
In our business we often enjoy watching those watching the auctions. You’ve heard of Gogglebox and Footybox – well this this is Auctionbox. Above the little guy is working overtime on the paperwork, as Mum and Dad have a D&M. 7 Gascoyne Street, Canterbury (John Piccolo). Passed in $3,600,000, 1 Bidder. Photo Josh Lipshut

And at 20 Broomfield, Hawthorn East – well, what can we say – great photo. Bought under the hammer with Campbell Ward $2,135,000, 2 bidders. And again, photo Josh Lipshut
At 6.00pm Saturday, the overall Inner Melbourne $2M+ market results:
Family Home Clearance Rate of 72% on the 32 Inner Melbourne $M+ auctions we covered.
Combined with James Bidderman (bidders per auction) @ 1.8 on increasing auction stock numbers.
The Clearance Rates are now matching Bidderman – they are easing and have been doing so since winter.
The stats are becoming consistent – a trend – the beginning of an overall easing(?) – however it is far from consistent across the board.
Look at our Volcanoes (4+ Bidders) v Lones and Ducks (0 and 1 bidder) below

Great home and well bought by Adam Woledge. 18 Coleridge Street, Kew (James Tostevin) $6,400,000, 5 Bidders
Glen Iris (Stonnington), 25 Aintree Road (John Manton) Under the Hammer, $3,120,000, 7 Bidders
Kew, 18 Coleridge Street (James Tostevin) Under the Hammer $6,400,000, 5 Bidders
Canterbury, 51 Mangarra Road (Antony Woodley) Under the Hammer $3,888,000, 5 Bidders
Kew, 7 Hillcrest Avenue (Alastair Craig) After Auction $3,450,000, 1 Bidder
Malvern, 42 McKinley Avenue (Andrew McCann) After Auction $3,100,000, 1 Bidder
Elwood, 72 Addison Street (Sam Gamon) After Auction Undisclosed, 0 Bidders
Two weeks ago was (in our opinion) the weakest start to a season since 2011, both in terms of overall excitement and numbers at Open for Inspections.
So what did we see today?
We covered 32 auctions today with 2 sold before.
The Bottom 10 had 4 bidders – no, not 4 bidders each, 4 for the whole 10.
The Top 10 had almost 4 bidders each (3.8)
So there is an interesting play on numbers.
Every individual Top 10 auction had the same number of bidders, as all the bottom 10 auctions combined. WOW!
You can be a A-grader on Price, Property and Position and you can also be a C-grader on your combination of Price, Property and Position.
In 2015 and for a lot of last year almost all A, B and C-graders sold and almost at any price – while we haven’t seen significant price drops yet, the fact that homes are not selling, indicates the price situation may well change.
The gaps are continuing to widen between A and C-graders from last year, to last season, to now.
4th and final 2017 – 100 Auction Market Test
At James Buyer Advocates we will be covering and reporting the results on 100 randomly chosen auctions, over $2 million in Inner East and Bayside for the final time of year 2017 – Today, October 28th and November 25th – to find out where the Top End Inner Melbourne market rests at the end of 2017.
Here are some of today’s results – we are a third of the way through the 100 Auctions.
The rest you will find on our James Auction Results page. Click here
Is the market on a turn?
As we have said since the winter break, for the first time in a long while, the ingredient(s) are there for a turn with
- Overseas Asian buyers weakening in number? combined with
- A tightening of credit for locals. Resulting in
- fewer bidders below the surface (like a shrinking iceberg).
Smaller Picture
Now please at this stage our market is not a pool with leaks – it is a pool that is not having as much water poured into it.
So, at this stage our market levels are not rising as they have.
The leaks – the holes – come when we have an attitudinal change and to date that has not really occurred – when it does (and it will at some stage); that is when you will see short term falls.
Bigger Picture
Our Melbourne market is also by nature a tidal pool and with global warming (population increases) our Melbourne Market pool will continue to rise over the longer term, however there will at times, be those who bought on the fringe, who are left high and dry.
The fringe buys are C-graders and the fringe can be positional, property and price (yep price) PPP determined.
I really like this picture – its a happy one – and its an informative one – and I’d still buy boats now, such as the shallow bottomed PPP ones. As for the big tankers mmmm – maybe that’s best left to those with deeper pockets / more squirrelled acorns – those who can remain marooned for longer periods of time ………
waiting for the king tides that will inevitably leave us, to inevitably return – be happy hey though!

Every man/woman and her dog was there to watch Iain Carmichael sell 50 Armadale Street, Armadale under the hammer for $3,670,000 with 2 Bidders.
Armadale, 50 Armadale Street (Iain Carmichael) Under the Hammer $3,670,000, 2 Bidders
Malvern East, 13 Epping Street (James Tomlinson) Under the Hammer $3,501,000, 3 Bidders
Glen Iris (Stonnington), 25 Aintree Road (John Manton) Under the Hammer $3,120,000, 7 Bidders
For 32 James Auction Results click here

C’mon Smithy, you cry baby – you actually sold it – what are you like on a pass-in? 8 Berwick, Stephen Smith, 3 bidders, $2,451,000.
Albert Park, 16 Reed Street (Michael Paproth) Under the Hammer $4,110,000, 3 Bidders
Brighton, 8 Berwick Street (Stephen Smith) Under the Hammer $2,451,000, 3 Bidders
Port Melbourne, 273 Ross Street (Justin Holod) Under the Hammer $2,300,000, 2 Bidders
For 32 James Auction Results click here

Lovely backdrop for the auctioneer’s auctioneer – Mr Antony Woodley – 51 Mangarra Road, Canterbury $3,888,000, 5 Bidders.
Hawthorn, 10 Riversdale Court (James Tostevin) Under the Hammer $6,560,000, 3 Bidders
Kew, 18 Coleridge Street (James Tostevin) Under the Hammer $6,400,000, 5 Bidders
Canterbury, 51 Mangarra Road (Antony Woodley) Under the Hammer $3,888,000, 5 Bidders
For 32 James Auction Results click here
The Founder and Director of the Plaster House, Sarah Rejman is travelling to Melbourne to spread the word about her remarkable work for disabled children in Arusha, Tanzania.
Opened in 2008, the Plaster House is home to over 100 children in Arusha, supporting them as they recover from a range of procedures and surgeries.
From an initial 9 beds, it has grown into something much bigger than anyone could have ever imagined.
Sarah (a Melbourne girl) and her team’s story is truly inspirational.
Come meet Sarah and hear what she has to say.
Saint Johns Community Hall
5 Finch St, Malvern East
5:30pm Thursday 2nd November
Register now : www.trybooking.com/SISI
Any questions or queries contact: mal@james.net.au or 0408 107 988 or Rev John Baldock 0438 640 644.
For more information about The Plaster House, check out their website www.theplasterhouse.org or check out their Instagram @theplasterhouse or Facebook.