing is that Hawthorn vs Collingwood might affect crowd numbers etc…’

Hamish Tostevin of Marshall White: ”Opens were steady without being over-run with buyers. Certainly a lack of property at the moment in terms of supply. Should be a solid spring, particularly when the election is out of the way.”

Now, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted (by the school holidays)?

It has been a month since we last reported, and we have seen more Top End activity at Tullamarine than in any other suburb. Was it sales? No. It was our selling agent brethren jetting off to Europe to recharge their batteries. This poor humble buyer agent can only give you a travelogue on the Dubbo Zoo so I won’t bore you with tales of kids and a 12-hour car drive or the fact it ain’t a patch on the Werribee Zoo.

The world is a different place since our last report: back then Kevin ’07 was in charge, Masterchef was still a competition to find the best amateur chef in Australia, not the luckiest cook as it is now, and our $M+ market had prices cooling quicker than a Melbourne winter, after a blistering start to the year (although there were still an incredibly high number of buys).

A month ago we reported that the early 2010 gains had evaporated in the five auction weeks of May due to the sheer number of listings. May’s record supply finally stopped what had, since March 2009, been a rising market, driven initially by international buyer demand and then solid local demand.

So what is happening in our Winter Market (June to August) right now?

To be frank we don’t know for sure yet. But here are some of our thoughts.

1. Prices Now
2. Stock Quality Now
3. Method of Sale Now
4. Risk v Reward Now

Prices Now
Selling agents love to use the ‘p’ word plateau (rather than the four letter ‘f’ word)  to reflect on, or deflect away, thoughts of a declining price market. Right now, we actually agree with the ‘p’ word – especially if you accept that prices fell significantly in May and June. (By the way, the ‘f’ word that selling agents don’t like to use is fall.)

Some reasons prices may be plateuaing are:

• Seasonally reduced action (winter)
• An election on the horizon –  so some buyers and would-be sellers will pause to wait for the result.
• We had a big price fall in May and  for most of us market watchers the way forward is still unclear. Will we see more price drops or …. who knows? Like many, we are waiting for a sign.

Demand in Relation to Price

• This weekend Bidderman was at 2.2 – but, please note, this is based on very low auction volumes and therefore statistical distortions are possible.
• As a buying company,  we have had commitments from a significant number of new clients over the past few weeks.
• We feel it’s better to reflect overall demand as more cautious rather than dropping – however another month or two may tell us a different story.
• Right now, buyers still do have the rare luxury of having their cake and eating it too – if they choose to. Prices have fallen in May/June, and in July we are in a market of reasonable choice. Hooray for buyers!

Private Sale Clearance Rate – the number of Proven Sales is only 11 from 50 – or 22% – over the past six weeks.

Six weeks ago we randomly selected a basket of 50 higher end Private Sale and Expression of Interest properties, right across our $M+ Melbourne market. We did this with the aim of  checking  what was bought 6 weeks later (roughly the same time as a “go to whoa” auction campaign), and to therefore calculate the clearance rates  to see how Private Sales and Expressions of Interest were really going.

We thought this snapshot would provide the best reflection of private sale market activity and confirm or question comments by some selling agents that: “Oh yes, auctions were not as good as March, but we are selling a heap via private sale”. The results proved that while in May agents were selling a heap, it wasn’t so much the case in late June to early July. However,  it could have just been that many agents were away.

• We have made an effort to contact those that were withdrawn without a sale price, and we may have missed a few sales – but overall the non-auction homes are NOT running out the door any faster than the auctions. In fact you could make a strong argument that, as an effective method of sale, auctions are still outperforming private sales in many cases – despite the declining clearance rates, given that only 1 in 4 private sale properties have been bought in 6 weeks.
• These figures must surely help smart buyers put together an offering strategy. It’s certainly prompted us here at James Buyer Advocates to change how we buy in the last two months.

Today’s final word on price – are you a glass half empty of half full person?

If you feel the double-dip recession is fast approaching and the world as we knew it is about to end, then, by all means, don’t buy – and in fact sell (and please give us a ring if you have a good home to sell).

If you feel Julia (Gillard) won’t be changing the legitimate immigration numbers any time soon (demand) and Justin (Madden) won’t be able to release large numbers of housing blocks in Inner Melbourne because they are not there (supply), you may wish to ignore the doomsayers and take advantage of this current price breather combined with good stock offering. The GFC lasted less than a year  (for us) and in July 2010 Melbourne $M+ home prices are still 20 to 30 per cent above 2008 GFC home prices. Remember the 2008 ‘bulls**t’ rumour of the year, which said the NAB and other banks were about to foreclose on 200 homes in Toorak alone – it never happened. Yes we are biased and make a living by encouraging buyers to buy – but the facts are still very positive for buyers.

Stock Quality Going Forward
Spring quality and auction numbers are the variables we don’t have a clear handle on as yet. Right here and now in July, we have a market with excellent stock numbers for buyers – if you know where to look and you actually act correctly (please see the following paragraph on methods of sale). We also think the quality is good. Going forward, quality stock levels are not clear to us, because traditionally when quality sellers see a declining market they are loathe to put their home on the market on a speculative basis (in that, if they don’t have to sell, they won’t). This obviously leads to less stock on the market, which may affect price but, more importantly, it affects choice. Good buying decisions are more likely when, along with good advice, you, the buyer, have good choice.  You have that now.

Method of Sale
As we said, there is choice now if you know where to look, whom to ask and how to deal. Look at the above private sale table – there are some good homes there. We keep overhang lists (stales and unsolds) and there are also a number of off-markets and quiet pre-releases available. Granted, some of the vendors are still in their price cocoons but  quality sellers who have adjusted their price expectations may have homes worth considering. The off-market (unadvertised properties) may well be the market of choice for a number of buyers and sellers in the next few months.  But, please note buyers, you will have to sharpen your negotiation strategies to take advantage of all that is on offer.

Risk v Reward
To digress – Risk v Reward is where Masterchef’s Adam and Claire had it all over Jono. While Jono was going for the big dish on every occasion – and you have to admire him for that – he wasn’t playing the game to the best of his abilities. Adam is the quiet master at the Masterchef game. He sees a situation and says: “Yeah, I want to try and make a dish that will impress the judges and maybe get me a shot at immunity – the reward – but I don’t want to push the boundaries that far that I risk getting in the elimination round if I fail.” Good Home Buying and Negotiation is absolutely the same as this. Why is that? Because in the first instance the strategy should be to get yourself into a strong position and not risk all for the pot of gold. Once you are in that strong position, then you can make a run for the prize. Another analogy is acclimatising at base camp before you make the assault on the Everest summit. This is Risk v Reward.

A full James Buyer Opinion on Risk v Reward in today’s Market will be published here on Tuesday – so look out for it this week. At the moment you will find our biggest ever ‘clicked on’ James Buyer Opinion article – The Learning Fee - right next to this article.

It’s good to be back

We Only Buy Homes

Mal

Balwyn North 23 Sunburst. Big Crowd for Doug McLauchlan of Marshall White - 125 in fact. Seven bidders. Bought under the hammer for $1,567,000.