James Paynter in action at 66 Victoria Sandringham - sold under the hammer for $3,500,000 - 3 bidders.

Saturday May 20th Biggest Auctions:

• Canterbury, 35 Monomeath Ave, Doug McLauchlan (Marshall White) passed in and bought afterwards, $4,200,000+, no bidders
  The weather was still and the crowd was strong at this auction – with about 100 people in attendance…(See More in Auction Reports)
• Sandringham, 66 Victoria St, James Paynter (Hodges), under the hammer, $3,500,000, 3 bidders
  An amazing Sandringham house in a popular street, and a decent sized crowd of around 50 had turned up to see what would happen at auction on Saturday…(See More in Auction Reports)
• Fitzroy North, 39 Alfred Crescent, Arch Staver (Nelson Alexander) under the hammer for $4,200,000, 3 bidders
• Caulfield North, 3 Airdrie Road, Darren Krongold (Gary Peer) at auction a tiddly bit under $3,000,000.
• Toorak, 2 Brookville Road, Heather Elder (Marshall White) at auction also a tiddly bit under $3,000,000.

• Kew, 61-63 Alfred St,  passed in, $5,300,000, 2 bidders
  “A landmark auction” were the words that auctioneer Richard James used to describe this auction…(See More in Auction Reports)
• Kew, 1 Selbourne Rd, passed in, $3,670,000, 2 bidders
  Landmark Kew property and this auction was well supported by a solid crowd of around 100 people….(See More in Auction Reports)
• Toorak, 29 Linlithgow, passed in, $3,500,000

35 Hampden Armadale - Over $9,000,000 (Jeremy Fox)

Friday 18th May: Some more $8M+ activity this week with 35 Hampden Armadale (Jeremy Fox) on the public market for a week and sold somewhere between $9,000,000 and $10,000,000. The Art Deco home with tennis court on over 1800 square metres had a James Rating of over 850/1000 for full reports see below and 129 Domain Road (a block of high end apartments) sold through Andrew Baines and Jock Langley for in excess of $8,000,000.

Top End apartments have seen a few sales this last fortnight or so with Peter Kudelka  selling Springfield avenue Toorak before auction for we believe in the mid $3m’s and Marcus Chiminello has sold two apartments at 103 Mathoura Road – including the penthouse for over $4,000,000 and ground floor number 2 for over $3,000,000. These sales represent per sqm rates according of $12,000 plus.

Canterbury 162 Mont Albert Road. Scott Patterson and Tim Picken. Bought Under the Hammer $4,166,000, 3 bidders

Saturday May 12th: Some solid results at the Top End this weekend with 4 from 4 above 4

• Toorak, 10 Rathmines St, Jeremy Fox (RT Edgar), after auction, above $4,300,000
  Auctioneer Jeremy Fox looked quite regal positioned in front of this imposing property flanked by his support team…(See More in Auction Reports)
• Canterbury, 162 Mont Albert Rd, Scott Patterson (Kay & Burton), under the hammer, $4,166,000, 3 bidders
  A medium size crowd gathered in the front garden of this home on the Golden Mile…(See More in Auction Reports)
• Balwyn, 6-8 Fitzgerald St, Alastair Craig (Jellis Craig),under the hammer, $4,025,000, 2 bidders
  The team at Jellis Craig had a reason to smile today, especially Alastair Craig with four of his auctions selling including this property…(See More in Auction Reports)
• Kew, 50 Fellows St, Tom Aylward (Jellis Craig), under the hammer, $4,000,000 plus, 2 bidders.

At $3m it was 50/50 on 8 sales expected to be around $3m and above

• Carlton North, 57 Wilson, Peter Stephens (Nelson Alexander) at auction over $3,500,000
• Richmond, 51 Richmond Terrace, James Tostevin, at auction over $3,000,000
• Armadale, 24 Denbigh Rd, John Morrisby (Jellis Craig), after auction for an amount in excess of $3,000,000,  4 bidders
  John Morrisby kindly provided us with the following information…(See More in Auction Reports)

And some of the pass-ins

• Toorak, 9 Landale Rd, passed in $3,000,000, no bidders
  Showing an affinity for round numbers, auctioneer Gowan Stubbings kicked things off with a vendor bid of $3,000,000…(See More in Auction Reports)
• Middle Park, 68 Park Rd, passed in $2,850,000, no bidders
  A crowd of 60, including a number of young children and dogs, stood widely dispersed in the tree lined street…(See More in Auction Report)
• Brighton, 5 Birdwood Ave, passed in $2,800,000, no bidders
  The sun shone brightly in the front yard of this Spanish Mission style home in Brighton’s Golden Mile…(See More in Auction Reports)

39-41 Mayfield Avenue Malvern over $7million

Saturday 5th May: Today there were two strong results today in the $3m+ segment – but if you dig a little deeper there was a decided lack of interest in a number of homes that passed-in aiming towards $3m.

Malvern, 39-43 Mayfield Ave, Gerald Delaney (Kay & Burton), under the hammer, $7,131,510, 3 bidders
It felt like an entourage of Kay & Burton agents in attendance here and it did take a bit to get going due to the wet weather…(See More in Auction Reports)

Camberwell, 35 Broadway, Alastair Craig (Jellis Craig), under the hammer, $3,425,000, 6 bidders
A much anticipated auction this one as the property was a rare offering – an original home with fantastic bones on excellent land size and prized north facing rear…(See More in Auction Reports)

Pass-Ins

Brighton, 10 Kent Ave, passed in, $3,300,000, 2 bidders
Nick Johnstone is re-auctioning this Golden Mile new build after an unsuccessful effort last year in front of a crowd of around 60…(See More in Auction Reports)

Armadale, 20 Royal Crescent, passed in, $2,500,000, no bidders
There is something about Wayne Gillespie designed spaces – they just work well in terms of proportion and functionality, and the extension at 20 Royal Crescent is no different…(See More in Auction Reports)

St Cloud - 61 Kensington South Yarra - the 5th sale at circa $10m in a month

Early May:Five sales around $10 million mark in recent weeks – but the momentum may be easing.
Before we cover the marginal negative change in market sentiment over the past couple of weeks at the Ultra Top End, we feel it’s important to highlight the 5th sale at around $10 million that took place recently and that confirmed both the Pre Easter market spike and the power of the Kay and Burton Mexican Wave. The latest, a property at 61 Kensington South Yarra, was sold by Andrew Baines (he will need a tax advisor this month!) for more than $13,000,000. The property had something of a chequered past in terms of being on again, off again, sold, then sort of sold, then not sold. As a large landholding so close to the CBD it had positives. But it also had negatives: being near the freeway (noise) and overlooking power lines (visuals). That is what made for an interesting deal – it was a battle of wide opinions. Nonetheless it sold.

That makes a total of five sales in recent weeks at around the $10 million mark. Four were from Kay and Burton and one was from Marshall White.

So, after almost nothing for six months (a Kenley and maybe a Linlithgow excepted), bang – five were gone in a fortnight or so. Obviously buyers and sellers felt better and the K&B agents clearly smelled that. They did their Mexican Wave job well and pre-warned a number of buyers through a whisper campaign of what may happen. And see what happened! As soon as the first domino fell, the agents shouted (quietly) from the roof tops “Told you so” – and that lit the fuse on four more circa $10 million sales.

At times like this, when skilled agents are involved, certain homes appear to be under an irresistible force and deals get done. There is nothing wrong with this. It’s brilliant marketing and it’s what needs to happen to get a number of deals over the line. It’s not all buyers either – sellers are in on the Mexican Wave as well. They hear the whispers, see the results, get told “I told you so” too, and their price dexterity improves as they see real, concrete opportunity floating by.

However now that the early pre-Easter selling season is over, it seems that momentum has been lost again and the buying crowd are refocused on another game.

In the last few weeks the gloss at the Top End has faded a bit. Buyers are not quite as excited about what’s on offer – understandably given there are not a lot of publicly listed new hotties out there. As well some sellers have unwisely misread the recent activity as a market price increase and as such, without thinking, have in many cases put their homes back into the too hard basket.

What do the agents think?

We asked them: ‘Has the market changed a bit in the last week or two?’

Marcus Chiminello, of Marshall White, says that the market has definitely lost some of its ‘ooommpph’ in the last fortnight. ‘But this in my opinion is due to the almost complete lack of new and exciting stock.’

Michael Gibson of Kay and Burton says that while the market is very healthy – his company made four sales totalling around $50m around Easter – he does acknowledge that in the last fortnight ‘we have seen a loss of the momentum and this in my opinion is due almost entirely to the lack of new good quality stock at market prices.’

The Reserve Bank’s interest rate cuts can have  mixed results at the Top End.

The Reserve Bank gave us all a bit of a surprise with its recent rate cut of 50 basis points. But the impact of the rate cuts at the Top End will be mixed.

The diagram below shows the progress of two identical hypothetical negotiations that started before Easter. Back then the difference between what the sellers wanted and what buyers were prepared to offer was $600,000.

With the interest rate cuts, a couple of results could eventuate – especially at the Top End where often there is only one buyer.

On the one hand, a lower interest rate may give the buyer confidence to offer a higher price, as long as they are feeling secure in their job. At the same time, if the seller was say overseas and had an exposure to currency movements, the interest rate change may make the seller nervous. A large exchange fluctuation can alter the value of an offer more radically than any agent argy-bargy. So a seller at exchange risk may alter their price and help the deal and a buyer who is secure in their job may also help the deal in going a little stronger as he finds borrowing to be marginally cheaper. With just a $100,000 difference between offer and expectation there may well be a deal done.

Alternatively, the events of the last few weeks may have the opposite effect. The seller may have looked at some of the recent strong sales on the Top End market and have lifted their expectations even higher thus widening the gap. The buyer on the other hand may look at the interest rate cuts as an indicator of a struggling economy, and become more concerned about their future employment prospects, prompting him or her to reduce his original offer. Now the deal is even further apart, with a difference of $900,000 between offer and expectation.

The point of this hypothetical is to show how complex negotiations can be at this level, and how as a buyer you’ve got to navigate through a number of possible scenarios.

How do you get validation if you want to do more in the way of due diligence than take the selling agent’s word as gospel?

Personal Research – At the moment researching the high end without being in the know has a higher degree of difficulty than an Olympic half pike from the high tower – there seems tremendous secrecy surrounding every sale. With secrecy comes its close friend “uninformed speculation“. And when you throw into the mix limited numbers of sales, inexperienced buyers can bake a very different cake when it comes to value.

Valuers – This is fast becoming a profession under siege as margins are cut dramatically by banks. This means cost-cutting internally, which can lead to a lowering of standards. And once habits of careful fact checking are replaced by wham-bam phone calls to those who have vested interests in rubbery figures, all of a sudden we no longer have credible valuations. Which is not to say that there are not some excellent valuers out there for the Top End. But you need to question whether you should rely on those who have massive contracts with large developers, or who approach their valuations at 60 kilometres per hour with a Google maps mentality. Sure, they’ll fit in with what the selling agents tell you. And there won’t be any problems with the bank lending you the money. But if the figures you’re given are unreliable, you may have a big problem on your hands when it comes to resale.

Solution: Deal with the people who do the deals. Engage them to act on your behalf and ask them to justify and prove their selling or buying price thoughts. If the deal is big enough get verification though a reputable valuer – not one recommended by a selling agent, and not one who specialises in $400,000 Werribee homes – but a real one. Their fee is between $3,000 and $4,000. In this low transaction and therefore weak information market they can be more valuable than a building inspector.

So how do you negotiate in this market?

When validation is not possible and the market is unclear going forward, you really need to be on your game when making decisions – presuming that good decisions are your aim.

So as boring as it sounds, be clear on your goals and whether they fit this market. For instance, buying a home with a short term time horizon and wanting low risk are almost mutually exclusive concepts right now.

Longer term buying may well meet your emotional and financial goals.

Let’s skip the search strategies and some due diligence and get to pricing.

In this market its about price framing rather than price negotiation – by which I mean that haggling over $100,000 is really not the main game, it’s getting into the correct $1,000,000 segment in the first place that’s the most important.

A smidge of what we’ve looked at recently

61 Clendon Road, Toorak with Michael Gibson and Matt Davis. The quote price is $16m to $18m and it’s big land – around an acre  in the old language. The home is a beautiful one and for me the highlight is the library. It perhaps lacks a grand room, but that won’t  be an issue for the purchaser who will have plenty of scope to do what they want. The gardens are expansive and if you have the botanical  passion you will have the room to do something special. Full rating possible.

Off Market in Hawthorn with Jock Langley. The quote is $6m plus and it is a north facing rear, larger period home with tennis court.  The home itself needs a reconfiguration to bring its floor plan into the 21st Century and the garage placement needs some thought to take  full advantage of what’s on offer. Full rating for clients only.

61-63 Alfred St, Kew with Jin Shang from Jellis Craig. This 2300 sqm block with a large period home was sold at public auction in  May 2009 with strong bidding. I remember it well: half a dozen bidders got it to just under $5m. The overseas surge was just starting after the FIRB changes. Two years on and with no major changes to this “back to front” floor plan it will be interesting to see how the market now views this home. A big auction on May 19th. Full rating available.

And one by the beach – 43 Seacombe Grove Brighton with Barb Gregory of Marshall White. No quote is allowed under Executor’s  instructions, but circa $8m is what they may say if they were giving a quote. Interesting variables in this one are the quality of the view – it is strong - and how much extra this is worth. The ability to rebuild close to the front (STCA) and therefore take advantage of this incredible view is another plus. And finally there is a question as to what is the actual land size that prospective buyers will use in their calculations. This is far from a “normal” block. Brighton waterfront has been going at around $10,000 per sq metre for a few sales now, but $12 million wouldn’t seem right for this home given a lot of the block would be classified as driveway access. So is it in fact a 600 sqm  or 800 sqm or 1000 sqm block plus driveway? And is the market still at $10,000 per sqm for land as it was in recent sales at Mytton  and Shandford?

22 South Road Brighton - Mark Earle - Bought After - $3,255,000 - 3 bidders

Saturday April 21st: 22 South Road Brighton (Peter Hickey) Bought After $3,255,000
James Auction Report: Thought I would come to see the only $3m auction on offer today – that is if it is actually gets $3m+.  Auctioneer Mark Earle strides out in front of a crowd of around 60 and launches into a synopsis of the rules, some pearls on the market and his thoughts about how good this home is. Well down to business, let’s see if any bidders share his views on this 1700sqm rambling home with tennis court on South Road. A fair and reasonable start is called for, but none is forthcoming and so a vendor bid is made at $3,000,000. To be honest the crowd doesn’t seem to be excited about things – but in balance it’s unlikely to have anymore than one or two bidders – but it will sell eventually as tennis courts always do. After some patter and some fill a grumpy $3,000,000 is called out and is excepted and replaces the vendor bid. A second bidder tries to get out $3,020,000 but is beaten by a third bidder to $3,050,000 and two bids later we are at $3,100,000. A hesitation and another $25,000 comes from Bidder one to $3,125,000. Bidder Three is looking at Bidder Two who goes to $3,150,000 and after Bidder One says he is out Bidder Three comes in at $3,175,000. Strangely the on the market question is not asked. Mark is working the bidders well and extracts a smaller bid after his suggestion of $10,000 and then a $5,000 and it’s passed in at $3,190,000. Good auctioneering and it’s passed in – it will sell. It did.

35 Sussex St Brighton (Jason Gill) – a home in need of some serious work on good land (880 sqm) has been sold – short or initial expectations but nonetheless a solid number below $2,800,000.

13 Washington Toorak (Hugh Hardy) – a quiet off market of land only – 700 sqm selling for above $5,500 per sq metre.

March finished pretty strongly and, despite a big slowdown in terms of April auctions and new stock, the deals have kept coming. The mainstream media have been claiming a slowdown based on a few paltry sales last weekend, but they’ve been eating a bit too much chocky if they think that represents a true sample of what is happening out there right now at the Top End.  While price is still very iffy, interest isn’t.

May is the pointer for 2012 and we are looking at a number of off market homes and pre-market homes (for listing in May). Which means there will be enough on offer to see where that 2012 pointer goes. Our feelings are that prices are still stabilising and that activity is OK.

Last year we had three activity spikes – one around Easter, one in September and a small one for two weeks in December. Those spikes featured homes in and around $3m to $7m.

March 2012 was definitely a spike in terms of activity and April has continued in that vein; not so much in terms of numbers (due to the holidays) but in terms of substantial deals.

Worth noting are four recent sales at around the $10 million mark (3 over and 1 just under). What that says is that people are acting. We last saw this level of activity in August last year where $55 million worth of property sold across 11 sales. In some ways the 2012 Easter weekend was just as impressive with 3 and possibly a 4th ultra-quiet sale in South Yarra transacting for over $10 million and another one very close to it.

A quick rundown on some of the biggies:

• Level 39, Royal Domain Tower, 368 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
  Whole floor in excess of 50 squares. Sold by Andrew Baines of Kay and Burton – Over $8,000,000.
• 26 Albany Road Toorak
  Set on grounds totaling approximately 2,476sqm, a championship-size tennis court and indoor/outdoor pool. Sold by Michael Gibson of Kay and Burton. Over $10,000,000. On the market for over a year and offers back and forth saw this home sell in excess for we believe $11,000,000.
• 1 Millswyn St South Yarra
  On 2,152sqm approx in South Yarra – yes it’s part commercial but it’s a big piece of residential dirt. Sold by Michael Gibson and Matt Davis of Kay and Burton for over $10,000,000 we believe.
• 21- 23 Kooyoongkoot Road Hawthorn – Sold by Marcus Chiminello of Marshall White. Over $12,000,000
  Tennis court court and pool on 2,788 sqm – just down from another big parcel of land at 33 which sold for around $8,000,000 last month.
• 49 Irving Road Toorak – it’s been on the market longer than Richmond has been trying to win their latest premiership but it has finally been put away by Jeremy Fox for $5,000,000 on the knocker.
• 7 Maple Grove Toorak - slightly dated home with a tricky floor plan. Sold by Michael Armstrong for over $4,500,000
• 38 Havelock Road Hawthorn East – 1300+ sqm in size, had been on the market for some time with initial quotes in excess of $4 million. Sold by Glen Coutinho of Hocking Stuart for just above the mid $3 millions.
• And the Balwyn Formula is back in vogue (sort of), that is, small land, big new home and big price – with 3 such homes recently sold in the suburb: 57 Citview (Brett Philipp);  31 Elliott (John Bradbury) and 111 Winmalee (Jin Shang). All sold for between $2,800,000 and $3,200,000 with land sizes between 650 and 750 sq metres. Prices are down but activity is improving.
• 79 Beaconsfield Parade Albert Park – the sale was managed by Paul Western of Cayzer Real Estate.   On land of 409m2. Passed in at auction on the 3/03/12 and sold on 4/04/12 in the range of $3.2m to $3.5m

Down Bayside way things have been a bit quieter, but that is after a dozen or so $3m+ sales last month. One recent sale was 32 Dawson Avenue (newish home in the Golden Mile), sold by Chris Bevan for an undisclosed amount.

This month, like last month and next month, is shaping up as good solid activity months for buyers and sellers, a number of high end quality agents and the $3m+ market overall.

So if you want to buy there seems little reason to be totally negative, sensible on price and quality yes, but not totally negative. While the market may be down in terms of price from last year and activity is still nowhere near the stellar heights of 2010, there is definitely a heartbeat at this Top End level right now, and that is good news for sellers and buyers alike.

As a company we have been involved in seven deals over a million in April – with three purchased to date and four still pending. The three we purchased were: an Off Market around Gasworks Park in Albert Park (Kaine Lanyon); a pre auction sale in Richmond (Luke Schickerling) and a holiday home (private auction) at Fairhaven with Marty Maher from Great Ocean Properties. We should add that the three agents in these cases were professional to deal with and got solid prices for their vendors – two of the three had multiple bidding.

Finally it does look like the Kay and Burton Mexican Wave is back – although we are not sure that is good news for us buyers and hopefully it won’t last too long.

And to finish with some balance – there are still a number of homes out there that haven’t sold: Kooyongkoot Road, Central Park Road, Kooyong Road to name a few – they are really good homes but ……..

May is looking reasonable for new stock.

Life’s OK.

Week 4 August 27 2011: Not a lot happened at auction in this market this weekend at $3M+, with the exception of 25 Kent Avenue – the action was all last week and it was away from the auctions.

Biggest Sale: 25 Kent Ave, Brighton, Leigh Hallamore (Buxton); After auction, $6,400,000, 4 bidders
Crowd numbers were high to witness the auction of this rare absolute beachfront property.   Auctioneer Leigh Hallamore cleverly positioned himself along the back fence in front of the beach to maximise the emotional impact of the uninterrupted beach views of the (as it turned out) 4 bidders.  With at least three beachfront properties selling recently at $6m, $7m then resold for $8m and an undisclosed price, 25 Kent  was – as expected – strong.  An opening bid of $4m was a ‘dream price’.  A second bidder quickly upped the price to $5.9m and the bidding was on, stopping at $6.35m where the property was passed in to see if there was a bit more.  And there was: a final sale price of $6,400,000 or not too far off $10,000 per sqm if you saw no value in the home. (Kristen Hatt)

Marcus Chiminello of Marshall White: “We are currently seeing great activity in the upper end of  from both buyers and sellers emerging from the depths of winter and that are now prepared to participate in the market as opposed to the past weeks and months when many were prepared to just sit and watch the market. Most of the recent high end market sales have not been an overnight success, most requiring months of dialogue between agent, buyer & vendor. As demonstrated in recent weeks, I believe the trend of discreet off market transactions will continue to grow moving forward as vendors and purchasers alike at the higher end of the market seek privacy with their real estate transactions.”

$3M+ Market Summary: Activity in this $3M+ segment has been building most of this month of August but there has been little to show for it until this past week, which has been a stellar performance by any measure. Bidderman was over 2 on the $3M+ homes purchased.

Agents are reporting that buyers have started to change their attitudes – and for once we don’t think this is spin. The interest is at least partly because the market has been starved of interesting offerings like the property at 4 Mernda Rd, Kooyong (Ross Savas and Michael Armstrong), which was a beauty and had at least 3 bidders over $6million (and would possibly have had a few more if circumstances hadn’t pushed for an early finish to the Expressions of Interest campaign).

Last week’s powerhouse result for Paul Keane and Peter Batrouney at 9 Salisbury Balwyn, where 4 bidders produced another result over $6 million, indicates that some buyers have waited long enough and are saying: “OK if it’s good, it’s priced right and it meets my needs then I’m interested.” There was another one of these on Saturday over $6 million at 25 Kent Ave, Brighton (see full auction report below).

But before you think we’ve been sent a case of Moet by our new found friends on the other side – it’s all about the price and quality of specific properties.  The market is definitely not in an upward phase in terms of price. In fact unless your property is an A grader, and “correctly priced”, it’s likely the price is falling every day you ponder over the signed offer on the table (if you can get one). Smart sellers realise this.

Just to get some balance on what’s happening in terms of price:

• The Mont Albert property sold by Michael Ebeling that we report on below, was a good result. But it sold last year for basically the same price.
• The selling price of St Georges Road, Toorak property represented a greater than 10% discount on the initial asking price. It was a great result in that sub $9million range, but it had no takers for 6 months at $10million.

So what’s to account for this past week’s activity? Partly it’s because buyers can see less choice coming on the near future, due to the Grand Final being on later this year (thus preventing a normal 4 week auction campaign between Grand Final and Melbourne Cup). Partly it’s due to some good $3M+ homes on offer right now. And partly it’s due to underlying demand that has been there for some time. A lot though is because of correct price matching.

No doubt the next few months will see an increased number of stales (long term unsolds) – repackaged, rebadged and remarketed. If they are also repriced then who knows, maybe we will be off again and back to a more normal balanced market (which is what most buyers also want).

Of course, it could all  just be a dream and we will all wake up again soon.

There were some good Private Sales through the week and we saw a return to off market transactions, as well as two successful Expressions of Interest:

• Ross Savas and Michael Armstrong of Kay and Burton held a Boardroom Auction last Thursday for 4 Mernda Rd, Kooyong. (This had brought forward the original Expressions of Interest deadline for Tuesday of next week.) Its “on the market”  price was around $6,000,000, and it sold for between $6,000,000 and $6,500,000 with 3 bidders. See our ratings below.
• Michael Ebeling of RT Edgar got 12 Stanhope St, Mont Albert away for towards $3million – off market. This was around what it reportedly sold for last year. Not all bad news in that.
• Rob Vickers Willis and Tim Derham of Abercromby’s sold 10 William St, South Yarra under the hammer for over $5,000,000 at a Wednesday private auction. See our ratings and report below.
• Michael Cooney of Hodges sold 50 Ebden Ave, Black Rock (a two hatter with a 700+ rating) for over $3,400,000. This modern home was a goodie, but it’s been rare to see homes sold for more than $2 million in this area since 2009. So this was a good result and the best sale in Bayside we can report for the week.
• Expressions of Interest – 333 Glenferrie Rd, Malvern with Gerald Delany and Nicole Gleeson – sold for over $3,500,000.
• Post Last Week Auction Pass In 24 Hawthorn Grove, Hawthorn – Paul Keane – sold for an undisclosed amount above $3,000,000
• Off Market:4 Mathoura Rd, Toorak – Peter Bennison of Marshall White. This went to auction last year (or maybe earlier), and has now been traded for more than  $3,000,000
• Off Market:10 St Georges Rd, Toorak – Marcus Chiminello – This home has been through a few agents and while it did not achieve what we thought was an incredible asking price of $10,000,000 earlier in the year, it did actually get close to $9,000,000 in the last week or so – still an incredible price. See our home rating
• Off Market: 3 Murray St, Armadale also Marcus Chiminello. It also sold for just shy of $4,000,000 recently.

These sales represent the best or close to best numbers in this Top End $ segment this year.

Agent Survey: Why is this week’s $3M+ improved performance happening?

Paul Keane: With the stock-market on what appears a roller-coaster ride over the past month or so, people are retreating from it and investing that money in the good old “bricks and mortar”. I have spoken to several people over the past week and they believe the real estate market is off by about 10% from last year (some claim more) so if you are looking to upgrade your real estate portfolio there is so much upside….why not buy a $6m home that may have been worth $7m this time last year…..nothing much has really changed… only people’s mindsets are different.

Michael Armstrong: Some buyers are no longer getting burnt by the share market (they’re out). Some buyers have got sick of waiting. Some buyer attitudes have changed.  (Second tier homes though are continuing to drop in price.)

Mike Gibson: Definitely gained some traction in the last few weeks

9 Salisbury St, Balwyn - Peter Batrouney and Paul Keane. Competition by 4 bidders resulted in a very strong price under the hammer of $6,620,000

And now for a brief excursion back through the market of August 2011.

Week Three August 20, 2011: Whilst there was little, actually no doubt that prices were dropping across the general market and the $3M+ segment was well down on activity compared to this time last year there continued to be a tantalizing number of goings on to let those involved at this level think we may just be having something to do come Spring. Furthermore whilst we had been saying that activity off market was more talk than substance in the last week or so we were involved in and had seen a couple of deals that again confirmed that if the stock was actually for sale (meaning at market buy price not a seller dream price) then a deal could be done – as long as the buying  and selling agent were reasonable at their job and both the vendor and buyer had some patience. Boughts and solds this week

At Auction:

• 9 Salisbury St, Balwyn – Peter Batrouney and Paul Keane. 4 bidders resulting in a very strong price under the hammer of $6,620,000 ( See our auction report)
• 30 Mangarra Canterbury – James Tostevin. 4 bidders and a strong $3,210,000 under the hammer
• 24 Hawthorn Grove Hawthorn – Paul Keane – Post Auction for an undisclosed amount above $3,000,000

Kew, 49 Sackville St - James Tostevin - 4 bidders - Under the hammer $4,310,000

Week Two August 13, 2011: There was life at the Top End (even if the heartbeat was faint) as evidenced by some good Top End $3M+ results.

• South Yarra 83 Walsh – Justin Long and Peter Bennison – Bought After $4,842,950 – $5,327,750
• Kew 49 Sackville – James Tostevin – Under the hammer – 4 bidders – $4,310,000
• Camberwell 87 Broadway – Richard Winneke – Bought After – 1 bidder – $3,795,250
• Hawthorn 4 Glan Avon – James Tostevin – Under the hammer – 3 bidders – $2,815,000
• While mid week 8 Myoora Toorak (Over $10,000,000) did not sell at a Thursday auction (it’s a home that requires a very specific buyer and could be hard to sell even in a stronger market) -  8 Blackfriars Close Toorak (Justin Long) our biggest pass-in last week-end at $3,000,000 (0 bidders) did sell for $3,250,000 on Monday.
• Peninsula – in one of “the” streets – Spindrift in Flinders – we saw Marketnews favourite and nice lady Prue McLaughlin of Kay and Burton sell a home for an undisclosed amount well over $4,500,000. As well Andrew Hines got 57 Tubbarubba Merricks North (over 60 acres) away for around $3,500,000
• 19 Lovell St Hawthorn East -Modern home saw the Expressions of Interest campaign brought forward by Sam Wilkinson and Scott Patterson and a sold sticker in the mid $3m’s

Not quite $3m - which is the story of the $3M+ Market this 2011 winter - 18 Knutsford St, Balwyn, Richard Earle, Bought After for $2,730,000 on a vendor pass-in of $2,300,000.

Week One August 6, 2011: We had a few comments that we hadn’t put up a $3M+ market report since May. That was for a good reason – it would have been an almost blank sheet. However there were some sputters  of life from deep within – a sign that the top end engine could be starting to turn over again. From our own company’s point of view we were involved in 3 dealings after having been bereft of activity for most of winter at this level.

• A sale in Boroondara this last month at just over $6M – completely off market
• 24 Boxshall St, Brighton (David Hart), which has been on the market for a long time, has finally changed hands for just under $3M
• 4 Sussex St Brighton (Regina Schmidt and Brian Devlin) sold for a hard-to-believe $3,775,000. We attended that auction and the result was … well brilliant.
• and while down in Bayside, 2 Tennyson St, Brighton with Jonathan Dixon, after passing in at auction a month or so ago, just sold for around that pass-in figure and well over $3,000,000
• 12a Harrison Crescent, Hawthorn, which had a rating too low to put up on our site, was sold by Sam Wilkinson of Kay and Burton for over $3,000,000
• Along with 3 Irymple Ave, Glen Iris (Iain Carmichael); 5 Story St, Parkville (Tom Roberts) and 80 South Road, Brighton (Barb Gregory) in the last week, the Top End over $3M is trying to work its way back into some form.

Back to the Future – What’s up Ahead?

With a couple of big homes due for auction next weekend – including 49 Sackville St, Kew (James Tostevin); 7 Foote St, Brighton (Phillip French of RT Edgar) and 83 Walsh St, South Yarra (Peter Bennison and Justin Long)  - we will begin to see if there is some air at the higher altitudes as we limp into the footy finals – traditionally a key indicator for activity in the early and late Spring markets at the $3M+ level.

“No way mate - this market is fighting back– taking no prisoners today (April 9th).” John Bongiorno. Malvern 54 Stanhope. Bought $3,170,000. 3 bidders.

Week Ending 30th April: Back from a week or two off, this market now, has a fairly clear run till Christmas, with a only brief breaks for a couple of holiday weekends.

Over the next four to six weeks we should see more choice and some reasonable activity (although not expected anywhere near the levels of last year), as the May market is a traditional agent preferred selling time. Why? Well there is a good stretch of time until Queens Birthday weekend to run an uninterrupted campaign. Stock Quality is the unknown.

Come July things will be relatively quiet as there is a general sellers’ feeling (rightly or wrongly) that good homes do not look their best at this time of the year and accordingly a number of high end selling agents take winter holidays in Europe and therefore do not program campaigns to be run in their absence.

In the post Easter week or so there have been ten or more high end sales including the representative  half dozen below

• 15 St Ninians in Brighton for between $8m and $9m – perhaps not a lot more than what is was sold for less than 2 years ago (need to look up sale time to be absolutely sure of date) – Justin Follett of Kay and Burton
• 255 New Brighton for between $5.5m and $6m – Regina Schmidt and Brian Devlin of Buxton
• 50 Hotham St East Melbourne which had been on the market for at least 6 months for $7million – Paul Richards of Hocking Stuart – on the market for a fair bit of last year and also a failed auction. Nonetheless a reasonable price – not everything the sellers wanted – but more than had been offered at times in the past by buyers. A good result for both parties.
• 150 Clarendon East Melbourne – the Salta apartments saw Anton Wongtrakun deliver another big sale at $5,200,000 for Unit No 4
• Out to the paddocks of Lower Plenty with a Marketnews favourite Rocco Montanaro of Morrison Kleemand who achieved close to $3m on an Expressions of Interest Campaign for a good home on 7 acres at 75 Cleveland.
• And we round up our selection of high end Easter Sales with a $6M+ sale at Mount Eliza 15 Freemans Road – Michelle Skoglund of Aqua

In summary over Easter the market at this level has not been dead, but definitely subdued – there is increasingly a dampening mood in terms of both buyer and seller confidence. Time will tell if this is a short or longer term phenomenon. Price will play a important part going forward as we seemingly move into more uncertain market conditions – i.e. ones that are not as clear as they have been in the past 2 years since we awoke from the GFC. Overall the market now and in fact all of 2011 has not been strong at the $3m+ level – but there are still enough transactions (especially in Bayside) of sufficient value to avoid holding a wake just yet.

With winter approaching and a fair amount of stock available we think it is a buyers’ market and the future is best described as – “uncertain times”.

Finishing on a positive note our James Investment Division has seen some solid interest with investors coming back into the market (rentals are improving) and one current flavor of the times is blocks of flats. Some examples of what we are talking about.

Finishing on a positive note our Investment Division has seen some solid interest with investors coming back into the market (improving rentals as well) and one current flavor of the times is blocks of flats. Some examples of what we are talking about.

Week Ending 16th April:The $3m action this week was away from auctions.

The drought in the Balwyn Formula – big price, small land, new home – was broken again with Maurice Di Marzio getting 59 Hosken Street, Balwyn North away in the high $3 millions. That’s the third in a week on the back of the two biggies reported last weekend.

Canterbury, 11 Chaucer Close, with Boroondara doyen Peter Mitchell of Marshall White, got the same sort of high $3 millions price.

Hawthorn, Harcourt St, was a hot place to be this week with Nick Ptak getting 79a away for just under $3.4 million (we think) and one of the results of recent times. Peter Vigano of Jellis Craig  got $3.625 million for 42 (we did not see that price coming)

Speaking of good results, Marcus Chiminello got a price in the high $3 millions for 2/264 Walsh St, South Yarra. It’s not our job to talk agents up but in a slow apartment market Marcus has got a number of solid results.

St Kilda West, 10 Loch St, with John Holdsworth sold for $3,650,000.

Andrew McMillan from Benmac got 367 Beaconsfield St, Kilda West away in the $4m to $5m range after a very lengthy campaign (probably due to previous asking prices).

At Auction today 68 Hopetoun Rd,  Toorak with Jellis Craig’s Steve Abbott, sold afterwards for $3.05 million. That was up a few hundred thousand dollars on the last time it sold around a year ago.

Week Ending 9th April: The strongest week this year for the $3m+ Top End market:

South Yarra 43 Marne St: Nicole Gleeson of Kay and Burton: Well over the $12,000,000 quote range making Domain Precinct land values at $8,000 per sqm for the bigger blocks.

Hawthorn 51 Berkeley St with Tim Blackett also of Kay and Burton: North of $7,000,000 on Scotch Hill for a good home that needs some reworking and a tennis court.

While still in Hawthorn Mr Nice Guy and Very Effective Tim Picken of Jellis Craig got away the quinella with 25 Mary St (Modern in Grace Park) being bought for a credible $4,300,000 and 1 Hilda (period in Grace Park) for $2,800,000. Both a little down on ambitious asks but nonetheless solid prices for what they were.

But wait there’s more and was it us who cried out the death of the Balwyn formula- new build, small block, overpriced. Well on a technicality were are still credible as it’s neighbouring Kew; but with 21 Macartney (Walter Dodich of Marshall White) and 5 Mawson (Peter Dixon of Jellis Craig) both selling at auction today for $4 million’ish, the death of this market maybe a little exaggerated. However please it is only two sales, but they were biggies.

The news doesn’t stop for sellers there with period home successes at 50 Wattle Valley Canterbury (Duane Wolowiec and James Tostevin) selling under the hammer for a strong $3,465,000; 54 Stanhope Malvern with Rae Tomlinson also under the hammer for $3,170,000 and 13 Rubens Grove Canterbury with Fletcher’s Jeremy Desmier bought before for over $3,000,000.

Bayside has recorded a few strong sales as well with 29 Bay Street Brighton (Bert Stewart of Buxton) selling post auction over $3,550,000 and the final result put north facing (no view) Golden Mile land over $3,200 per sq metre. That is a steady as she goes price similar to last year Golden mile (no view) buys. And another $3m+ sale with a strange twist (all non bidders asked to leave) at 40 Drake Brighton (Ian Jackson).

While on land sales 1073 Malvern Road Toorak (Justin Long) passed in at $3,225,000 and a reserve was offered – not taken up – two new bidders appeared and a second auction took place resulting in a sale well over the pass in figure.

Why all this activity? Pass-ins are still languishing in large numbers without much interest. However its all about quality and new stock and buyer confidence. All three things happened this week -

1. buyers felt better in themselves (confidence);
2. buyers felt this week had some real quality offerings (quality)
3. and buyers couldn’t see a lot of stock coming one (limited new stock)

Post Easter is no Buyer lay down misere after today’s results.

Like many auctions this weekend, a lot of standing around, not doing much. MALVERN EAST, 9 Lewes Drive: Passed-in at $2,500,000 with two bidders. Anthony Grimwade (RT Edgar)

At 6pm on Saturday the James Clearance rate for $M+ was 57% on the 30 auctions we attended. That was well down on last week’s cameo of excitement, but understandable giving the quality change between this week and last week at the Top End.

Bidderman, our demand indicator, was 1.5 bidders per auction. However the quality of the offerings was one of the lowest this year.

While there were a few volcanoes (4 or more bidders), what was more interesting was that 1 in 3 homes were ducks meaning they didn’t get a bid a all. We think that was a confirmation of the market reaction to this weekend’s lack of Top End quality.

In fact, only 1 in 5 of $M+ homes monitored this weekend sold under the hammer.  The rest sold before or soon after – or didn’t sell at all. That’s an Under the Hammer Clearance Rate of 20%.

What that means is that in this current market buyers need a lot more than just a ‘hand up in the air and hope’ strategy to buy homes well.

Market Summary:

There were plenty of auctions at the lower levels, e.g. at or around a million dollars, but many lacked any WOW factor.

A number of the key selling agents were off this weekend on holidays and, as with many buyers, they seem to have turned their attention to pursuits other than buying and selling.

It was hard to find a property over $2 million up for auction. The only $3 million plus auction we saw in Toorak was at 68 Hopetoun Road with Steve Abbott of Jellis Craig – an art deco that seems to get sold every 12 months (see report below).

The REIV median prices came out this week and rightly confirmed what the market has been saying for some time: Prices are weaker.

This year to date has been a positive one for buyers with reduced competition, more choice and lower prices. On the flip side the buying opportunities are only such if you take them (a Steve Abbott auction line).

Next week, there are almost no auctions and not too much the week after.

Post Easter, as we said last week, may or may not be a different story. But our feeling is that quality choice will dry up and the big issue will become finding a rose amongst the thorns, the pass-ins and the stales. If those roses are hard to find then prices for them will firm as new quality drops with discretionary vendors adopting a wait and see strategy.

What Sold Well – Volcanoes with 4 or more bidders

• Albert Park, 62 Barrett St – Peter Simmons – Nicely renovated Period Home – $1,575,000
• Hawthorn, 23 Falmouth St – Hamish Tostevin – Nicely renovated Period Home – $1,330,000
• Hawthorn, 11 College St – Richard Earle – Nicely renovated Period Home – $1,409,000
• Kew, 36 Maitland Ave – David Oster – Land site – $1,345,000
• Toorak, 80 Grange Rd – Rodney Morley – Nicely renovated Period Town Residence – $1,500,000

$3M+ market: Overall, the high end at $3 million+ appears as weak as it has been for 12 months. Although  a shortage of new quality stock post Easter has put some zing back into the market as some buyers are forced to act.  Growing kids, divorce, lifestyle, whatever cannot wait for everyone indefinitely. Go to our $3m+ report to see most of the last weeks’ 10+ sales.

Michael Armstrong, Kay & Burton, South Yarra: “I think we can expect a fairly normal market post Easter.  Market conditions are settled and stock levels looking forward to May/June are lighter than what we’ve experienced in the past couple of months.  Vendors have had to adjust their expectations in recent times and buyers with long term views have realised that the past few weeks have presented them with good opportunities. The better quality offerings will continue to attract competition and alternatively  buyers will continue to deal harshly with those vendors (and agents) who price properties incorrectly.”

ST KILDA, 2 Marine Pde: On a bit of a rollercoaster day, it was apt to have the Scenic Railway at Luna Park as the backdrop of this Claudio Perruzza (Biggin Scott) auction. Passed in, $1,850,000, no bidders

Biggest Sale we covered: 68 Hopetoun Rd, Toorak, Steve Abbott (Jellis Craig); after auction, $3,050,000, 3 bidders
“This art deco property with Heritage One (HO1) overlay was looking for a committed buyer to make it a home. A vendor bid of $2,800,000 got the proceedings underway and the first bidder entered the race with a bid of $2,850,000. A second vendor bid of $2,900,000 signalled that the bidding was still some way off from the desired sale price. Auctioneer Steven Abbott wouldn’t entertain an increment of $5,000, demanding at least $10,000 to stay in the race. Despite keen bidding, this property was passed in at $3,020,000 but this was just the start of the negotiations. Bought after for $3,050,000.” (Debbie McTaggart)

Biggest Pass In we covered: 12 Dudley Pde, Canterbury, Doug McLauchlan (Marshall White); passed in $2,000,000, no bidders
“Doug McLauchlan took centre stage in the very big, leafy backyard of this great property and looked ready for action. Assisted by his Marshall White team, Mr McLauchlan explained that the circa 1923 home had been in the same family for a massive 72 years. But even the sentimentalists amongst us in the crowd weren’t ready to put their hands in the air and bid. Mr McLauchlan opened and closed on a vendor bid of $2,000,000.” (Jen Milligan)

Auction Video: Architect Adam heads to sunny Hawthorn this week to witness a ripper auction at 23 Falmouth St, a Marshall White property with auctioneer Hamish Tostevin.  Click on the live action.

Big Issue and Weekend Reflections: Coming back after the Easter holidays.

Two Weeks Off: Marketnews will be on holiday for two weeks with our next Marketnews on the 7th of May. A number of agents are talking up the 21st and 28th of May as possible Super Saturdays (as buyers let’s hope so). For James Buyer Advocates it will be business as usual.

We Only Buy Homes and have a safe Easter break:

Job Advertisement:

MALVERN EAST, 15 Albert St: There was a bit of fence sitting at this Andrew Hayne (Marshall White) auction, and not a lot of action. Passed in $1,600,000, no bidders

With not much on offer this weekend, only one over $3m ( Steve Abbott – 68 Hopetoun Rd, Toorak) and minimum quality at the lower end, my thoughts turned to family, holidays and the Pies. Winter will be a time of continuing opportunity, but as buyers we will have to work hard to find them. And you will still need some bravery if you wish to take those opportunities. Overall, unless you are convinced that the world is going to fall apart, this is the best time to buy since GFC 2008 – providing it is the right home at the right price.

South Yarra, 2/264 Walsh St. A good high $3 million result from Marcus Chiminello. It’s not our job to talk agents up,  but in a slow apartment market Marcus has got a number of solid results in recent times.

Andrew Hayne, Marshall White, Armadale: “There will be a bit more stock post Easter, but May won’t be as busy as years gone by due to Easter being a bit later. The 3 weeks leading up to the June long weekend will be busy after the school holiday period, and then slow down again.”

Daniel Wheeler, Marshall White, Armadale: “What we will see beyond Easter will be fair prices being paid for properties, and a shrinking amount of property becoming available leading into the colder months. June is distracted with a long weekend, and yes, it’s school holidays time again – so we will have some interruptions. In the meantime, enjoy the quieter roads!”

Have a good holiday from all things real estate and see you back bright, refreshed and ready to buy after Easter. Drive safely – Mal.

“Oh Yeah Sure Buddy - you are joking, aren't you?” Sold for an undisclosed amount, $500,000 over reserve. 4 bidders. Ivanhoe East 32 Warncliffe. David Oster.

At 6pm on Saturday the James Clearance rate for $M+ was 71% on the 34 auctions we attended. WOW – 71%, a big change from last month.

Bidderman, our demand indicator of bidders per auction, was at 1.8. So on our biggest $M+ auction weekend so far this year, when you would expect buyers to thin out and Bidderman to drop, it actually went up on the trend of the last few weeks.

It may be just one day but it was strong out there this weekend. For the first time since late February our advocates reported feeling feeling genuine price pressures whilst bidding.

Market Summary: The big question is whether this is a statistical blip or whether we are a seeing the trend return towards a balanced market. If so, why?

1. Buyers feel a little better than they did last month and confidence came back into the market as a result. Our enquiry rates are certainly up.
2. The overall quality of homes on offer was up on previous weeks and they were plentiful in number. We saw lots of 700+ James Home Rating (quality) homes go to auction this weekend.
3. Last week as buyers looked into the future they saw that the cupboard of  post Easter offerings was bare – and so they adjusted their game plan accordingly.

Whether this is a blip or a trend change will largely be determined by what discretionary sellers do in May. If they are encouraged by this weekend’s results to put their properties onto the market, then prices may stay softer than last year. If those sellers stay out and demand continues as is, then the overhang of stales will begin to be mopped up and the good buying conditions of the last months (price and choice) will dissipate.

This weekend, again, we saw the overall power of the Melbourne market and the power of demand and supply. There is an underlying strength in Melbourne homebuying (based in immigration and lack of homes), that has slackened off in recent times as buyers become more circumspect with concerns about overseas events, jobs, and who knows what exactly. As well there has been plenty of choice. BUT as soon as there is a hint of a quality stock shortage the market responds, particularly with regards to well-located quality family homes, on land and of a period flavour. And it responds strongly.

More insights

• It wasn’t just the consistent $1m to $1.5m range holding up its end in isolation, this was also the strongest single week this year for $3m+ buys.
• It was the second strongest clearance rate of the year, despite an almost Super Saturday (140 $M+ Auctions – Inner East and Bayside)
• We saw consistent bidding across the board, with over 75% of monitored auctions having at least one bidder.
• The big question going forward after our Easter market break is whether nervous sellers will re-enter the market on one week’s good showing.
• Prices are generally down on this time last year (there are exceptions), so good homes are attractive right now. And while new choice may become limited,  some existing choice (overhang) still remains.
• Top End rentals are getting considerably more rent than expected as supply in relation to demand is tightening. This observation from two agents needs more examination at a later date. We’re interested in how widespread this may be, why it is happening and what effects it may have on the buying market. (Are borderline investors perhaps re-entering the Top End?).

Wild and Wooly - the weather that is, not Rob Vickers-Willis. Toorak 3 Denham. Passed In $2,010,000. 2 bidders.

The $3m+ Market’s strongest 2011 week so far (some examples):

South Yarra 43 Marne St: Nicole Gleeson of Kay and Burton: Bought well over the $12,000,000 quote range, putting Domain Precinct land values at $8,000 per sqm for the bigger blocks.

Hawthorn 51 Berkeley St with Tim Blackett also of Kay and Burton: Over $7,000,000 on Scotch Hill for a good home with tennis court that needs some floor plan reworking.

While still in Hawthorn, Mr Nice Guy and the Very Effective Tim Picken of Jellis Craig got away the quinella with 25 Mary St (modern home in Grace Park) being bought for a credible $4,300,000 and 1 Hilda (period home in Grace Park) for $2,800,000. Both prices were a little down on ambitious asks but they were nonetheless solid prices for what they were.

Kew – Was it us who cried out the death of the Balwyn formula – i.e. new build, small block and overpriced? Well technically we are still credible, because these were in neighbouring Kew: with 21 Macartney (Walter Dodich of Marshall White) and 5 Mawson (Peter Dixon of Jellis Craig) both selling at auction today for $4 million-ish, the death of this market may be a little exaggerated. It was only two sales, but they were biggies.

Malvern and Canterbury -  50 Wattle Valley, Canterbury (Duane Wolowiec and James Tostevin) sold under the hammer for a strong $3,465,000; 54 Stanhope Malvern with Rae Tomlinson also under the hammer for $3,170,000 and 13 Rubens Grove Canterbury with Fletcher’s Jeremy Desmier bought before for over $3,000,000.

Bayside has recorded a few $3M+ sales as well, with 29 Bay Street, Brighton (Bert Stewart of Buxton) selling post auction over $3,550,000. The final result put north-facing Golden Mile land (no view) at more than $3,200 per sq metre. That is a “steady as she goes price” similar to last year’s Golden mile (no view) buys. Another $3m+ sale with a strange twist (all non bidders asked to leave auction) was at 40 Drake Brighton (Ian Jackson of Kay and Burton).

Toorak While on land sales, 1073 Malvern Road (Justin Long) passed in at $3,225,000 and a reserve was offered which was not taken up by the pass-in bidder. Two new bidders appeared and a second auction took place resulting in a sale well over the pass-in figure.

For full details each week of what is happening in the Top End $M+ market see our regular $3-Million-Plus Market Reports.

Round the Grounds – Price this year v last year and a word on Post Easter stock levels.

Malvern John Bongiorno, Marshall White: “Price is a little softer on certain homes but on high quality homes they are still rocking, granted buyers are more discerning. Stock levels are not as strong as last year. Rentals at the top end are exploding in the middle and top end market. Big news is rents have increased, possibly making investments more attractive at the higher end. There is such a shortage of homes to rent.”

Caulfield Rodney Morley, Woodards: “I think the negativity means less stock is coming on in May and Winter. Everybody wants records that are not coming at the moment. The market is definitely softer than this time last year in price. Buyers (then) were buying anything. Right now, buyers do not feel that urgency. No question that the market is softer.”

Brighton Bert Stewart, Buxton: “I think the market is around 10% down on some top end homes. Stock levels and therefore buyer choice after Easter are not looking good.”

Camberwell Geoff Hall, Noel Jones: ”Prices are down around 10% on this time last year, with some exceptions for quality homes, and stock post Easter is just not coming on like it did last year.”

Hawthorn Richard Winneke, Jellis Craig: “Big drop in new buyer enquiry this week. Probably due to the holiday factor but it was a noticeable drop. Rentals are definitely getting more than I expected price-wise and this may stimulate investment into Top End homes. East of Burke Road (Camberwell and Canterbury) has not performed as well as Hawthorn and Kew this year to date. I think prices are still relatively solid around that early million dollar mark but softer higher up.”

Carlton Tom Roberts, Nelson Alexander:  ”Stock levels Post Easter are tightening with only the sellers that need to sell going to market. Good homes still going exceptionally well but those results are in amongst the not so good going not quiet so well as last year. Prices are down a smidgen.”

Playing for Keeps here. Big 150 plus crowd. 29 McKinnon, Carlton. 3 bidders. Bought for a whopping $1,417,000 (462 sqm). We thought it was justified, but it was still big. Nick Renna, Peter Sinclair and Melissa Ryan of Hocking Stuart

Biggest Sale we covered: 21 Macartney Ave, Kew; Walter Dodich (Marshall White): After auction, undisclosed around $4,000,000
“Being in the coveted Sackville area this auction attracted a large crowd of about 100. The crowd were well spread out and even blocked the road in front of the property as they heard auctioneer Walter Dodich open proceedings. The auction began in Mr Dodich’s own words with a ‘traditional’ vendor bid at $3,700,000 as no one was willing to start things off. However this was the trigger that allowed two bidders to start the battle off for the property. Initially there were meant to be three bidders however the third bidder couldn’t get his bid in as he always cut off by the other two. When he finally got one in there was applause from the crowd and a cry of joy from the bidder. As the auction went on, the climax built and the crowd held their breath as the price rose and rose yet there was still no indication from Mr Dodich about whether the property was on the market or not. At $4,000,000 Mr Dodich passed the property in and after lengthy negotiations the property was bought after for an undisclosed amount.” (Josh Bong)

Biggest Pass in we covered: 72 Kerferd St, Malvern East, John Bongiorno (Marshall White); Passed in, $2,800,000, no bidders
“With 300 people having viewed this property and 100 or so crowded into the garden of this Gascoigne Estate home, auctioneer John Bongiorno was confident of a sale. But it was not to be with a vendor bid of $2,800,000 the only one of the day and the property passed in. However, with one interested party heading inside, it may not be long before this stunning property is sporting a ‘sold’ sign.” (Debbie McTaggart)

The Big Issue: Architect Adam and Klarity Kris discuss whether they believe buying conditions will be as good post-Easter as they are now.

Auction Video: This week Jen Milligan, our Market News Co-ordinator, fills in for our advocates who were busy with other auction commitments. 15 Epping St, Malvern East, a BenMac auction with Iain Carmichael. Click on the live action auction video.

Buyer Masterclass: Conditions are great for homebuyers – so where are they?

We Only Buy Homes

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MALVERN EAST, 72 Kerferd St: A large crowd gathered for the auction of this Gascoigne Estate home, but there was no sale. John Bongiorno (Marshall White), passed in, $2,800,000, no bidders

Key Points:

• A lot on offer in Stonnington today with 42 auctions monitored over a $m with 22 homes over a million bought.
• Although there was a lot on offer – it was a mixed bag quality wise.
• If there is such a thing the good home clearance rate index would have shown a better result than the stats.
• It was a case of a lot of the good stuff sold, some of the good stuff didn’t and much of the overpriced and/or rubbish got what it deserved – zilch.

What sold well

• South Yarra 43 Marne St: Nicole Gleeson of Kay and Burton: Well over the $12,000,000 quote range making Domain Precinct land values at $8,000 per sqm for the bigger blocks. Private Sale mid week
• 54 Stanhope Malvern with Rae Tomlinson under the hammer for $3,170,000.
• 1073 Malvern Road Toorak (Justin Long) passed in at $3,225,000 and a reserve was offered – not taken up – two new bidders appeared and a second auction took place resulting in a sale well over the pass in figure.
• Malvern East – 13 Chanak with Maddie Kennedy and John Manton of Marshall White – great “feel” home but tougher location being fringe Gascoine to get the $2m plus number – it got it.
• Toorak – 3 May – Richard Hornidge of RT Edgar – a bit of a dog single fronted needing a reno but was priced sensibly – bought for $1,055,000.
• Toorak – 1a Nareeb Court  – Matthew Wassylko of Marshall White – 0 bidders last year, this year 3 bidders and was bought for $2,940,000.

What didn’t sell well

• Luxury Apartments seem to have ground to a halt – one big exception 2701/368 St Kilda Road Melbourne $3,410,000 – Marcus Chiminello – No real capital growth there, but at least it sold.
• Toorak – 3 Denham – Courageous price expectations?
• Malvern – 225 Tooronga – Difficult location?
• South Yarra -  3 Shipley – Good home and garden but some Punt Road noise and some overlooking?

PRAHRAN, 2 Westbourne St: Elliot Gill (BenMac) in action. Under the hammer, $1,080,000, 3 bidders

Key Points:

• Stock is now starting to dry up as Easter interrupts the market and with the vibe dropping since Labour Day we may well see limited stock in the discretionary upper end market coming on Post Easter.  19 Huntingfield Toorak (Justin Long) was a classic example of a limited offering that captured the markets’ attention – even allowing for building value at $2,000,000 (and that is generous) that would leave land value with a north orientation at around $5,000 per sq metre. That is not a lower than 2010 or giveaway price.
• Another good land pointer is 60 Repton Road – one of my fav areas just near Ardrie Park – a 700 sqm block sold for $1843 per sqm through Dean Gilbert of Marshall White
  

STOP PRESS: March, while not huge in numbers, did finish the month with 3 solid mid week $3M+ buys – including 4 bidders at $7 million or better at 2 of them.

• Toorak Ottawa Avenue : Jeremy Fox of RT Edgar – quiet sale off market in the mid $8m’s
• Toorak 19 Huntingfield: Justin Long and Peter Bennison of Marshall White – mid week auction, 3 bidders and on the market at $6,700,000. Bought under the hammer for $7,060,000. James Connell said afterwards that this market was not all bad news and Huntingfield supported that.
• South Yarra – The Caroline Coachhouse – they were looking for $3m ish for a very long time (eg in the years) and now Mike Gibson – Kay and Burton has got it away.

Justin Long, Marshall White, Armadale: “The way I see things at present, we are experiencing some mild upward pressure on prices but not enough to fill big gaps between market value and vendors’ expectations where those gaps have been created through over-optimism by either agent or vendor. Fairly priced properties in good locations are being competitively sought and those looking for ‘opportunities’ are, as is often the case, forced to compromise on location or suitability. Some are extremely lucky, but most in fact will ultimately pay what is required to buy the home they really like or sit on the sidelines and watch values eventually rise beyond them.”

New Subscriber System: Over the next few weeks we will  introduce a free subscription model giving you greater access to our council-specific wraps, which include auction results, news, opinion and analysis on a micro level. This subscription model helps us improve your browsing experience as clients or general subscribers by delivering more relevant content to you on the site and in your email newsletter. Sign up by clicking Subscribe at the top right of the website. If you experience any problems as we are testing and implementing this new improved system please let us know at enquiry@james.net.au

See it's not all bad news! ST KILDA, 30 Crimea St: A happy couple embracing. John Carter (Hocking Stuart), under the hammer $1,450,000. 4 bidders.

At 6pm on Saturday the James Clearance Rate for the 35 $M+ auctions we covered was an almost icy 51%. Bidderman, our demand indicator showing average numbers of bidders per auction, remained at a market-cooling 1.4 bidders per auction. We seem now to be firmly in the grip of a Winter chill.

Market Summary:

March 2011 has seen a $M+ auction clearance rate averaging in the high 50s.

As the market continues in its cooler mode, an overhang of unsold homes continues to build. Two-thirds of homes passed-in are still for sale. Add to this the Expressions of Interest campaigns ending in no result and there seems little doubt we are in a softer, cooler, lower market than a month ago – especially at the high end.

Last week we produced a special report on the fate of $M+ properties that had passed in at auction this year and found that only 3 of the 26 $M+ pass-ins we monitored had since been bought a fortnight later. Seven days on from that report only a further two of those pass-ins have been reported as bought. Some of these properties went to auction 3 weeks ago. Of the 13 properties that we monitored last week as having passed-in, four have since been bought.

It seems it’s a tough gig right now for sellers whose property passes in at a price over the market.

Buyers – this is opportunity! You may think it will get worse (or better depending on your point of view). But what is likely is that after Easter sellers simply won’t put their homes on the market, creating a shortage of stock choice resulting in firming prices. We are not economists but the bad news does not seem to be anything other than transient to us right now – especially when the media are carrying credible news stories on housing shortages (supply) and increasing internal and external immigration (demand)

The $1 million to $1.5 million market is different to the rest and is still rocking along. The best description we feel is not ‘cool’, but ‘balanced’ –  leaning in fact slightly to ‘warm’ for this dollar segment. This is the ‘hottest’ market at present and still has a reasonable depth of bidders. Prices are not shrinking as much in this price range.

The one thing that differs in this market segment from this time last year is the number of volcanoes (runaway 4+ bidder auctions). Today we saw 3 volcanoes from 19 auctions on properties between $1m and $2m we covered. This time last year (March 27^th 2010) there were  9 volcanoes from 14 such auctions. That is a volcano rate of 16% today compared with 64% this time last year in that $1m to $2m range. So, even the early $1m+ market has slowed.

Back to to the Overhang or Hangover:  If you accept we are in a Buyers’ market until Easter, then the question for those who haven’t gone into mental lockdown is:

What is happening to price?

That depends on the quality of homes you are looking at. If you just took your information from the results on sales of Red Hot Homes, you could interpret we are in an improving market. These top quality homes seem to be going even better than last year, as we show in the diagram below. (Although it is important to remember that these homes are understandably the focus of the selling agents – given they are marketers).

It is possible to read positive agent news, see some red hot results and look at selected median price changes and see a different story to what is happening to a lot of the market since the Labour Day weekend.

But for many homes where the vendors have circled $3 million as their hoped for price tag, the end result has been below rather than above $3 million.

In a slowing market with dropping prices as well as a fall in turnover (actual deals done), when the median price falls it does so in smaller doses than does the TOP of the TOP END market, because the TOP END tends to fall to the middle while the bulk of the lower end sales tend to hold up the median price. The reverse is not true when a rising price market comes with big turnover increases, because this tends to exaggerate the increases. This is not to say median prices are not useful – they are.

We are not saying the market is bad – we are saying it is good, in fact very good. You as buyers have opportunities to buy well – either by buying at a lower price or by securing a better home than you could have afforded this time last year, maybe even this time six weeks ago.

To buy better you need to be able to

1. Act not freeze.
2. Calculate correct market price ranges in this new market, i.e. when researching past prices it shouldn’t be an automatic plus 15% on last year.
3. Remain flexible if your targeted home is high quality. The market may view it as a red hot and these are still going well and selling occasionally for better prices than a year ago.
4. Adopt strategies to lower the price, or if that is too difficult for you then look for the buys that present opportunities to sell at a lower price without you asking. An alternative is to get a professional who can assist you in price strategies or take advantage of the opportunity to buy a better quality home than you thought possible.

Lower prices and choice can’t be a bad thing for buyers – even if only temporary.

If now is good news for buyers, how will the post Easter market be?

The important issue is stock supply, and to give us an idea of how this is going here are some thoughts  gleaned from our ‘Round the Grounds agent opinion about upcoming stock levels:

• There is not a lot of new stock on offer in Port Phillip due to Grand Prix interruptions. With Easter approaching it is lean times for new offerings.

• Stock in Stonnington is now starting to dry up as Easter interrupts the market. With the vibe dropping since Labour Day we may well see limited stock in the discretionary upper end market coming on post Easter.  19 Huntingfield Toorak (Justin Long) was a classic example of a limited offering that captured the market’s attention. Even allowing for building value at $2,000,000 (and that is generous) that meant that land value with a north orientation was  around $5,000 per sq metre – not exactly a giveaway price, and certainly higher than 2010.

• Peter Kennett, Hocking Stuart, Brighton, believes the window of opportunities and fair choice in Bayside won’t last long. “Currently the best opportunities for buyers are at the top end.  There are great negotiation opportunities at the top end. (But) school holidays and winter coming means less stock available for buyers… “

• In Boroondara there has been tremendous change within the business of real estate. The May and Winter markets will all be determined by stock levels – the size of the overhang, how it’s mopped up and whether or not we will see nervous vendors putting their quality stock up for sale post Easter. For buyers, now may simply be a window and not a trend.

Runaway of the Year to date:
208 Drummond Street Carlton: James Keenan of Nelson Alexander: Terrace home, quality and around 255sqm.  This was quoted and on the market at around $1.5million and two bidders fought it out until, wait for it, around $2.5 million (undisclosed final price). WOW!

$3M+ Market:
STOP PRESS: March, while not huge in numbers, did finish the month with three solid mid-week $3M+ buys – including four bidders at $7 million or better at two auctions.

• Toorak Ottawa Avenue : Jeremy Fox of RT Edgar – quiet sale off market in the mid $8 millions
• Toorak 19 Huntingfield: Justin Long and Peter Bennison of Marshall White – mid-week auction, 3 bidders and on the market at $6,700,000. Bought under the hammer for $7,060,000.
• Canterbury 13 Rubens: Jeremy Desmier Fletchers and Tom Ryan, Sold before Auction: Over $3,000,000.

A sea of umbrellas and a solid result for Justin Long (Marshall White) SOUTH YARRA, 66 Hawksburn: Under the hammer, $2,440,000, 5 bidders

Biggest Sale: $7,060,000: Toorak 19 Huntingfield: Justin Long and Peter Bennison of Marshall White – Mid week auction, 3 bidders and on the market at $6,700,000. Bought under the hammer for $7,060,000. James Connell said afterwards that this market was not all bad news and he added Huntingfield proved that.

Bidderbuzz Auction: 66 Hawksburn Rd, South Yarra, Justin Long (Marshall White); under the hammer, $2,440,000, 5 bidders
“Despite the abysmal weather, a crowd of no less than 90 people attended this South Yarra auction. Auctioneer Justin Long did his best to entice an opening bid from the crowd, but to no avail, and instead decided to make a vendor bid of $1,800,000 to break the silence. Mr Long did not have to wait long for his first legitimate bid from the crowd, which came within moments of his vendor bid. Four other bids soon joined in the mix pushing the price past $2,000,000, then $2,100,000, and finally slowing at $2,400,000. Sensing the conclusion of the auction, Mr Long cannily attempted to extract one or two last bids from the interested parties. The home was eventually bought under hammer for $2,440,000 and applause were heard for the winning party.” (Daniel Ehrenreich)

Biggest Pass In we covered: 79a Harcourt St, Hawthorn East, Mark Dayman (Marshall White); passed in $3,300,000; no bidders
“No shoes were allowed in this property, which happens from time to time. What I wasn’t prepared for were the sixty pairs of shoes that made it difficult to access the front door! The attending crowd of over 130 surely gave auctioneer Mark Dayman some confidence that there might be a genuine buyer amongst the group.  With a succinct preamble it was now up to the crowd to play their part, however the silence led to a vendor bid of $3,300,000 . Still nothing and half time was called. After the quickest half time I have ever experienced, Mr Dayman didn’t mess around and the property was passed in.  Negotiations were commenced with interested parties.” (Guy Angwin)

New Subscriber System: Over the next few weeks we will  introduce a free subscription model giving you greater access to our council-specific wraps, which include auction results, news, opinion and analysis on a micro level. This subscription model helps us improve your browsing experience as clients or general subscribers by delivering more relevant content to you on the site and in your email newsletter. Sign up by clicking Subscribe at the top right of the website. If you experience any problems as we are testing and implementing this new improved system please let us know at enquiry@james.net.au

Auction Video: Klarity Kris reports from leafy Malvern on the Jeremy Fox (RT Edgar) auction at 4 Beamsley. Click on the live action.

Buyer Masterclass: What should you look for when buying a home when there are kids in the picture? Klarity Kris discusses this scenario in this week’s Buyer Masterclass.

We Only Buy Homes

Do you know where all the bidders have gone? Sorry Nathan no! GLEN IRIS, 1/292 Tooronga Rd passes for $975,000 in front of a small crowd.

STOP PRESS: March, while not huge in numbers, did finish the month with 3 solid mid week $3M+ buys – including 4 bidders at $7 million or better at 2 of them.

• Toorak Ottawa Avenue : Jeremy Fox of RT Edgar – quiet sale off market in the mid $8m’s
• Toorak 19 Huntingfield: Justin Long and Peter Bennison of Marshall White – mid week auction, 3 bidders and on the market at $6,700,000. Bought under the hammer for $7,060,000. James Connell said afterwards that this market was not all bad news and Huntingfield supported that.
• Canterbury 13 Rubens: Jeremy Desmier Fletchers and Tom Ryan, Sold before Auction: Over $3,200,000
• South Yarra – The Caroline Coachhouse – they were looking for $3m ish for a very long time (eg in the years) and now Mike Gibson – Kay and Burton has got it away.

South Yarra 17 Acland St: Gerald Delany. Fairly typical of the market for the slightly overpriced or slightly less than perfect. Passed-In with no bidders and now for sale at POA.

New Subscriber System: Over the next few weeks we will  introduce a free subscription model giving you greater access to our council-specific wraps, which include auction results, news, opinion and analysis on a micro level. This subscription model helps us improve your browsing experience as clients or general subscribers by delivering more relevant content to you on the site and in your email newsletter. Sign up by clicking Subscribe at the top right of the website. If you experience any problems as we are testing and implementing this new improved system please let us know at enquiry@james.net.au

Week Ending 26th March: The Market at this level was fairly quiet this week with the good sales, price wise but not too many of them.

• Templestowe, 9 Edwin: On the market since October of last year with Jeremy Tyrell of Fletchers. Has been bought for in excess of $4,700,000
• Richmond 37 Docker: Ken Griffith of Jellis Craig. Bought at auction, $3,300,000 – $3,500,000
• Hawthorn 23 Lisson Grove: Michael Lui of Marshall White. Bought after auction $3,600,000 – $3,800,000
• Toorak 17 Lansell: Lisa Jarrett of Abercrombys. On the market since December of last year and selling for circle mid $3′s

Armadale 1026 Malvern Road: The recipe was there for a good auction - quality period home on big land - however the market is a different beast from some time ago at this price level and a quiet auction took place with Jack Bongiorno in charge. Opened on a bid of $3,400,000, passed in to that bidder and was bought after for an undisclosed amount. Crowd of 40.

Week Ending 19th March:

Off Markets, Forthcoming Auctions and Expressions of Interest are increasing as market stock levels begin to rise dramatically. However some big sales including a $13,000,000+ in Toorak and a $7,000,000+ in Brighton along with a few other $3m+ buys indicate the market hadn’t completely gone to sleep .

James Tostevin: “Overall a good day. The $3m+ market is hard to read and we are not getting huge numbers of bidders at many auctions;  so there is a case to say the results may be looking healthier than the market actually is – but from a purely stats points of view (clearance rates) today was a good day.”

In Boroondara:

• Balwyn 34-36 Linckens:  (Toby Parker of Hocking Stuart) – a $3m+ auction slotted in for auction this weekend has been bought before.The quote was over $3.7m and if, as we believe, it was bought for close to $4 million then it was a strong sale.
• Kew 41 Victor Avenue: (James Tostevin) – Two strong bidders and sold under the hammer for $4,100,000.
• Canterbury 17a Alexander Avenue: Passed In $3,200,000. No bidders
• Kew 22 Stawell: Passed In $3,000,000. 0 bidders.

In Stonnington:

• 19 Kingston St, Malvern East, Iain Carmichael (BenMac); After auction in excess of $4,600,000
  “Auctioneer Iain Carmichael was in charge of proceedings for this picture perfect home.  A large crowd of over 80 packed in to the beautiful mature gardens surrounding the house, as the sun shone to show this property at its very best.  The initial vendor bid of $4,250,000 didn’t seem over the top given the location of this park-adjacent idyll.  Despite the auctioneer being confident of a sale, no further bids were forthcoming and, after referral to the vendor, the property was passed in. (Debbie McTaggart)
  Footnote: Nobody bid at auction at $4,250,000 but 2 bidders emerged post auction and fought it out afterwards to a price well in excess of the reserve and well in excess of $4,600,000. Go figure.
• Armadale 1026 Malvern: James Redfern of Marshall White: Passed in $3,400,000 and bought afterwards. 1 bidder.

In Bayside:

• Brighton 29 St Ninians: As always, auctioneer Jonathan Dixon opened proceedings right on time and the preliminaries were soon completed. This property has a supreme and uninterrupted view of the Bay from the City to Royal Brighton Yacht Club and the potential for future development was clearly explained by Mr Dixon. Nevertheless, no bids were forthcoming and the property was passed in on a vendor bid of $7,300,000.
• Brighton 18A Martin: Passed In for $3,300,000. 1 bidder.

Labour Day Weekend March 12th: As expected minimal activity over the weekend; well no auctions that is – a heap of new stock was listed to go onto an already over supplied market.

Brighton 2 Shandford: Bought Post Auction for over $7 million or in around $10,000 per sq metre - meaning Melbourne absolute waterfront is amongst the most sought after land in the world. Regina Schmidt and Brian Devlin from Buxton.

On a buying note, the Golden Mile in Brighton is still alive and well with Regina Schmidt and Brian Devlin from Buxton getting 2 Shandford away post auction for an undisclosed amount over $7 million and in fact over Shandford’s other $7 million sale of a few weeks ago. This home had some positives and will possibly be retained but with two blocks totaling around 1400 sqm going for nearly $15,000,000 this shows that Melbourne absolute waterfront has some of the most sought after beach front in the world on a dollar per sq metre basis.

Another quieter one in the Golden Mile just before the long weekend – 11 Kent Avenue (Stan Fisher of Biggin and Scott) – was reported as bought again for an undisclosed amount having been sold only last year for a tick over $4 million. The rest of Melbourne may be a little quiet, but Golden Mile Brighton is relatively hot for land sales (compared to previous years).

In the heart of the Bagel Belt at 85 Lumeah Road Caulfield North (Gowan Stubbings of Kay and Burton) a large block of land (around 1800 sqm) with a tired home on it was sold for an undisclosed amount for over $4 million, under the hammer, having been on the market at $3.5 million – 3 bidders. That makes it number two along with Langdon Road at or over $4m in the last fortnight in Caulfield.

In Stonnington 20 St Georges has been bought for an undisclosed amount. The property had been quietly on the market for some time before a more public campaign this year. The asking price estimate was $12,000,000 to $15,000,000 and it is believed to have been sold in the middle. Andrew Tolson of TBM was the selling agent. We went through it a few times on behalf of different clients and found it to be a home of some class with good light and a nice flowing floor plan – slight negatives were a less than full-sized tennis court and some overlooking at the rear (although it was not significant and, if you lost the tennis court, planting could remedy that). Being St Georges it commanded a premium – although to date its “little brother” down the road at No 10 hasn’t sold at an already passed Expressions of Interest deadline. However, considering the home’s characteristics, it would be hats off to the agents if it got near their $10,000,000 ask, even if it is St Georges.

Also went through 14 Bruce St Toorak late last month –  it has been bought for a reasonable margin over $3,000,000. Again showing the power of good architects and in particular Wayne Gillespie. Difficult block and orientation and a market place that has competition for supply, so this was a good result for an Expressions of Interest campaign and the man that sells a number of these very quietly – Marcus Chiminello.

‘Hoping for $3m in a different market but didn’t quite get there’ stories: In Port Phillip, 7 Pilley Street in St Kilda East, which was originally marketed at an ambitious around $3 million, has been bought for around $2.6 million - Jeremy Fox of RT Edgar. All things considered, this was still a very good result for the area. In Malvern, 5 Gaynor Court with Rob Vickers-Willis got to $2.73 million and a three storey terrace home in Carlton with Anthony Gattuso of AG Property got around the same amount. All solid results.

Overall still a lot of properties on the market at this $3m+ price level that have completed normal auction and Expression of Interest with no result.

Malvern 66 Claremont: Iain Carmichael: Bought for $3,700,000: 3 bidders: At this point, someone yelled "is it on the market?" and the BenMac team hastily retreated inside to speak to the vendor. Upon his return, Mr Carmichael said yes indeed it was on the market and it was here that the bidding really took off. After the price hit $3,625,000, one of the bidders went bang - $3,700,000 - and knocked everyone else out of the competition. A great finish to a great auction

Week Ending 5th March: All the bigger deals were basically in one spot, Stonnington.

Actual Boughts in Stonnington:

• Malvern 19 Hamilton – Justin Long – At Auction – $4,357,000
• Malvern 66 Claremont – Iain Carmichael – At Auction – $3,700,000
• Toorak 9 Ross – Justin Long – Auction – over $3,600,000
• Toorak – 3 Teringa – Andrew(s) McCann and Macmillan of Benmac – post last weeks auction – over $3,500,000 – nearly $5000 per sqm for rear south facing land
• Toorak – 611 Toorak Road – Expressions of Interest – Greg Herman of RT Edgar – $3,500,000
• Toorak – 231 Kooyong Road – James Redfern – Post last Saturday’s auction – over $3,500,000
• Malvern East – 127 Finch St – Rob Vickers-Willis – $3,300,000

Bayside: A Key land Indicator

• 11 William St Brighton with Rod Richardson of Hocking Stuart – $3,100,000 for 1383 sqm of land = $2,241 per sqm for land in central Brighton. Solid and expected result. 5 bidders.

Boroondara: Action at the Top End almost non-existent

• Stock Surge – Large amounts of $M+ stock are hitting the market for pre-Easter campaigns
• 61 Bellett Camberwell has been on the market since July of last year and was sold by Sam Wilkinson of Kay and Burton mid week for $3,100,000.
• The Balwyn formula of big block, new home, big price tag seems to have come to a grinding halt – very few high end new sales. Opportunity?
• Off markets are on the increase.

Port Phillip: The overpriced are as cold as ice in Port Phillip right now. No bites, no action – as evidenced by the pass-ins of yesterday and the first two weeks of this market.

• I went to a Beaconsfield auction yesterday – the offering slightly less than perfect but still a great spot – however the start was a $4million vendor bid and then a $4,250,000 vendor bid. I may have to eat humble pie when the result comes in but for me the four sales on this strip over $4m last year seemed different offerings.
• 49 Howe Crescent, which was advertised in an Expressions of Interest campaign for later this month, sold last week well over its $5m+ guideline for more than $6m (we believe). A very rare large land size at 915 sqm with a double fronted Victorian on it shows the pulling power of large land so close to the CBD in the St Vincent Garden precinct (or just off it). Michael Coen of Hocking Stuart was the dealmaker on this one. Good job.

SOUTH Yarra, 17 Acland St: The maestro, Gerald Delany (Kay & Burton) in action. Passed in, $3,250,000, no bidders.

Key Points:

• Toorak 17 Lansell with Lisa Jarrett of Abercrombys sold mid week after being on the market since late last year
• Toorak 16 Cole St with Nicole Gleeson of Kay and Burton sold mid week after being on the market since late last year

Agent Q & A: Has the market changed since before Labour Day weekend?
Lachlan Fraser-Smith, BenMac, Armadale:” The main change in the market since Labour Day is that the quality of buyers at open for inspections is very good, however the numbers of people through opens has slowed after a busier than anticipated start to the year. The reasons for this are: as the year settles down after a typical February spike in prices, people have found out at open for inspections and attending the early auctions what they wanted to know about prices and have assessed the market and either go to auction themselves or sit still and stay where they are. Numbers of properties on the market has increased as well but there are still some very active buyers out and about so they quality of buyers is certainly still there. We have been seeing some very strong results between $1 million and $2 million in Armadale and between $3 and $5 million in Malvern and Malvern East.  We will see a reduction in properties coming onto the market going into the traditional Easter, Anzac day and school holiday period. This will, I believe, underpin the market for the homes that come on post Easter in May.”
Iain Carmichael, BenMac, Armadale:“The Stonnington market in recent weeks has performed well given slightly diminished bidding activity at many auctions. Pleasing elements from a vendor’s point of view is that sales are being made and that clearance rates in Stonnington continue to exceed the Melbourne-wide figures by up to 10% each week end. The trend for buyers to hold off bidding is puzzling as the great majority of properties auctioned are still sold for solid prices at or immediately after auction.  Stock levels are reasonably full and the market will test both vendor expectations and buyer depth in the weeks leading up to Easter. It will be interesting to observe whether buyers will continue to run the gauntlet and back themselves into post-auction negotiations and, in some cases, private auctions or whether the true transparency of the auction system will give consumers sufficient comfort to bid with confidence and buy ‘under the hammer’ or become the highest bidder to gain an exclusive seat at the negotiating table.”
Andrew Hayne, Marshall White, Armadale:“No I don’t think things have changed too much. The market has been pretty price sensitive for a while now, so provided vendor’s expectations are in line with the market then there shouldn’t be any problems selling. I am a big believer in each property sets its own market so each one has to be treated on an individual basis rather than generalize about market conditions or sentiments.”

ARMADALE, 2 Avondale Rd: Warwick Anderson (RT Edgar), Passed in, $1,950,000 no bids.

More big crowds this week, such as this one at 27 Auburn Pde, Hawthorn East, which stopped traffic! Under the hammer, $1,360,000, Peter Batrouney (Jellis Craig), 4 bidders

At 6pm on Saturday the James $M+ Clearance Rate on the 32 auctions we covered dipped to 59%. For the second week in a row there were around 150 new $M+ listings in our main coverage area of Bayside and the Inner East. Buyers have firmly said to sellers – “if it ain’t priced right we ain’t bidding, because we can see plenty of other homes coming on”. This attitude was particularly evidenced by the ‘duck’ rate (auctions with no bids and no sale afterwards) which was almost 1 in 3 this weekend  – well up on last weekend.

However there were exceptions – such as in Stonnington at the top of the Top End where there was almost no stopping the market and it made its strongest statement of the year so far.

Where is the Market At?

Last week there were indications the early $million+ market could be warming up a bit. But a second strong week of listings has taken some heat out of the market.

The strongest “take notice of me” stat was this weekend’s Bidderman dropping back to 1.5 from a more healthy 2 last week. What that tells us is that buyers are seeing stock choices going forward and the urgency has dimmed on some homes.  If Bidderman continues like this to Easter, prices are unlikely to rise.

This weekend we did see price pressure on quality homes, with quite strong bidding at a number of auctions (including several $3m+ auctions) and five ‘volcanoes’ of 4+ bidders per auction.

What we’re saying is that this first market period, up to Labour Day, has started healthy and balanced. But the second market (up to Easter) is no longer a shoo-in positive for would be sellers.

For buyers, this two week stock surge presents an opportunity for good prices on some good homes that the market may miss – at least until Easter. But things can change quickly – while May last year saw oodles of stock coming onto the market, that may not happen again this year. Given we’ve got such a late Easter in 2011, we may already be seeing the stock surge we saw in May last year, which could mean we don’t get strong stock levels this May.

Crowd Numbers: Again we had big crowds at many auctions, indicating a strong level of interest in results. This weekend we reported one in three auctions with 80 or more people in attendance. All others had good numbers watching.

Our $M+ Supply Indicators:

New Stock: This has been the second huge week in a row for listings with around 150 $M+ homes newly listed for sale in the Inner East and Bayside areas that we cover. There were around 200 $M+ listings across Greater Melbourne.

Actual Numbers Sold: There are solid numbers of $M+ homes changing hands, which is in part why we are not yet buying into any  cries of  a “weak market”.
Agent Market Comments:
Gerald Delaney (Kay & Burton): “I can’t see anything wrong with the market at the moment. We have seen good interest on good properties. I definitely think the market is a healthy one.”
Justin Long (Marshall White): “I feel the market has a bit of upward pressure at the moment. The well priced properties are going beyond expectations and the overpriced or not so good can be very hard work.”

James Marketnews Big Issue:
A few Expressions of Interest and Forthcoming auctions are coming back – a possible sign the pre-Easter auction market is viewed as oversupplied. Watch the discussion on Market News TV.

‘Round the Grounds Snapshots
Boroondara -  Stock Surge in Boroondara – Clearance Rates are definitely not as good as we are used to, but nearly 40 homes at $M+ were bought this week
Bayside – Bayside still shining the brightest – more stock coming on pre Easter will re-test its underlying 2011 strength
Port Phillip – So-so weekend, but stock wasn’t that exciting. Wow on Howe – Big $6m+ sale.
Stonnington – Where the big action was this weekend.
Rest of Melbourne – Just not a lot of $m+ auction action happening so we held over this week’s report
More Detailed Analysis in our Weekly Local Council Market Wraps

$3M+ Markets:
New Homes: Definitely weaker than last year particularly in the Balwyn and North Balwyn heartland.
Period Homes: Solid interest continues
More News and Specific Results can be found in $3-Million-Plus Market articles on the home page

MALVERN, 66 Claremont Ave: Iain Carmichael (BenMac) led a cracker auction - on the market at $3,300,000 and selling under the hammer $3,700,000, 3 bidders

Biggest Sale: 19 Hamilton Rd, Malvern, Justin Long (Marshall White): Under the hammer $4,357,000
The auction opened on a bid of $3,820,000, was on the market at $4,250,000 and bought under the hammer for $4,357,000. There were two bidders and a crowd of around 150. A solid result for this 1930s reproduction home on 668sqm of land.

Biggest Pass-In: 279 Beaconsfield Parade, Middle Park, Gerald Betts (RT Edgar): passed in $4,250,000
“Auctioneer Gerald Betts opened with a vendor bid of $4,000,000 and closed with a vendor bid of $4,250,000 in front of 40 seemingly uninterested observers.” (Mal James)

Bidderbuzz Auction: 11 William St, Brighton, Rod Richardson (Hocking Stuart): Under the hammer $3,100,000, 5 bidders
“The epic 45 minute auction of 11 William Street had a mix of elements to entertain those spectators watching on – intensity, drama and tension with a few awkward silences thrown in.  In the end it was a battle of the property developers for this generous block of land, in the heart of bayside Brighton.  Auctioneer Rod Richardson showed composure in the face of heckling and the patience of a saint during this long auction, working tirelessly to achieve a solid result for the vendor from the opening bid of $2,710,000 to the winning end at $3,100,000.  All in all, it was an entertaining auction to witness!” (Nikki Hills)

Auction Video: This week Architect Adam heads to Hawthorn to witness James Tostevin and the Marshall White team auction 66 Manningtree Road. Click on the live action.

Please Note: we always ask permission to film and we always show respect at each auction. We also never video at an auction we are bidding at. If you are at an auction and don’t wish to be videoed, there are designated no-video zones. See our co-workers or ask the auctioneer.

Buyer Masterclass: A change of pace with Architect Adam telling us why we love Victorian homes – with plenty of facts and figures.

No Marketnews next week with Labour Day Long Weekend.

We Only Buy Homes

51 Murray Street, PRAHRAN: This original double-fronted Victorian home has been well renovated and extended to the rear and well suits modern living. Bought under the hammer at auction on 19th June 2010 for $3.74M with 4 bidders.

More than a hundred and twenty years since they were built, Victorian-style homes continue to rate highly among homebuyers in Melbourne. Why is that?

Let’s take the example of the double-fronted Victorian at 11 Primrose Street, Prahran, scheduled to go to auction on March 19. It has a lovely symmetrical facade and good building bones – a wide central hallway leading to a large open plan living area at the rear. The ceilings are high and, because of this, the house sits prominently up from the street.

And though it is beautifully renovated to the rear of the house, with a lovely light spacious living area opening onto the back garden, the renovation work cannot be seen from the front.

It is this ability to adapt Victorian-style houses to a modern lifestyle without compromising their original facade and character that makes them keep and grow their value so well, where many other home styles do not. It’s not just about complying with heritage requirements: a Victorian facade gives a house its all-important emotional appeal to buyers, and underpins its capital growth. The best and most sought-after streets in Melbourne are often the ones with original homes in uniform character.

One of the key features about Victorian homes is that they traditionally have big formal rooms at the front, with all the service areas, such as kitchen and laundry, at the back, well away from the living and entertaining areas. What that means today is that you can easily demolish the back of the home and put on a new living area. If the ceiling heights are retained throughout the renovation, the rear new spaces can often be very light and bright. And because only the front portion of the house is retained, updating the house for energy efficiency is relatively easy.

That flexibility translates into big dollars. Take 51 Murray Street, Prahran, a beautiful Victorian with a stunning ultra-modern two-storey rear renovation that would have cost several hundred thousand dollars. But this is the kind of house worth spending that kind of money on. James Home Ratings scored it at a whopping 926 out of 1000.

43 Motherwell Street, SOUTH YARRA

Going to auction last year, the property, which had been quoted at $2.9 million plus, sold for $3.74 million after furious bidding between four bidders, which is twice the Bidderman^TM we currently see in the $million plus auction market.

Unrenovated Victorians are just as highly sought after. A Victorian at 43 Motherwell Street, South Yarra that went to auction late last year had a beautiful ornate facade, but needed some serious work. On auction day, seven bidders battled it out to push the original quote price of $1.3 million to $1.86 million.

Compare that to houses of a more recent era, from the 1930s onwards. Even though this was a time where houses were beginning to incorporate mod cons such as electric kitchens and internal laundries, their layout doesn’t work that well for our modern lifestyle. We like to have living and entertaining areas opening onto the back garden – but, until the 1980s, houses tended to be designed with living areas and kitchens towards the front or middle of the house, which makes it difficult and expensive to make structural changes.

11 Olive Street, HAMPTON

The property at 13 Olive Street, Hampton is a good example. Built in the 1950s, the house is an average size but the block of land is generous. Like many homes of this era, the house has a tricky floorplan. It lacks a wide central hallway, and the flow through the house is indirect and a little confusing. The bedrooms are relatively small and ceiling heights are low – around 2.7m, compared to 3.3m for the Primrose Street house.

Added to this is the fact that the facade is basic and has no real redeeming features, which means there is little or no emotional attachment from a buyer’s perspective. That lack of an attractive facade also means that houses in streets from this era are often part of an ever-changing streetscape – there is generally a lot of building activity happening or about to happen, bringing the noise and annoyance of a constant construction site and the potential risks down the track in terms of privacy.

The house might be cheaper to buy in the first place but, unlike the classic Victorian in a street of other similarly gracious facades, it is unlikely to keep and grow its value over the years.

TOORAK, 7 Toorak Ave; Kevin Bartholomeusz (Carroll McKeddie) basks in the glorious sunshine and a successful sale. Under the hammer, $2,763,000, 2 bidders

Agent Q & A:“Do you feel there is currently a big difference in the results of sales of lower end ($1m) properties as opposed to those of higher end ($2m+) homes? Yes or no, and why?”
Brad Fleming, JP Dixon, Toorak:”Across the board the demand for properties under $1 million is and always has been stronger because of affordability for both the home owner and investors, which achieve higher rental yields and less mortgage stress. As soon as the buyer can afford properties at $2m+, normally the demand is driven by purchasers with higher incomes wanting to buy a home which suits their personal requirements, especially with families, for example, who are thinking long term with family needs as the priority. This group becomes more focused around accommodation, location including schools and school zoning if required.  Personally, l have found both markets strong thus far, however the source of buyer does change depending on situation of the given real estate environment at the time of buying.”

THE LEOPARD: Auctioneer Jason Scillio watching, thinking, testing, watching. 1 Stawell Kew bought afterwards for an undisclosed amount. 2 bidders.

At 6pm on Saturday the final James $M+ Clearance rate for the year on the 35 auctions we covered was 69%. You may be interested to remember that back in our first Marketnews report for 2010 it was 83%. Those figures point to the year that was.

Bidderman, our demand indicator, was a strong 2.1 bidders per auction – which only confirms what those in the market know: we have had a bounce and that while the hot market has continued to cool, it has not lost all its warmth on the good homes. Our first market news in February 2010 had Bidderman at 3.0.

This Weekend’s Market:
This weekend the market continued its bounce which began two weeks ago. Bidders were there to meet those sellers who chose to meet the market. They were even prepared to fight a little harder than they were in October. Maybe it’s the need for buyers to be in a home by Christmas or maybe it’s the need for sellers to have money in the bank at Santa time – or probably a bit of both, which is normal for this time of the year. The market was in a bit of trouble a few weeks ago following Super Saturday and something had to give. And something has: sellers have given. Which is why the market has bounced in the last fortnight and is looking healthier. Sellers are now pricing their homes to meet the market. They are listening to their selling agents and they are getting the job done. In return buyers are responding, especially when a good home is placed on the market at a reasonable price. Yes, that reasonable price is 5% below September’s reasonable price and maybe 10% below April’s. But it’s still about the same as this time last year and that is how the market works. It goes up and it goes down and it does that every week on every type of property in every type of market. It’s just the median price stats and some media commentators which encourage the uninitiated to think property is a slow moving beast. It’s not. Footnote: over the long term the property market goes up more than it goes down.

Meet the market – what does that mean?
While our focus is homes over $1 million, many of our purchases are over $2 and $3 million. We also have an investment division – headed up by Valuer David McMillan. This weekend we witnessed a great example of a product that met the market and one that didn’t. They were a kilometre apart and finished around the same price – circa $850,000. Both had competent agents managing their campaigns, both have 2 bedrooms.

• Home 1: 1/45 Thanet Street Malvern with Tim Bennison, had 7 bidders and sold for $880,750.
• Home 2: 102 Sutherland Road Armadale, had no bidders and passed in on a lone vendor bid at $850,000.

The market embraced one home and completely rejected the other.

What to do now?
With basically one weekend of auctions left and two weeks of private sales and off-markets, you basically have around ten more sleeps to find what you want – or sit back, relax and wait till just after Australia Day 2011 for a burst of new stock (hopefully).

Try and make good decisions not emotional ones. If you have to rent then so be it, it’s better to rent than buy badly. But good decisions also involve reading the market and it has stepped up a bit so we do not recommend being too cute on price. Sure, don’t overpay, but don’t be too cute either.

We have bought eight homes in the past eight days – five of them outside the auction hammer. Highlights include the purchase of Munro St Armadale post auction, Kyarra Street Sandringham off-market, and Avenue Road Camberwell before auction. As well we have had solid new enquiry. So internally and externally we are seeing market indicators that point to a bounce. As we at Marketnews leave you for the year we think the market could well be in a healthier and more sustainable shape than it was when we first reported to you in 2010, just 10 short months ago. Let’s hope that is good news for 2011.

Auction in a Garden: Tim Derham, a rose amongst the thorns, passes in to the third bidder for $2,970,000, 4 Mathoura Toorak.

$3m+ market

While the highlights point to a number of successes in the $3m+ market there have also been a number of pass-ins. Which suggests that this market too is cooling or cooled and now seems balanced and healthy and this week has a bit of pep again.

This Weekend’s Highlights:

• Brighton 4/23 St Ninians, Stewart Lopez  Bought at auction for $4,825,000
• Balwyn 32 Stephens, Maurice Di Marzio, Bought under the hammer for $3,800,000 – 4 bidders
• Armadale 17 Denbigh, Justin Long, Bought under the hammer for $3,890,000 – 4 bidders
• Balwyn 12 Knutsford, Tim Derham, Bought under the hammer for $3,520,000 – 4 bidders
• Kew 1 Stawell, Gowan Stubbings, undisclosed Bought after – 2 bidders
• Kew 3-5 Rimington, Scott Patterson, Bought After above $3,650,000 -  2 bidders
• Malvern 376 Glenferrie, Iain Carmichael of Benmac passed in $4,300,000 and bought after $4,415,000 – 0 bidders

Off Market

• Hawthorn 26 Fordholm, Michael Armstrong, Over $5,000,000

Not so Highlights:

• Canterbury 34 Maling, passed in $4,600,000
• Brighton 29 Sussex (this seems to be for sale each year), passed in for $3,350,000 – 0 bidders
• Middle Park 280 Beaconsfield, passed in $4,400,000 – 0 bidders
• Toorak 83 Clendon, passed in – 0 bidders

*For more $3m+ results please go to our weekly updated $3m+ section

Bidderbuzz Auction: 43 Motherwell St, South Yarra, Joseph Allan (Chisholm & Gamon); Bought under the hammer, $1,860,000, 7 bidders
“As I rocked up you could feel a number of people had come to play – and play they did under Joseph Allan’s direction. On the market at $1,400,000. 7 bidders, all with a variety of techniques and wallet sizes provided some sparkling entertainment until there was only one left at $1,860,000. This home needed some serious work. Sorry – did I hear somebody say the market was gone?” (Mal James)

Biggest Sale: 17 Denbigh Rd, Armadale, Justin Long (Marshall White); Bought under the hammer, $3,890,000, 4 bidders
“On a magnificent day in Melbourne, auctioneer Justin Long left it to the energetic crowd for a starting bid. Within a few seconds an opening bid was made from a gentleman in the crowd for $3,300,000, which was quickly followed by a bid $25,000 higher. With four separate parties vying for the Armadale home, the price flew past $3,500,000, then $3,600,000, then $3,700,000, and finally slowed at $3,850,000. Mr. Long extracted the maximum from the bidding parties, managing to squeeze out a final bid of $3,890,000 from one very interested gentleman, and the property was sold at that price. All in all, a very well conducted auction with 80 or so people in attendance, and all participating parties walking away very satisfied.” (Daniel Ehrenreich)

Biggest Pass In:280 Beaconsfield Pde, Middle Park, Andrew Stuart (Hocking Stuart); $4,400,000; no bidders
“A large crowd of 80 sought refuge from the hot sun under the shade of the trees scattered on the nature strip.  In his preamble, auctioneer Andrew Stuart spoke enthusiastically about the property, the ‘outstanding lifestyle’ and it being in ‘Melbourne’s greatest location’.  Mr Stuart looked to the group for an opening bid, but all remained silent, so he opened with a vendor bid of $4,400,000.  Despite Mr Stuart’s best efforts there was no bidding on the day and the property was passed in at $4,400,000.” (Kate Agnoleto)

Market News TV
This week’s video auctions are at 25 Bateman St, Hampton with James Paynter (Hodges) and 19 Ferrars Place, South Melbourne with David Wood (Hocking Stuart). This week Gina, whom many of you would know as she co-ordinates all our new clients, and Jen, our Market News Co-ordinator, step in for Klarity Kris and Adam the Architect – click on the live action this Sunday.

*Please note: We always ask permission to film and we always show respect at each auction. We also never video at an auction we are bidding at. If you are at an auction and don’t wish to be filmed, there are designated no-video zones. See our co-workers or ask the auctioneer.

June 2010: Our favourite Pic for 2010: Susan McGlashan (right) of Bennison Mackinnon leads some very happy buyers inside for the sign up of 2/9 Shipley South Yarra. Bought under the hammer $2,195,000. 2 bidders. Strong.

Summary of 2010

Early 2010 started where 2009 left off, with sellers successfully getting buyers to accept their courageous asking prices, and buyers only too happy to hop on board the train, no matter the price.

Why was that?  After the 2008 Global Financial Crisis many buyers had feared further falls. Instead, by the end of 2009 the market had recovered what it lost in the GFC – and then some. And it seems buyers who missed out in 2009 were putting their hands up at auction with a sense of urgency and even panic, determined to get on the train this year.

For sellers this meant champagne and truffles, a situation that continued until Anzac Day when the market turned sharply downwards. It seems that both buyers and sellers realised that while the property market was booming, the economy – and especially the world economy – wasn’t. The Greek economy was in collapse, the Dow Jones went into a slide, and here interest rates started rising. Sellers decided it was time to rush their home onto the market to make hay while the sun still shone. But buyers were already taking a more guarded approach and were no longer prepared to pay big prices.

Properties were increasingly being passed in, adding to an already substantial overhang of stale unsolds. Where previously the market had been feeding on buyer panic, now it began to slip down on buyer apathy. The market increases of November 2009 to April 2010 were wiped off within a fortnight or so, cutting prices by around 10%.

April 2010: Strange. Very strange. Yes Glen we can see you, but check out the guy to the right. I'm not sure if he was there for marketing or to revive injured buyers. Maybe he will be mandatory at all auctions soon. Camberwell: 52 Athelstan Road: Glen Coutinho. Passed In.

A chilly winter saw a shortage of good quality homes, with only those selling who had to. And even when a good home arrived on the market, it had to compete with a growing overhang of stales (unsolds) that had been building up since May.  But people still need to buy homes, and the shortage now fueled buyer demand, which led to a bounce in early spring. It was surprising  because there were distractions – the August federal election and subsequent postulations and the footy and Collingwood’s replay victory (got it in) The first days of Spring brought out the instinctual buyers who need to move nests as the sun warms their hearts.  The sun also loosened their wallets, creating a small fillip on quality stock. But it only lasted the month.

And it wasn’t strong enough to absorb the surge of 200+ $ million plus properties going to market on October 23rd’s Super Saturday. In the weeks following, rather than risk passing-in their property to the unsolds list where they might wait weeks for a buyer, vendors initially tried to hold their prices. However, after a few weeks of denial and a Melbourne Cup interest rate jolt they finally began to revise their prices downwards. By end November clearance rates were back at a healthy, if unspectacular 65%.

And so we end 2010 almost where we started in terms of price, but vastly different in terms of what we expect for the start of next season. The heat of last summer is over, but it is still warm in parts. (Inner city quality homes are particularly still in high demand). Overall it’s a more healthy balanced market. For now. Stay tuned for next year.

2010 Awards
Most of our year-end efforts have gone into our 2010 yearbook due out before Christmas (downloadable from this site). Our legend section and their pearls of wisdom are contained within this 2010 marketnews yearbook. The two inductees into the Marketnews Legends Hall of Fame are Alastair Craig and Rodney Morley. However as this is our last 2010 marketnews it is customary to put up our 2010 awards. Consider them like Mike Sheahan’s footy awards – a bit of fun.

Auctioneers: we chose who we chose because we saw these auctioneers consistently quote sensibly (well 6 of 7 anyway), give buyers and sellers a fair go at auction, provide great entertainment and handle the sticky situations well. Other three hat auctioneers were Marshall White’s John Bongiorno, Andrew Hayne and Justin Long, Kay and Burton’s “Hollywoods” Jason Scillio and Gowan Stubbings, RT Edgar’s Jeremy Fox and Abercromby’s Tim Derham, all of whom we really enjoyed watching under pressure, who are brilliant at their job, but had a number of quote malfunctions – a Stonnington malaise for much of the year. Jeremy Desmier and Tim Heavyside are ones to watch and if Fletchers could be less conservative in their high-end auction quotes they would be right up there. Phillip Kingston mainly works the day we like to take off but when we see him we like what we see. We think Mark Earle and Craig Williamson of Buxton, Glen Coutinho, Peter Kennett, Andrew Stuart, Andrew James and Nick Renna of Hocking Stuart, Rodney Morley of TBM, David Oster, Damien Davis, Peter Batrouney and Richard Earle of Jellis Craig, Lachie Fraser-Smith of Benmac and Tom McCarthy of Biggin and Scott all put in two/three hat performances during the year.

Agents: These are the standouts for us – agents who are particularly strong in their market segment. Off market we think Marcus Chiminello from Marshall White is the one to watch.

Young agents: we dropped this segment because they are getting older.

Agency: Jellis Craig was a unanimous choice. Their comparable sales system, their attitude to buyers and general respect for all parties meant for us in 2010 they were our agency of the year.

Each year it’s a different format and each year we offend everybody we leave out – so please try not to take it too seriously.

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Thank yous
I would like to thank my fellow co-workers Adam the Architect, Klarity Kris, Value Dave, Cafe Guy and earlier in the year Ralph and Stephen and our market news co-ordinators Jen, Julia, Sim and Peter. A big thank you to our editors Karin and Melinda, organizer Gina and Michael our MD. You’re a champ Michael.  Thank you to our behind the scenes people in Peter, Dan, Julie, Jason and Naomi and our Board; Peter, Adam, David and Chrisso. Thank you to Phil for your insights as well.

I also would like to thank all the selling agents who despite being on the “other side” allow access to almost all results and auctions, assist with quotes and smooth over ruffled buyer and seller feathers which occasionally happen. There are a few agents who are extra helpful friends of Marketnews and our advocacy business. In no particular order Mike Gibson of Kay and Burton; Rob Vickers-Willis of Abercrombys; Mark “Lama” Dayman, James Tostevin and John Bongiorno of Marshall White; Iain Carmichael, Kaine Lanyon and Elliot Gill of Benmac; David Oster, the Richard(s) James, Winneke and Earle of Jellis Craig; Tom Roberts of Nelson Alexander; Ladies in Red – Jenny Dwyer and Barb Gregory and Andrew Stuart of Hocking Stuart and Geoff Cayzer – thank you. Thank you to the agents at Marshall White who let us join some of their open training sessions – it is most appreciated. There are others and I apologise for leaving you out. Three agents who have helped us a great deal and whom we would like to single out are G-E-R-A-L-D Delany of Kay and Burton, James Connell of Marshall White and Scott “Pretty Boy” Patterson of Jellis Craig. An extra big thank you.

Thanks to our trusty reporters and photographers who come rain, hail or shine are out there in their jackets – ducking and weaving, listening and recording. Thank you to Amy, Daniel, David, Doug, Sue, Kate, Tom, Linda, Nikki, Dustin and Joshua – see you all for a great lunch in a week or so and well done.

We also wish our competitors at Morrell and Koren seasons greetings – enjoyed the battle.

Thanks to our readers and the people who come up at opens and auctions and say G’day.

Finally a big thank you to all our clients who have supported us during the year.

Have a safe and happy Christmas holidays period.

Until next year then (our office closes on December 17th and re-opens Monday January 17th)