St Kilda West: 22 Park: Great day for an Auction: Well we thought so but nobody else did: Passed In

While Inner East flies Bayside still presents buying opportunities -

Three Facts about our Bayside – Beaumaris, Brighton to Port Melbourne

• 58% Clearance rate on 36 auctions yesterday – that’s low.
• Less than one bidder auction today. That’s right Bidderman below one – that is a falling market if it continues.
• Some of the nicest buyer agents live there.

Beaumaris: 29 Haydens: Hey Jen! Steve I'm focused! Jen, where have those bidders gone? Steve Tickell & Jenny Dwyer. Passed In

If you hate the beach, love traffic and have got plenty of money stay looking for your double fronteds in Armadale and Hawthorn – only trouble is the coffee shops are full in between open times with fellow depressed non-buyers; oh and Maserati dealers looking for selling agents (that was unfair). No, no, no young men go South and take your woman with you – show her a good time at Hampton’s Brown Cow and while you are gazing into her eyes nodding that yes you really do get “Happy Wife – Happy Life” drift off into the clouds and dream about your mortgage lender’s expression when he realizes you’re not going near your limit to buy your dream home.

The $5m+ market is alive and well in Brighton and in fact has been stronger all year, than it’s “wealthiest suburb” challengers Hawthorn, Canterbury, Toorak and Malvern; however the $1m to $3m market is not as strong especially in the fringe suburbs of Hampton, Sandringham and Beaumaris.

This is best evidenced by a sample Saturday’s results

James Auction Reports

54 Shasta Brighton East – Bought Afterwards – no bidders during auction
Auctioneer Peter Kennett of Hocking Stuart was not able to elicit any response from the crowd and passed the development property in on his second vendor bid at $1.7m

29 Haydens Road Beaumaris – Passed In – No bidders
A crowd of about 50 gathered around the outside pool in glorious sunshine to watch this auction. Despite the lovely setting and a chatty crowd, there were no bids forthcoming. Auctioner Steve Tickell opened with a vendor bid of $1.12 million but there were no takers and the property passed in at this price.

19 Chatsworth Brighton – Bought Afterwards – 2 bidders
2 bidders joined in on top of the opening vendor bid of $2.6m from Jason Gill of Hodges. Passed in at $2.89m and sold after at $2.95 million. Almost a $500,000 improvement on when it sold late last year.

33 The Avenue Hampton – Bought Before

52 Black St Brighton – No bidders
Small crowd saw no bids at all come forward to auctioneer Jonathan Dixon.

5 Manor St Brighton – Bought – 3 bidders
Auctioneer Leigh Hallamore of Buxton opened with a vendor bid of $1.2m and 3 bidders from the crowd of 50 joined in until it was sold at $1,705,000.

16 Tennyson St Sandringham – Bought – 2 bidders
A picnic atmosphere prevailed here, with many of the 100-strong crowd sitting on the lawn to watch proceedings. It was the first time in 50 years that this house had been offered and that generated a lot of buzz from the crowd. Auctioneer Mark Earle opened with a vendor bid of $1.65 million and two bidders joined in. There seemed to be a lot of happiness from the crowd when a family bought the home for $1.861 million.

47 Reed St Albert Park – Passed In – No bidders
The sun was hot but the vibe was cool at this auction. Auctioneer Oliver Bruce opened with a vendor bid of $2.3 million and followed it with a second vendor bid of $2.38 million after no-one from the 40-strong crowd offered a bid. The property was passed in at that price.

290 Cecil St South Melbourne – Sold After – One bidder
In front of 30 people, auctioneer Andrew Stuart opened proceedings here with a vendor bid of $1.6 million. The sole bidder made a bid of $1.61 million and the property was passed in at that price.

20 Asling St Brighton – Passed In – No bidders
A crowd of 70 saw Jonathan Dixon pass-in this home on one of two vendor bids at 2.5m.

22 Park Street St Kilda West – Passed In – One bidder
About 100 people attended this auction, which auctioneer Tony Pride opened with a vendor bid of $2.5 million. The sole bidder made a bid of $2.55 million, which was followed up by a second vendor bid of $2.7 million and the property was passed in at that price.

Happy Wife Happy Life

Oh and don’t forget Elsternwick
17 Regent St Elsternwick  Renovator - great spot and great bones.
http://www.domain.com.au/Public/PropertyDetails.aspx?adid=2008025585
James Auction Report: In front of 80 people, an optimistic bid of $800,000 started this auction. Lots of bidding and lots of entertainment here – seven bidders and the property sold for $1.39 million.
In Hawthorn this would have pushed $1.8m to $1.9m

Canterbury, 19 Rubens: Would you believe it? Missed by that much. Actually Richard James of Jellis Craig does not miss all that often. Four bidders. Bought for $3.301 million. Good result for agent Daniel Bradd as well.

It is 6pm Saturday and the James Auction Clearance Rate on the 32 $1m+ properties we attended and reported on today was 72 per cent.

The REIV’s clearance rate was declared at 82 per cent but they are missing around 200 auction results and our guess is the clearance rate has dropped below 80 per cent for the first time in a long time.

But, hey, there were 1000 auctions – it’s the Grand Final, the Melbourne Cup and the Masters of 2009 all rolled into one for selling agents. This is it – the big one; and things went pretty well for sellers and not so good for buyers who didn’t buy and were hoping for a little sign of decline.

What’s Hot x 2

• Family Homes in Boroondara and Stonnington in $1m to $3m range.
• 166 Mont Albert Road Canterbury - seven bidders – $4.01 million.
  James Auction Report: James Tostevin started slowly, taking a $2.95 million opening bid in front of a big crowd of around 80, all nicely spaced out around the tennis court. Seven bidders later, in what seemed like an eternity on the last few bids, saw the hammer come down a bit gingerly at $10,000 over $4 million.
• 20 Callantina Road Hawthorn- five bidders – $6.125 million.
  James Auction Report: About 130 people saw this auction open with a genuine bid of $4.9 million. There were five bidders and the property was on the market at $5.65 million. The eventual buyer was a determined bidder who stayed strong throughout the auction process and bought the property for $6.125 million.

What’s Not Hot

• This weekend: surprisingly, Malvern East’s Gasgoine Estate was dead as a doornail today, with three pass-ins from three homes (0 per cent clearance); as was Toorak, with only one from five selling, or 20 per cent clearance rate, but everywhere else in Stonnington was very strong.
• Bayside was definitely weaker than Stonnington or Boroondara. In Bayside, six out of 11 $1 million-plus auctions we attended sold, or 54 per cent clearance rate. In Stonnington and Boroondara, it was 16 out of 20, or 80 per cent for $1 million-plus homes.
• There are still some cheaper homes in Bayside. Hampton is cheap compared to Kew and Hawthorn.
• PPP (Price, Property, Position) ADVICE from our AUCTION REPORTERS
  If you hate the beach, love traffic and have got plenty of money, stay looking for your double-fronteds in Armadale and Hawthorn. The only trouble is the coffee shops are full in between open times with fellow depressed non-buyers; oh and Maserati dealers looking for selling agents (that was unfair). No, no, no, young men go south and take your woman with you – show her a good time at the Brown Cow at Hampton and, while you are gazing into her eyes nodding that, yes, you really do get “Happy Wife – Happy Life”, drift off into the clouds and dream about your mortgage lender’s expression when he realises you’re not going near your borrowing limit to buy your dream home.

De Ja Vu – Not Really – 2008 and 2009

19 Chatsworth Avenue Brighton auctioned pre-Melbourne Cup Weekend 2008 and then again today.

James Auction Report 2008: “Energetic comments from Leigh Hallimore didn’t draw any bids, despite his offer to take any bids prior to his opening and closing vendor bids.” Quote was $3,2 million. Sold sometime later for around $2.5 million.
James Auction Report 2009: Two bidders joined in on top of the opening vendor bid of $2.6 million from Jason Gill of Hodges. Passed in at $2.89 million and sold after at $2.95 million. Almost a $500,000 improvement on when it sold late last year.

As this is the big one for 2009, we have focused this edition on results, results, results. What is really happening out there in the trenches? From that, you should be able to work out what will happen in the run-up to Christmas. Here are our auction reporter summaries and these are their stories.

Gina – Bayside (attended auctions in Prahran, Albert Park and South Melbourne)

• Very quiet and quite flat atmosphere at auctions.
• None of these auctions sold and there were few bids (one bidder made one bid at Prahran, none at Albert Park and one bidder made one bid at South Melbourne).
• Most of the crowd at all three auctions seemed to be neighbours – most came on foot and didn’t hang around to see auction results.
• No Chinese bidders at any of these auctions.

Annette (four auctions – Hawthorn, Malvern, Malvern and St Kilda West)

• Good crowds – 70, 80, 100, 130.
• Good numbers of bidders – 6, 5, 5 (but just one bidder and one bid at St Kilda West).
• One Asian bidder at Claremont (but wasn’t the buyer). Largest presence of Asian people at these auctions was at Callantina but they were not involved in the bidding.
• Crowd at Park St, St Kilda West was a “younger crowd” but it also had least atmosphere – quite sombre, people were keeping hands in pockets.
• Crowd chatty and strong bidding and crowd interest at Claremont and Stanhope. Also big crowd interest at Callantina but it did sell for $6 million.

Jenny (two auctions – Beaumaris and Sandringham)

• Mixed atmosphere and results. Beaumaris had a chatty crowd but no bids. Lovely setting – held around the pool, people in crowd commented that they thought sunny weather and lovely setting would put people in the mood but it didn’t appear to. Passed in on the vendor bid.
• Sandringham – first time this house had been offered in 50 years, so generated a lot of interest. Crowd seemed buzzy and genuinely happy when family bought the house. Two bidders.

David (Bayside – Brighton and Hampton)

• Five auctions, plus one sold before.
• Four passed in.
• Small crowds.
• Flat overall.

Julia (five auctions – Hawthorn East x 2, Canterbury, Malvern East, Malvern)

• Big crowds – 125, 60, 100+, 130, 200.
• Not huge numbers of bidders - one at Victoria Rd, four at Rubens Grove, three at Finch St, none at Central Park Rd and one at Deanlea Court.
• Of the four bidders at Rubens Grove, two were Asian and they were the final two bidders after the other two dropped out. The bidding got quite aggressive between these two and one bidder (who was eventual buyer) was very keen to buy it.
• With the other auctions, all felt buzzy at the start and like they would build into something big but then never did. There were four pass-ins and only Rubens Grove sold under the hammer.

Adam (three auctions – Balwyn North x 2, Hawthorn)

• Big crowds – 80 at each.
• Bidders – not many but they were quick-fire auctions. There were probably more bidders there than bid but they didn’t get a chance to get their hands up.
• Didn’t see any Asian bidders
• An anecdote: because it was such a big auction day today, all of the Marshall White crew and team working were supplied with bottles of water and snack packs to keep their energy up throughout the day.

Tom (two auctions – Toorak and Elsternwick – a tale of two cities)

• No real interest at Toorak but seven bidders at Elsternwick.
• Summary from Tom: “On Saturdays, I do auction reporting to get out in the fresh air and see the buzz of different parts of Melbourne, the people, the houses, the streets. I have always had an interest in houses and have a special interest in Californian Bungalows and 1930s Art Deco. Since March, the property market has been on fire with prices that defy my bookkeeper’s conservatism. The market seems to be back where it was in the last half of 2007 and I am surprised at how competitive it is at auctions these days. Well located family homes in the inner suburbs under $2 million is a very strong market – they never seem to go out of fashion.”

MORE ADVICE from our AUCTION REPORTERS
17 Regent St Elsternwick Renovator - great spot and great bones.
http://www.domain.com.au/Public/PropertyDetails.aspx?adid=2008025585
James Auction Report: In front of 80 people, an optimistic bid of $800,000 started this auction. Lots of bidding and lots of entertainment here – seven bidders and the property sold for $1.39 million. In Hawthorn, this would have pushed $1.8 to $1.9 million.

HISTORY LESSON – rewind one year to same pre-Melbourne Cup weekend 2008

James Market Insight, 25 October 2008:
At 5pm Saturday, just two of the 13 auctions we attended today have sold under the hammer, with another two or three expected to be sold overnight.

Here are three quality home auctions from 25 October 2008 – they would have all sold well today.

85 St Vincent Place Albert Park:
James Auction Report 25 Oct 2008: Biggest crowd I’ve seen this year to hear auctioneer Andrew Macmillan put on his first-rate routine: he starts quietly, forcing the crowd across the road to move to him, and he made some very humorous comments. So I, as usual, enjoyed the show, as did everybody else, except, at time of leaving, the owner. Class property, class auctioneer – no result yet.

28 Thanet St Malvern
James Auction Report 25 Oct 25th: “The opening bid from the crowd was well below the quote. Another bidder made one bid and then another offered a smaller increase, which wasn’t accepted. The property was passed in to the highest bidder – not sure this will sell unless there is major movement from either buyer or seller.”

1 Fairlie Court South Yarra
James Auction Report 25 Oct 2008: “Auctioneer Jeremy Fox started by saying this home was worth $5 million and then called out a $4.5 million opening vendor bid. There was no response from the crowd.”

Lots more detail below on each auction in our Market Wraps and NO MARKET NEWS NEXT WEEK on the Melbourne Cup Long Weekend. We return the week after for the run to Christmas.

Buy Well

Mal

Thank you for a huge effort today from many people:

A big thank you to all our auction reporters and auction and sale coordinators Melinda Brown and Simone Clarke – it is not easy dealing with grumpy advocates each week and getting a wide coverage of million-dollar-plus auctions up in a timely manner on a Saturday night. But you do it and do it well. Thank you.

Thank you also for the continuing support we receive from selling agents Marshall White, Benmac, Kay and Burton, RT Edgar, Hocking Stuart, Noel Jones, Biggin and Scott, JP Dixon, Jellis Craig to name a few. We published a strong article last week, which we 100 per cent stand by and we were challenged on a number of points during the week,. It was robust but polite discussion and no agent pressured us to stop writing opinion pieces and no agent stopped us reporting their results (good or bad) today. Thank you.

A much loved character in South Yarra real estate, Phillipe Batters from Williams Batters didn't have anything going to plan at his Leopold Street South Yarra auction today (no bidders); but he still managed to get it over the line post-auction at $1.73 m

It’s 6pm and the James Clearance Rate stands at 63% for Melbourne’s million-dollar-plus homes. It’s down from last week, but it’s a stat that doesn’t truly reflect the market right now, as the market hasn’t dropped its intensity of the past few months.

All markets reflect human needs, wants and desires. Today’s drop from last week merely reflects vendors who had good homes but a different opinion on price from any buyer who turned up. For example, 65 Finch Street East Malvern should have sold and north of $2.5 million.

Bennison Mackinnon’s Andrew McCann (who sold a classic home in Stanhope St Malvern mid-week before auction) stated that Benmac sold eight from eight today, including 39 Erica Ave Glen Iris, an “Inform” home, for an undisclosed figure (which we feel could have been in excess of $2 million). Andrew, who was also surprised by the Finch St non-sale, said inspection numbers at OFIs are up 30% on last year and, while he feels Stonnington has yet to experience Boroondara’s level of overseas interest, the market overall, in Stonnington, is very strong because of local buyer demand.

You may think that we are talking the market up above what is actually happening. Here again are the powerful stats from Kristen’s Sunday Reflection article of last week, which show how quickly things change in six months:

15 November to 6 December 2008 – four auction weeks
James $1m+ Clearance rate: 35% on 53 auctions
Average bidders per auction: 0.8 per auction
No Bidder Auction rate: 47%
3+ Bidder Auctions we saw: 3
5+ Bidder Auctions we saw: nil

April / May 2009 – last four auction weeks
James $1m+ Clearance rate: 75% on 80 auctions
Average Bidders per auction: 1.875 per auction
No Bidder Auction rate: 28%
3+ Bidder Auctions we saw: 25
5+ Bidder Auctions we saw: 6

Another real news story is how overseas buyers, mainly from Asia, are flooding into the Boroondara market since the Foreign Investment Review Board rule changes relaxed the restrictions on overseas people buying property in Australia. The photo above right is part of the 120+ crowd who attended the Jellis Craig 58 Argyle Road Kew auction. Adam Woledge reports:

A very large crowd of 120 people turned out to see Maurice Di Marzio conduct considerable traffic for this well-elevated block of land in a good Kew street. Opening with a genuine bid of $950,000, things crept along to be on the market at $1.1 million. Intense bidding from five bidders saw this sell very strongly at $1.631 million. A great result for vendor and agent alike. Land in this council area and in the right condition is certainly coveted at the moment.

That’s right: 58 Argyle Road Kew sold $531,000 over the reserve.

I asked Robert Ding from Jellis Craig (I seem to be a bit of a Jellis Craig groupie today) about the FIRB effect on property prices in Boroondara. He stated that his quick stats show that 47% of all Boroondara homes he has sold this year were to overseas people from Asia, and the number of buyers from there is increasing. Robert does have a strong advantage, as he is able to speak Cantonese/Mandarin.

17 Grange Road Kew, which we gave rated at 897/1000 – one of our highest 2009 James Home Ratings – is being managed by Sean Cussell of Marshall White and 30 of the 38 groups through this property last Saturday had an Asian connection.

Overseas demand is, in part, what is pushing residential prices upwards at present.

Bayside and Stonnington have had an increased overseas interest but not as much as Boroondara.

While on the subject of overseas, I would like to congratulate a client on his foresight mid-week to show me just how important currency risk is in a negotiation where a buyer or seller is overseas. I like to think that at James Buyer Advocates, we look at all angles but this is one we hadn’t considered. Our client had considered it and made a powerful argument that quite possibly got the deal over the line. Well done.

We never cease to be amazed at just how many new things our company learns each week, not only from high-quality selling agents but also from very smart clients. Coincidentally, we are involved on the other side of currency risk as a buyer right now and this client has also sent us a currency chart. It is a big deal if you can present your case well.

We really don’t want to start putting up graphs that look like economists’ charts, as this is not the flavour of James Market News, but, in some extreme cases, a suitable settlement can sweeten the deal to the tune of $400,000 on a $4 million deal where either a buyer or seller has to move dollars in or out of Australia.

This week in the James Market News:

We have launched our pre-auction show, with a new edition live on the site each Tuesday. Each week, Mal, Adam and Kristen will discuss homes of interest that they’ve viewed and highlight forthcoming auctions. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

For the first time, we’ve put up a video of a live auction on the site. We’ve videoed live auctions before but this is the first one we’ve made available to the public. The auction we attended was 25 Mary Street St Kilda West, which hadn’t sold at the time of publishing. Most auctions we’ve witnessed the past month have not panned out like this but we report it as we see it, and Mary St was randomly chosen for our first video. This also shows that, even though the market has some heat, as a buyer you should not assume that everything is going to go hard at any price. Thank you to Justin and Gerald from Marshall White for giving us some of your time (unfortunately not all of which got onto the site, owing to some technical difficulties).

David Gillham of Noel Jones said that we had better put Burwood on our auction visit list with a million-dollar sale at 9 Kilsyth Avenue Burwood ($1,005,000), after a pass-in at $960,000. That is a good result.

Architect Adam has another good article on Mary Street Hawthorn and Grant’s Sunday Reflections looks at the Jason and Kylie Love story, which is oh so true, in oh so many ways.

Our thanks to Hocking Stuart’s Marshall Rushford for his time and insights on Caulfield and Elsternwick, which feature in this week’s Another Point of View. He is also a Collingwood supporter – what a wonderful agent!

Buy Well

I have known Gerald a fair while and he is without peer in a number of beachfront high-rises as far as selling goes. He’s very patient, is good at following up and will meet you out of hours. Gerald has many contacts and has sold a number of apartments several times over. If you ask and listen, you can learn a lot from Gerald about where to be and where not to be in many apartment block situations. He represents his vendors strongly on price at all times, so keep thinking when you are talking to him.

Mal: Family status and where do you live?
Gerald: I am married to Suzie and  have six children, three boys and three girls. I live in Glen Iris, having moved from Port Melbourne three years ago to be close to private schools.

Mal: How long have you been in real estate and what is the company you work for?
Gerald: I have been in real estate for 12 years and work for Marshall White out of their Armadale office.

Where do you mainly work (area) and what types of homes do you specialise in?
I specialise in the Bayside suburbs from Port Melbourne to St Kilda and sell a lot of high-end apartments and houses.

What makes a good investment?
A property that has location or views, or both, that is desirable to most people. It need to have something special. Normally one that rents well and has good capital growth. Apartments: normally smaller blocks, secure, strata titled, parking, good lease, sometimes older style, preferably not main road, must have outdoor space, heating and cooling and be low maintenance.

What makes a good family home?
Assuming that a family has two or more children, a good family home will have two living areas, master bedroom  away from the children’s bedrooms and some outdoor space and preferably close to shops and transport and schools.
Off-street parking is very important.

What makes a good buying decision?
Have a budget, and a list of requirements and make sure that the home ticks 80% of your boxes.

Best investment decision you made?
Buying two bayside apartments off the plan in 1998.

Worst investment decision you made?
Selling one of these apartments.

What are the top three precincts in your area, how big is an average block, what type/style of home, what is the dirt price and how much for a renovated home today?
The three top precincts in my area are Middle Park, Albert Park and Port Melbourne.  The blocks vary considerably and views of the water can add thousands to the price. Beacon Cove, which is Port Melbourne, is a suburb on its own and is made up of apartments and houses.

•1. Beacon Cove

•2. Beach Road – in particular HMAS Lonsdale

•3. St Kilda West

Note: Gerald provides more indepth views in audio (see link above).

Three underrated streets in your area for family home buying (where, price, type and style, would they have to renovate)?

•1.     The five Port Melbourne towers with water views

•2. Beaconsfield Parade

•3. Richardson Street

•4. Page Street

•5. McGregor Street

Note: Gerald provides more indepth views in audio.

What would you say to a young couple with $800,000 looking for a family home specifically in your area – eg (where, type and style, would they have to renovate)
It is very hard to find a property of any size in this area for $800,000. Possibly only a single-fronted property that needs a lot of work.

What would you say to  a downsizing couple with $1.5 million specifically in your area (where, type and style, would they have to renovate)?
For $1.5 million in our area, you would buy a three bedroom apartment, a house in Beacon Cove or a renovated single-fronted house. You may find a double fronted house that is in need of a major renovation.

Buyer Agents yes or no?
Depending on the time you have to look.

Apartments or Houses?
Apartments are great, as there is no maintenance and you can lock them up and get away.

Auction or Private Sale?
We are a strong advocates of the auction system but sometimes it will depend on the property.

How can a seller maximise their value at sale?
Put your property in the hands of a good experienced agent and let them run the campaign. Be realistic and be prepared to meet the market.

What are the do’s and don’ts for buyers when dealing with selling agents?
Let them know what your requirements are and don’t deviate. Be honest and a good agent will return the favour.

What do you think are the opportunities now with us?
Water views.

Note: Gerald provides more indepth views in audio.

Where is the market going in 2009 in your area?
I believe that Bayside prices came off in 2008 and have now stabilised. Prices  will stay steady throughout 2009. People everywhere around the world have always been attracted to water and that won’t change. People are looking more for lifestyle. This area is only 5k’s from the city and an area that people flock to for their social life.

Note: Gerald provides more indepth views in audio.

Who will win this year’s premiership and why?
It will be a Hawthorn v Geelong GF again and I think Geelong.

If a potential seller would like an appraisal or wishes to sell their home, how is it best to contact you and what are your details? Mobile 0418 371855  Email: gerald.betts@marshallwhite.com.au