"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.

Bill Jowett (Buxton) basks in the sunshine and the successful sale of 4 Susan St, Sandringham. Three bidders, bought under the hammer for $1,400,000.

Key Points:

• We attended nine auctions across Bayside this weekend. Of those, only two were bought under the hammer.
• While Brighton was very average at auction today, it was the stellar performer for stales (long term unsolds) over $3m+ this week. Behind closed doors at Kay and Burton, there was plenty of action.
• We have a special report for you on Monday on $3m+ homes. The upshot is that we should see more new stock coming onto the market over $3m, while new sellers of homes around $2m are becoming less inclined to dip their toe in the water
• Three apartments/townhouses in the Golden Mile were sold by Kay and Burton over $3,000,000 each - Justin Follett of Kay and Burton
• Both the Wellington St, Brighton properties that had been on the market for a long time, recently sold for over $3,000,000 – Ian Jackson and Stewart Lopez of Kay and Burton
• Knox House in North Road was bought – Stewart Lopez of Kay and Burton
• Gordon St Hampton was the hot street in town with Nick Johnstone of JP Dixon selling No. 34 through an Expression of Interest for around $3,400,000 and David Hart selling No. 23 post auction today for a bit over the pass-in figure of $2,725,000.
• 94 Dendy St Brighton defied the trend, selling for an undisclosed amount under the hammer of around $1,400,000. That was a $250,000 increase on its last sale in December,  placing land at $2300 per sq metre. Miriam Carraro of Hodges

Campbell Cooney of Hodges motivates 2 bidders from within a small crowd to pay over $1,470,000. 94 Dendy St Brighton.

Analysis: Why is this happening? Because buyers are there at the $3m+ level.

Why now? Our best guess is that buyers never left, but that we needed some vendor price adjustments and that they are now being made. If this is the case then this may simply be a statistical coincidence as opposed to a market change. But it may also bring on additional 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.

Why is it not happening at the $2m level? There is simply too much stock and no vendor adjustments.

Agent Comments:

Nick Johnstone, JP Dixon, Brighton: “We are seeing a cross-section of stock at the moment.  I’m finding the strong demand is for homes under $1m at the moment.  The biggest shortage for Middle Brighton is the $2-3m family home. My feeling is the election has made a slight impact , it is a bit like being in a church at a wedding and everyone is just waiting for the bride to arrive. Once we have a resolution we are away.”

Jenny Dwyer, Hocking Stuart, Sandringham: “I think we’ll find we will have a late spring market with school holidays, election, football finals etc. In terms of the election, we found there were still a lot of people out and about on election day and the open houses were well attended….I think the fence-sitting we saw during the (election) campaign will continue whilst there is no outcome.”

Bidderbizz Auction – 4 Susan Sandringham – Bill Jowett Buxton – Bought $1,400,000 -  3 bidders
A warm buzz was evident in the 70 strong crowd as they awaited the commencement of the auction and it did not disappoint. Auctioneer Bill Jowett of Buxton was in fine form as he took the opening bid of $1,000,000 quickly followed by a vendor bid of $1,200,000. Three bidders were determined in their approach and seemed very familiar with the auction process. Mr Jowett announced the property on the market at $1,300,000 and it was bought soon after for $1,400,000. The successful bidder punched the air with his fist in victory as the crowd applauded. (Sue Agnoleto)

Check out the Auction Video of 42 Foote St Brighton with JP Dixon.

Clearance Rates & Monitor Table:

We Only Buy Homes

John Clarkson (Hocking Stuart) throws himself into the auction of 100 Were St, Brighton. Unfortunately, none of the 30 or so spectators took his lead and the property passed in for $1,950,000. One bidder.

Brighton 14 Edmanson: The miserable weather made for a challenging auction. Surrounded by an umbrella-laden crowd of 25, David Hart of Buxton forged ahead with determination. The auction commenced with a vendor bid of $950,000 and with no bidders on the day, the property was passed in by Mr Hart at this same figure.

Bayside this week had a clearance rate of 7 from the 11 monitored properties this week – or 63%. This was up on the 40% to 50% of the last few weeks in May, but it was on a smaller turnover.

Bidderman, our demand indicator, was 1.3 bidders per auction – which is still lowish if we are in an improving market.

Having said,  turnover is now getting back to levels each week where we can gauge meaningful levels.

For instance: the 4th week in May 2010 produced 23 reported private, post auction and auction sales in Bayside. This the 4^th week in July we are looking at 14 reported sales – or about 60% of the corresponding week in May. However, overall we are well done on month to date comparable sales; this is seasonally normal and expected.

Agent Comments:

Stephen Tickell of Hocking Stuart: Prices only drop when vendors say so – i.e. when they accept the reduced prices – and that was happening in May. The market made the adjustment and now we are back to, well Mal where we always are every week, supply and demand. Supply is the main guider of the market of the market at present and there is not a lot for buyers in the $1million range in Sandringham and Hampton.

Julian Augustini of Hodges: There are two markets at the moment in Bayside. Median Bayside around $1 million going well. Double Median such as $3.5 million in Brighton and say $2.5 million in Hampton is struggling a little due to minimal demand for what is on offer and there is a reasonable depth of offering. Price is the key here.

Sturt Hinton of Kay and Burton: Good clearing of stock level. It’s been a good two months with quiet sales both private and off market ranging between $2 million and $6.5 million. We are seeing quieter stock numbers coming on now.

Of the 14 reported $M+ sales for the week the highlight was:

23 Murphy St Brighton – James Home Rating 767 out of 1000
James Home Rating: Great street and this property is appealing from the outside. Excellent land content here and a west facing rear is great for afternoon light. Some may have question marks about the floor plan – while the main bedroom suite is very good the separation to other bedrooms is not ideal and the kitchen and stair placement could be better. The cellar is one of the best I have seen and another big plus is a self contained unit at the rear. A good all round family home.

James Auction Report: In cold, drizzly conditions Nick Johnstone of JP Dixon worked hard to bring the bidders out from under their umbrellas. The result was rapid-fire bidding, culminating in a sale price of $3,350,000 in less than 15 minutes. 2 bidders.

James Post Auction Analysis: Strong but not completely unexpected result.

All other reported sales were in the $1m to $2m range.

Land sales

17 Hornby Beaumaris (towards the Black Rock area) with Peter Hickey of Buxton was at $1450 per sq metre for a larger block of land over 900 sq metres.

27 Plantation Ave Brighton East – certainly in Brighton East’s top five streets, again with Nick Johnstone of JP Dixon. 640 sq metres of land achieved $1,326,000 (see our auction report) or just over $2000 per sq metre.

And finishing off with a couple of smart little single level townhouses for the downsizers:

16 Lynch St Brighton (Sabrina Merrick of Hodges) $1,370,000 at auction (see report) for 452 sqm of land or just over $3000 per square metre

The little gem of the week was 16 Collins St Brighton (Chris Carrington of Buxton) – a single level townhouse in need of a reno in central Brighton. It surprisingly sold beforehand for $1,450,000. That was a rare opportunity and well done to whoever bought it.

This coming week we are monitoring 19 auctions.

We only buy homes

23 Murphy St Brighton: Solid result though Nick Johnstone of $3,350,000. See report above. 2 bidders

Brighton 7 Maysbury: Passed In for $3,200,000. 1 bidder. A quiet crowd of 50.

Of the 9 properties we covered in Bayside today, 6 passed in.  Ten bidders for the 9 properties, although  Leigh Hallimore of Buxtons did have three of the ten bidders at 41 Lynch Crescent, Brighton.  Bidderman was at 1.1 for Bayside.

7 Grosvenor Street, Brighton (Nick Johnstone of JP Dixon), 960sqm and north facing rear, near the shops and beach passed in with one bidder for $3,310,000 and remains unsold.  22 Margarita Street, a premier Hampton street and good family home, passed in with no bids at $2,250,000.  7 Maysbury Brighton (Leigh Hallamore of Buxton) passed in with one bid for $3,200,000.  91 Dendy Brighton (Greg Costello RT Edgar) passed in with no bids at $2,350,000.

18 Sussex, auctioned by Stewart Lopez at Kay & Burton, 920 sqm in Brighton’s Diamond K, passed in for $3,110,000.  It did sell after for a price closer to $3,200,000.  If you put no value in the house, that’s around $3,450 sqm.  Very different to  40 Sussex which sold in February at $4,500 sqm.  Justin Follett also of Kay & Burton successfully sold 49 Hanby Street, Brighton during the week after passing in last weekend just over $2,000,000.  Bill Jowett of Buxtons, negotiated  26 Ebden Avenue, Black Rock  after auction for $2,500,000.  On 1,239 sqm, that’s still $2,000 sqm for this predominantly land only property.  37 Normanby, Brighton, with Peter Kennett of Hocking Stuart, also sold after for around $2,800,000.

85 Were St (Robin Parker of RT Edgar) was bought for $1,310,000 or $3195 per sqm for a small land holding. Interesting!

Nick Johnstone of JP Dixon Real Estate advised he’d sold two off market properties in Brighton during the week.  Park Street for $1,735,000 and Middle Crescent for $3,675,000.  He further advised that the Middle Crescent property had sold six months earlier for $3,100,000. Some properties are still continuing to attract strong prices.  He did say that he thought we would see more off market transactions over the next few months.

Jenny Dwyer of Hocking Stuart feels buyer nervousness increases as you go further up the price pyramid. We concur.

James Paynter of Hodges  advised strength for properties around the $1,000,000ish price point with 15 Short Street, Hampton East selling strongly for $970,000  and 12A Vincent, Sandringham for $1,092,000.  In the same price bracket, 42 May Street, Hampton, with Mark Earle of Buxtons, sold before auction in the low $1′s.  However, 12 Codrington Street, Sandringham passed in on a vendor bid of $1,200,000.

Bayside Auction Results - 26 monitored – 12 bought – 46% clearance rate

Happy Wife, Happy Life

Brighton 7 Grosvenor St: Passed In $3,310,000. Quiet vibe from the crowd of 70. 1 bidder

Brighton 49 Hanby St: Stewart Lopez: No real action and passed in at $1,800,000

Smaller numbers of homes over $1,000,000 for auction in Bayside this weekend – we only had 14 to look at.  We covered six and three sold, three passed in.  Of the three that sold there were two bidders on each and there were no bidders on those that passed in.

Stephen Tickell of Hocking Stuart successfully sold 11 Rose Street, Highett for $1,075,000 and 10 Smeed Street, Black Rock saw Greg Costello of RT Edgar selling this property (with older style home) in Black Rock’s Golden Triangle for $1,117,500.  If this was bought with the intention of knocking down, that’s $2,112 sqm.  Moving north, another land opportunity at 16A Wellington Street, Brighton was successfully auctioned by Nick Johnstone of JP Dixon for $2,650,000.  That’s over $4,200 sqm – strong – very strong actually.

That’s gives us four good land sale indicators this month:
Diamond K Brighton - Wellington St – $4,200 sqm – Nick Johnstone JP Dixon
Golden Mile Brighton – Mulgoa – $4,800 sqm – Ross Savas Kay and Burton
Keith Court with views Brighton – $5,000 sqm – Ian Jackson Kay and Burton
40 Black St (Church St precinct) – $3,200 sqm – sold before auction on Tuesday – Chris Carrington of Buxton.

Speaking with a couple of the agents during the week regarding the current change in mood, Barb Gregory of Hocking Stuart, thought the buyers were still there, but perhaps the Vendor’s expectations were still climbing, and understandably so, given the media attention and hype surrounding property at the moment.  She thought both sellers and buyers should be aware of generalising the market and that there were still hot pockets out there.  Halli Moore of Buxton Real Estate thought that although the market was a bit up and down last weekend, the buyers were still there and the deals were still being done.

Both agents above are right to some extent as Brighton is still averaging 1 sale a day over a million in this month.

Of the 11 auctions reported today over $1,000,000 in Bayside, five sold before, three passed in, two sold prior and one sold after.  That  means that of the 11 properties reported the overall clearance rate was just over 70%.

The next two weeks of May are shaping up as ones to watch with significant auction numbers scheduled for the 22nd and 29th May.

Happy Wife Happy Life

Brighton 16A Well St: The camera loves Nick and so did his sellers today. Under the hammer at $4,200 per sqm

Brighton 2 Manor: Bought After $5,580,000. Bidderman 1. Great home and great price. Well done to buyer and seller and agents Regina Schmidt and Brian Devlin - you're all winners on this one.

A quieter week in terms of numbers, given the Anzac  long weekend, and results were as expected.  Some sold strongly, some passed in, some sold after.  The ‘golden triangle’ in Black Rock continued to sell, with Nick Johnstone of JP Dixon selling 16 Glenmore Crescent for $1,820,000 and a well run campaign by Jason Gill of Hodges at 49 Were Street in Brighton, saw  James Paynter (auctioneer) bring down the hammer at $2,230,000.  Both properties, although liveable, will require work in the future.

The big auction for Bayside this week was with Buxton’s David Hart at 2 Manor Street, Brighton – a stellar location and property.  Initially passing in at $5,000,000, David successfully negotiated the price up to $5,580,000.  Chris Bevan of JP Dixon got another ‘biggie’ away during the week in Martin Street, Brighton, down on the ‘golden mile’ for a little over $8,000,000.

A few that passed in, were 3 Bruce Street, Beaumaris – land only with a north rear for  $1,080,000, 40 Edward Street, Sandringham  for $1,100,000 and 1 Roslyn Street, Brighton on a vendor bid of $1,450,000.

May will see 5 weekends of auctions this year and should provide us with information regarding the continuing strength and numbers in the market.  Speaking with Justin Follett of Kay & Burton on stock levels, he advised they have more auctions coming up for May than for the same time last year.  They have experienced a strong start to year and he believes the market may stabilize over the next few months.  Good news for both buyers and sellers.

Happy Wife  Happy Life

Black Rock 19 Stanley Bought $1,600,000. Despite a quiet auction, Mr Smooth aka Wes Belt relieved the one bidder of a solid amount in post auction negotiations. Strong, very strong.

Strength was seen in quality properties today, however, there were still a few surprise pass-ins.  Well-positioned land with homes of minimal value (some could argue no value) led the way.  4 Arkaringa, Black Rock, was auctioned by Campbell Cooney of Hodges and sold for almost $2,350 sqm (if there is no value in the house).  22 Surf Avenue, Beaumaris in another great location was auctioned by Mark Earle of Buxtons for around $2,050 sqm (again with a liveable house requiring major work/replacement). Another land property (920sqm) at 2 Fairleigh Avenue, Beaumaris, overlooking the R0yal Melbourne Golf Club, auctioned by Brian Hutchins of Brian Hutchins Real Estate  sold for $1,340,000.  However, 18 Arranmore, Black Rock (again land only) passed in at $1,150,000.  Another surprise today, given that 40 Sussex Street, Brighton sold strongly a few weeks ago for just over $4,500 sqm,  was  1 Webb Street (a stone’s throw away from Sussex) which passed in for $2,550,000. Difficult home but stellar location so Buxton’s Mr Hart should move it on some time sooner rather than later.

When speaking with Stephen Tickell of Hocking Stuart he advised “Despite buyers appearing to become a little more cautious with their  bidding at auctions over the past couple of weeks there still appears to be a strong underlying confidence , particularly at the ‘top end’,  in our sector of the bayside.”   6a Seaview Crescent, Black Rock   and 71 Royal Avenue, Sandringham both sold after auction today, both over $ 2 million dollars, maintaining Hocking Stuart’s clearance levels above 85% across the board.  He further advised  “The market remains strong, but the heady ‘free for all’ days of auctions with unrestrained bidding may be returning to a more sensible and sustainable level.”  Another sale today over $2,000,000 was with Jason Gill of Hodges, who ran a successful campaign at 52 Asling Street, Brighton.  The property also passing in at $2,110,000 and sold post auction close to $2,200,000.

Across Bayside agents still feel stock levels are down, however, results like Nick Johnstone of JP Dixon, selling 4 properties in Hampton in the last month totaling $16M may encourage others in the area to think about listing their properties.  Normally these are the sorts of properties we buy in Brighton,  but the strength of the recent market may be beginning to include Hampton on a more regular basis.

The median price trend chart, courtesy of the REIV, is a very useful tool to confirm thoughts over the longer term. This chart below clearly shows Brighton’s price decline in 2008 and price recovery in 2009 – as it does but not quite as dramatically for most of Bayside. Remember these REIV charts are for all homes not just our focus of $M+.

Happy Wife, Happy Life

Hampton: 30 Avondale Street: Bought under the hammer for $2,800,000. 3 bidders. Crowd over 200. Mark Earle of Buxton in charge of the hustle and bustle.

Bidderman was 2.5 of the 6 properties we covered in Bayside  (and 3 across Melbourne for all the properties we covered over $1,000,000.)  Clearance rates were high amongst most Bayside agents.  Justin Follett of Kay & Burton advised 100% clearance rate today, whilst Mark Earle of Buxtons Sandringham advised they sold 6 of 8 and Julian Augustini of Hodges advised 86% across Bayside, with the standouts in the lower price brackets, with multiple bidders.

Jenny Dwyer of Hocking Stuart, teamed with her usual partner, Stephen Tickell, to sell 2 Victoria Street, Sandringham today for $1,552,000.  The 7 bidders were divided between bulldozing and renovating as this property held interest for both.  On 727 sqm with a south facing rear, land was $2,134 sqm.

243 Beach Road, Black Rock, auctioned by Julian Augustini of Hodges, sold for $2,230,000 with 3 bidders.  Another knockdown, on 1022 sqm with access from Bayview Crescent.  This calculated land at $2,189 sqm.

Another strong result for 56 St Andrews Street, Brighton, after 60 St Andrews Street sold this month for $2,900,000.  Nick Johnstone of JP Dixon Real Estate auctioned the property, in front of about 90, he had 2 bidders and sold it for $2,610,000. He also got sold the biggest sale I can remember in Hampton for some time, said to be between $4,400,000 and $4,600,000 at 31 Gordon Grove Hampton.

The two that didn’t make it and were passed in – 27 Cowper Street, Brighton, rating 736, a double fronted period home on 576 sqm and north facing rear, failed to attract a bid. The other pass in was 21 Balcombe Park Lane, Beaumaris on  696 sqm rating 677.  Both these properties needed major renovations to bring up to current home expectations.

The property of interest today, with around 200 onlookers, was 30 Avondale, Hampton.  A new, period style, family home on 700 sqm, auctioned by Mark Earle of Buxtons sold for $2,800,000.   Mark advised afterwards that good quality stock is still especially popular with buyers.

Things are expected to be a little quieter over the Easter/school holiday period.  Both Jenny Dwyer and Mark Earle say Bayside is currently not inundated with properties for sale.  Though Justin Follett claims there are some good quality land sites coming on after Easter.  1st of May is shaping up to be the next big weekend in real estate.

Happy Wife, Happy Life

Brighton: 4 Dawson Avenue: Matthew Morley in Action. Bidderman 3. Bought under the hammer for $2,460,000 or $3770 a sqm for Golden Mile land.

Another 24 sales over $1,000,000 in Bayside, moving the average for the month to 2.5 per day. It’s 6pm Saturday afternoon, and so far, our research shows 24 of 27 reported properties in Bayside have sold.  19 at auction, 3 before and 1 each by expression of interest and private sale. 

The current clearance rate is 86% in Bayside and bidderman 2.75 for the 4 auctions we covered, although only 2 across all of the auctions we have covered this weekend. Highett was the leader in strength today.  Three properties on offer and three sales – all over $1,000,000.

John Spiers of  JP Dixon auctioned a good house in an average street in Highett, rating 669 on 572 sqm,  at 24 Noyes Street, Highett.  Three bidders took the price over a million dollars (not often seen in Highett until recently), passing in at $1,020,000 and successfully selling immediately after for $1,050,000. Hodges Real Estate had a successful day, with  James Paynter selling 43 Ashwood Avenue, a three bedroom, single living room period home, with small rear garden, rating 676, for $1,192,000. 

Meanwhile, Peter Alpar, successfully sold 2 Morley Crescent, a new large family home, for $1,302,000.  No we are not talking about Beaumaris – this is Highett. Kate Smith and Stephen Tickell of Hocking Stuart showed their skill at 17 Kirkwood Ave, Sandringham.  This was an old English classic, that needed a cosmetic makeover.  Passing in with two bidders, it was sold after for $1,885,000 – a strong result but not completely unexpected in that Royal Avenue Precinct. Nice note from the owner politely correcting a factual error or two (thank you) who is moving to greener pastures in Port Phillip. 

Two in Brighton both had 3 bidders.  4 Dawson Street, auctioned by Matthew Morley of Morleys Real Estate, sold under the hammer for $2,640,000 and Nick Johnstone of JP Dixon passed 10 Kent Ave in at $2,100,000 but was successful in  selling the property for a bit more afterwards. Looking at 3 of the 4 properties passing in, perhaps Vendor expectations are creeping beyond the Buyers, but then quickly placed back in check upon reflection, given the negotiated sales afterwards.

The big land sale this week was on Brighton’s Golden Mile – 14 North Road, 1551 sqm rating 665 with a south facing rear sold after an expressions of interest campaign by Chris O’Farrell of JP Dixon for a little over $3,500 p/sqm.

Happy Wife Happy Life

Brighton: 10 Kent Avenue: Nick Johnstone of JP Dixon. Bought afterwards for over $2,100,000; a 16% increase on last year. But for some sellers the 2010 jig maybe up. Next week looming as a real test - are we turning a corner or are we as buyers dreaming?

It is 6pm Saturday and the James Million Dollar-Plus Clearance rate for the 27 Auctions we attended today was 65 per cent.

Bidderman remained steady at 2 bidders per auction. However 1 in 3 of the auctions we attended today had no bidders. 33% of auctions (on OK James rated homes) had no bidders under the hammer today!!

If you look at the REIV auctions reported you would see a more buoyant story than we show, because a  number of the auctions that were passed in, were not reported.

Having said that some of the $2.5m to $5m market seemed quite strong this week; highlighted in the north west by 2 strong sales at 36 Ardmillan St Moonee Ponds (Matthew Febey Nelson Alexander) bought for $4,650,000 and 110 the Boulevard Aberfeldie (David Vaughan also of Nelson Alexander) also bought under the hammer  strongly for $1,770,000 and most would be looking to put an additional million into a rebuild.

The Inner East was also strong in the $3m range. All these sold before today’s Auctions.

• 28 Coleridge Street Kew (Hamish Tostevin/James Tostevin, Marshall White),
• 14 Royal Crescent Camberwell (Peter Batrouney / Campbell Ward, Jellis Craig),
• 94 Argyle Road Kew (Stuart Evans / James Tostevin),
• 18 Callantina Road Hawthorn (Joanna Nairn / James Tostevin, Marshall White),
• and a quiet off-market property in Raheen Drive Kew (Scott Patterson, Jellis Craig).

Bayside was buoyant in most ranges above a million. It’s big $3million sale was an old car museum on less than 374 sq metres of land out the back of Church St Brighton for $3,367,000. Matt Nichols of Nichols Crowder, who runs a really good commercial Bayside selling agency told us there were 6 bidders on this mid week auction.

Port Phillip also strong (except a few misses in Elwood).

Stonnington Top End seems to be a different story with a large number of pass-ins in this range. They may be bought over the next few days - lets wait and see.

Nonetheless across all these markets Bidderman has dropped from 3 weeks ago; even though we just rattled off 8 or so $3 million plus sales in the last week and that’s the conundrum right now.

Strong results but a falling Bidderman.

Feel and Mood
Those that are good homes with an asking price within reasonable expectations are still selling incredibly well and have a strong Bidderman;  but if you have a home that

1)       Is priced above the market view

2)      Has Issues

Then as a seller you may have a home that is not being bought in a frenzy under the hammer at auction – a different story to a month ago or late last year when almost everything was frenzied selling.

A number of credible agents (Andrew McCann of Bennison Mackinnon; John Bongiorno, James Tostevin and Heather Elder of Marshall White) are saying a bit of the gloss of late last year and early this year has come off in the last fortnight. This they feel is in part due to vendors getting ahead of themselves and/or buyers refusing to continue the climb the increasingly dizzy heights on homes regarded as less than the best. We agree with this assessment.

Next week is looming as the big test in our minds. There is a lot of stock to be bought and as we have reported a fair proportion is good quality; so if the clearance rate and Bidderman is strong (over 70% clearance rate and say 2 for Bidderman) then this last week or two is more an aberration (influenced by stock quality) than a trend. However a lower clearance rate and/or dropping Bidderman and we will be forced to consider the possibility of a market mood change or a turning trend for the Top End.

Quoting to Buyers

Most results are being reported - except from time to time Kay and Burton’s and RT Edgar’s in South Yarra and Toorak – the Top, Top End. Fair enough if it’s tactics, but it’s good to know when looking at market trends – you don’t have all the results. Maybe things are a bit light on as this very public quoting war continues. Personally our dealings with both these agencies have been very good in recent times and we have been given accurate information and advice particularly by Kay and Burton for a long time. An increasing number of buyers are saying the quote on the phone is very different to the quote at the inspection; which is different again to the opening vendor bid and then different again to the reserve on a non buy. Hope you can reach a truce soon.

And please we are not just singling these agencies out; our company has a high level of respect for Boroondara agents; Marshall White, Jellis Craig and Fletchers and others but in a number of instances they still quote (in our opinion) inappropriately to buyers; notwithstanding they are working for sellers and the market has been hot and not always easy to predict. Why not explain in more detail the vagaries of the current market when you quote a figure to a buyer and what that figure you are quoting may represent.

Where are they getting quoting right? We think most Bayside agents have got it right at present and in particular, Hocking Stuart across the board, seems in our opinion to be making a fairly consistent effort to quote helpfully to buyers. We still strongly support Benmac’s reserve within the quote and most of the public information we have seen Buxton and Hodges put out corresponds with what we would, as buyer agents, say is generally helpful quoting.

Not easy at present and you cannot expect a perfect record in quoting – at times as buyer agents we get it “very wrong” in this type of market. All you can ask for and should expect from professionals is best efforts; not less than best efforts. An old record but a goodie and I digress.

Just another simple $3 million auction. Why would I need a buyer advocate?

As we said above the $3m market was strong this week in terms of numbers bought and sold. Specifically in the last week around this $3 million mark we bought:

• an off-market property, in the Diamond K of Brighton, for just below $3 million;
• a new home, also in Bayside, bought pre-auction, for just below $3 million; and
• a Boroondara home, bought in a boardroom auction before auction, for just over $3 million.

People often say “It’s just another simple auction. Why would I need a buyer advocate?” Well, let me share with you some of the frenetic 17-hour period that led up to a purchase of the Boroondara home yesterday, which will show you that an auction can be anything but simple and just how much planning and effort is needed to bring off a successful purchase.

Thursday, 9pm: A text message informed us that another party had put in an aggressive, but acceptable, offer for the property and it would be sold.

10.15pm: We quickly got the ball rolling, with conference calls between our clients, our architect, managing advocate and myself. Two calls to the agent (interrupting his viewing of The Footy Show), contact with a pest and building company, and emails to lawyers asking for urgent reviews.

Friday, 5.30am: A late night led into an early morning checking emails confirming pest and building and plans for all key advocates.

7.30am: On-site meeting at the property after we informed the selling agent there was a high likelihood we would compete. At the property, we confirmed land size  (we cannot understand why so many people do not measure up before purchase – the occurrence of major differences between represented amounts and actual bought land is common), looked at renovation options, rechecked our comments and ratings and talked with our clients.

8.30am: Adam Woledge prepared rough drawings of potential renovations. Adam is a very useful man to involve in short time-frame decisions because he is an architect, a licensed buyer agent and still actively involved in the processes of building and renovating – eg in 2009 he oversaw million-dollar rebuilds, new builds and renovations on behalf of our clients in suburbs as far apart as Canterbury, Brighton East and Glen Iris. Questions Adam and the clients discussed included whether there was a good chance the renovation plans would  get through council, and how heritage overlays could affect the build, setbacks and ballpark costings. These are all tough questions that need realistic advice before purchase, not post-purchase.

While talking through possible alternatives with our clients, we were also making sure that the decision (theirs) was definitely what they wanted to do and that overall it was a good decision, emotionally and financially for them to make. At this stage, very little of the talk was about money.

9.30am: Over coffee, eggs and gluten-free toast, we reached consensus with our clients that we would do battle (for want of a better word) today.

We knew this was going to be a tough fight, as the acceptable offer was strong (above the quote) and above what we would have offered pre-auction without proven competition.

10am: That consensus meant pest and building inspections (which were on standby) were completed.

11am: Last-minute preparations included legal checks; contact with council re known building applications for neighbours; opinions from other selling agents; negotiations of extended settlement terms; and the organisation of deposits, cheques, somebody to sign etc.

10.30am to 12.30pm: Our senior advocates discussed possible bidding strategies. As both clients worked full-time, we could only reach them over the phone to discuss and agree on strategies.

11am to 2.15 pm: Our lead advocate set about trying to get a handle on timing and process, both of which changed three times in as many hours.

I personally don’t know how buyers without assistance can keep focus and make good decisions while full of emotion and adrenaline. I have to bite my lip quite often and keep focussed and I’m little more than a bit player with minimal emotional involvement.

2.15pm: For whatever reason determined by the vendor or vendor’s agent, we were informed a boardroom auction would take place at 2.45pm (that’s 30 minutes time!!!) in the agent’s offices. Our client and advocates, who were in the city, Brighton and Williamstown, urgently dropped their other business and made it in time.

2.45pm: After a slightly prickly start, the auction was conducted within the stated rules; a specific strategy was applied against an aggressive, but fair, opposition and our clients were lucky and brave enough to be the purchasers.

4pm: Signatures, a champagne, a welfare check phone call and we all slipped back into our family lives. Our clients have interesting times ahead.

The point of this example is not to say we will always buy if you hire us (we don’t – the opposition may have well-prepared buyer agents representing them, or our clients don’t have, or choose to have, the firepower needed to buy). The point is to show you that there is so much more involved in a supposedly “simple auction process” than people believe.

The property mentioned was meant to be sold in a “simple auction” in a week’s time but events quickly moved ahead of that plan.

In conclusion: None of these around $3 million purchases we made this week were “simple auctions”. It’s our boring, often repeated but true, statistic: of the 68 homes we bought last year in this price bracket less than 1 in 7 were bought under the hammer within 20 per cent of the initial agent’s guide price.

Facts are facts – will you think about engaging a buyer agent afterwards or before you buy?

Buy well

Mal

Albert Park, 55 OGrady: Hey, Andrew! Yes, Michael? I told you the quote was courageous for a single-fronted. Don't talk to me, Michael, I'm in a bad mood - where are those buyers?

Bayside had some strong results, although it was the quietest area for sales of $m+; so overall it was mixed. Good agents are recognising that results are mixed in inner and outer Bayside and this is proven with six sold before auction. Also of note were four apartment sales over $1 million in the past week.

Sales of interest included 25 Menzies Ave (Nick Johnstone of JP Dixon), which sold before auction for more than $3 million after being off-market for a long time. David Wilson also of JP Dixon reportedly sold 23 South Road for in excess of $3 million – a good result.

Auctions we attended this week:

BRIGHTON, 476 New St Bought – four bidders.
A good vibe at the auction of this handsome, renovated, period gem. Auctioneer John Clarkson took bids past the reserve price to a successful sale. Four bidders and a crowd of 80 people.

BRIGHTON EAST, 28 Pine St Bought – five bidders.
A strong result for Leigh Hallamore and Bert Stewart. A slow start but bidding picked up in the end. This land-only property sold under the hammer for $1.921 million. Five bidders.

SANDRINGHAM, 12 Henry St Passed in – no bidders.
A terrific address from auctioneer Martin Ewart, for Ray White, failed to produce any response from the small crowd. A vendor bid of $1 million opened proceedings, but the property was passed in without any further bids.

HAMPTON, 3 Garden St Bought – two bidders.
A crowd of 40 clapped and cheered when this house sold under the hammer for $1.415 million. Auctioneer Mark Earle started proceedings with a vendor bid of $1.3 million and the property was on the market at $1.4 million before selling at the abovementioned price. Two bidders.

BENTLEIGH, 39 Robert St Bought after – no bidders.
Auctioneer Nick Renna opened proceedings with a vendor bid of $1.1 million, followed by a second vendor bid of $1.15 million. Despite Mr Renna’s best efforts, there was no response from the crowd and the property was passed in without any genuine bids. It sold later for $1.28 million.

ALBERT PARK, 55 O’Grady St Passed in – no bidders.
Despite the best efforts of auctioneer Andrew Stuart, and a big crowd of more than 80 people, this auction failed to attract any bids. Passed in after a vendor bid of $2.4 million.

ELWOOD, 356 Barkly St Bought after- one bidder.
A second vendor bid of $1.175 million became a genuine bid when someone from the crowd of around 30 offered that exact price. However, the property failed to sell despite the efforts of auctioneer Torsten Kasper.

Happy Wife Happy Life

Gerald Delany of Kay and Burton bringing the hammer down.

Sandringham, 9 Codrington: Steve Tickell. Passed in for $1.47 million.

A few mixed results in Bayside again today, but mid-week JP Dixon got away a big apartment sale in the Sandown St Golden Mile complex at just under $4 million. That is almost $20 million-worth of apartment and townhouse sales in a week and a bit for Brighton’s big end of town.

Some more significant sales: white-hot Justin Follett sold 77 Well St Brighton during the week for $3.3 million. It was an expressions of interest campaign. If it’s a new developer home in Brighton worth more than $3 million, then, right here and now, Justin seems to have a stranglehold on selling this market. Also from Kay and Burton, the dapper Sturt Hinton quietly unloaded the unfinished and off-market 14 Tennyson St, believed to be north of $4 million. The Willansby St development continues to be well received, with another two sales during the week. The power of location.

10 Harwood Street Brighton – Nick Johnstone, JP Dixon

James Home Rating 768 out of 1000. We like this home a lot. It has a really good family feel and excellent flow in home. 1920s, very well-renovated four-bedroom home. Despite having a south-facing rear, the large side and rear windows let in a lot of light. Position-wise, you could argue this part of Brighton is a little far from the shops but, then, you could also say it’s close to the Bay. I would be most surprised if this was not well received by the North Brighton/Elwood $3 to $3.5 million buyers.

James Control Price: Dirt $1,920,000 + House $1,400,000= $3,320,000 Reference points for land were Drake St Sales such a 1-4 with Buxton in July 2009.

James Auction Report: About 80 people turned out for this auction, which opened on a vendor bid of $2.85 million. Three bidders joined in the action. After a half-time break at $3.06 million, auctioneer Jonathan Dixon announced that the property was on the market. There were no further bids and it sold for $3.06 million.

James Post-Sale Examination: We think we were too bullish on home value on this one and should have had the home around $1.1 million – effectively single level. The market seems to see a home price barrier at around a million for anything single level. One for the memory bank. The result seemed market – it was us who was out. Still more than $3 million for North Brighton though.

11 Butler St Brighton – John Clarkson of Hocking Stuart

James Home Rating 768 out of 1000. Close proximity to school and shops. Good building block and house is livable for the time being. Last one in the street flew at auction.

James Control Price: Dirt $1,462,500+ House $100,000= $1,562,500 Reference point 3 Butler St which sold at $1.47 million under intense competition in April.

James Auction Report: There were four bidders from the crowd of 80 at this auction. Opening with a genuine bid of $1.15 million, this was on the market for $1.2 million and sold for $1.665 million.

James Post Sale Examination: Interested to see because it is rare to get such like with like. This says the market has risen 13 per cent since April for building blocks in this area. And that was when we thought 3 Butler was a stellar selling result. Pretty well as expected result but, nonetheless, this is a bulldozer home and if so then a towards $3 million buy.

Happy Fathers Day.

Two really strong auctions in Bayside yesterday

43 Victoria Sandringham with Buxton’s Mark Earle and Bill Jowett.  5+ bidders – selling under the hammer for $3,350,000 (2700 sq metres of land, with no restrictions and a bulldozer home – which the new owner will do). This means prime Sandringham land (non beachfront) is selling for $1,243 per sq metre. I know Sandy is an extra 10 minutes beyond Brighton but at $1200 per sq metre it’s worth a thought. We are happy to buy for our clients here.

Speaking to Bill Jowett afterwards, whom James Market News likes, we got talking about the market and Bill’s take is that his company has come off a few record months (that’s agent code for we are making a living again) and he says the Bayside has been solid all year and while some buyers and sellers are telling him we are in a bubble, Bill doesn’t read it like that. Stock, in his opinion, is not likely to increase dramatically in the coming months, although if it unexpectedly does in say October then that will tell us the real truth as to whether or not we are out of the mire. But from a sellers point for view Bill thinks things are looking pretty rosy right now.

2a Shandford Brighton sold a week or two ago – beachfront -Golden Mile land. – 531 sq metres with 2 town house permits and water  views – $3,150,000 or $5932 per sq metre. More expensive than Toorak and right up there with Domain in South Yarra and St Vincents Place in Albert Park as the most expensive residential family home land in Melbourne. The laid back but very effective duo of Regina Schmidt and Brian Devlin presiding over the sale.

And speaking of Golden mile views – the second standout auction of yesterday was 180 and 182 The Esplanade selling through Rod Richardson for $4,105,000 or $4863 per sq metre -  3 bidders confirmed this price at auction. With the Esplanade you have the views and near Golden mile beachfront prices, but with traffic.

40 Elwood St Brighton didn’t sell at auction, two weeks ago and is currently for sale at $1.7m. Surprising, although it does show that even in a tight market, issues (3 brs and south facing rear) can prevent a home that is overall quiet appealing from selling.

Our absolute James favourite, 25 Cosham Brighton sold for $5,600,000+, congrats to owners and Sturt Hinton and Stewart Lopez of Kay and Burton. As we said the 7 Cosham St auction sale confirmed land value at $3m and the build was a $2m+; so add in a heap of class and $5,600,000+ is the right money for buyer and seller. Personally I would have loved to have been the buyer.  Speaking of Kay and Burton our missing link from JP Dixon – Ian Jackson is now a director at Kay and Burton. I do think we will now see a quality shoot out on the golden mile between the two top end heavy weight agents; JP Dixon and Kay and Burton – which is healthy for competition, our market and our industry.

66 Black St Brighton sold for $1,930,000 on 814 sq metres. Which makes it $2371 per sq metre for Church St precinct land with an issue (south facing rear). Good result for James Paynter. I think our Bayside wrap is becoming a Buxton tribute show this week – they have done a lot of deals.

Another important Land sale of interest in June

24 Seymour Grove Brighton sold through Kay and Burton for $2,400,000 or $2152 per sq metre for south facing rear land (1115 sq metres) in the Were St Precinct. 66 and 76 Were St Brighton through Hocking Stuart’s John Clarkson and Barb Gregory for $2,250,000 and $2,237,500 respectively (similar land sizes) and we think we have a good land value yardstick around $2000 to $2200 per sq metre for Were St precinct land (south facing rear). North facing rear could be up to $2400 per sq metre and still be at market price.

We also watched 24 Seymour because it sold at the absolute Brighton peak for $2,920,000 or $2618 per sq metre which means that in this case Dec 2007 to June 2009 your saw a 20% drop. To keep it in perspective the $2.9m was a very strong price and by Feb 2008 (3 months later) land in that area was selling for $2100 per sq metre with sales at 29 Seymour (1011 sqm) at $2,160,000 and 13 Wolseley (1040 sq m) at $2,275,000 both with a northerly rear aspect, so superior blocks.

We think Brighton land is coming back strongly in value, although not as quickly as say Kew, Hawthorn and Canterbury land; and has returned to near the 2007 peak, but across the board it has not exceeded all the strong prices paid in late 2007.

As an aside and makes a bit of a mockery of our comment that things are quiet but according to our records Brighton alone has had 27 sales over a million during the school holidays. Which is a “blip on the radar” statistic as Bayside $1m+ sales are still down around 30% for May and June 2009 compared to May and June 2008 (142 down to 112). Almost a quarter of them were in Brighton during the school holidays – trivia but interesting.

Mal was speaking to Nick Johnstone of JP Dixon a few weeks a go over a coffee and heard a similar rumour to what we read in the papers today that the Glyndon Road home on the market for $16m might be selling near that figure. If that is now the case, then that big number is a record for Brighton as far as we are aware. Recession – what recession?

Not a lot of riveting auctions this weekend – 2 or 3 in Elwood worth watching and when I speak to Chris Bevan of JP Dixon next I will have to find out what 19 Dawson St in the Golden Mile sold for as it was to be auctioned this weekend – but has sold before.

Happy Wife, Happy Life