Is Kew/Hawthorn going past Toorak at the Top End?
Mal James
Buy Sell Agent
0408 107 988
mal@james.net.au
Is Kew and Hawthorn poised to overtake Toorak as the go-to destination for discerning Top End buyers?
I jest, but let’s delve into the facts.
Back when I entered this realm, Brighton was priced at $3,000 per square meter (sqm), while Toorak commanded a similar $3,000 (sqm). Fast forward a few decades, and Brighton now sits at $6,000, with Toorak soaring beyond $10,000 per sqm.
In the realm of million-dollar-plus sales, Brighton and Toorak once stood as towering goalposts at each end on the suburb $1m+ turnover charts, all other suburbs appeared as mere grass clippings below. Then came the FIRB (Foreign Investment Review Board) changes and the globalization of Melbourne’s property market. Bang! Kew and Hawthorn, owing to their proximity to established Asian communities spanning from Balwyn to Doncaster, surged in value, surpassing Brighton but still trailing Toorak, which had also skyrocketed, but from a considerably higher land per sqm base.
Now, let’s bring it to the present. In recent weeks, we’ve witnessed these remarkable sales:
- Sackville Ward, Kew, approximately $20,000,000 (Marcus Chiminello, James Tostevin)
- Sackville Ward, Kew, approximately $22,000,000 (Sam Wilkinson)
- …….. Kew, approximately $15,000,000 (Mike Beardsley)
- Studley Park, Kew, approximately $15,000,000 (David Felicia)
- Studley Park, Kew, approximately $12,000,000 (Scott Patterson)
- Chaucer Crescent, Canterbury, approximately $10,000,000 (Mike Beardsley)
Now, let’s compare this to Toorak. Are we witnessing a shift in the balance of power, with Hawthorn and Kew leading the charge into the high-value market? I’m not entirely convinced, but it’s evident that the gap is narrowing. $20,000,000 sales in Toorak no longer make headlines, but how long until this is the norm in Boroondara?
Albert Park and Brighton may be losing a bit of their record-breaking luster (although a couple of beachfront sales earlier this year suggest that the Bay still has some life in it, surpassing the $20 million mark). So, the once solitary figure of Toorak now appears to have a formidable challenger in Kew and Hawthorn.
'Round the Grounds Today
2023M4 Week 1
Bidderman
1.7
Stock
GOOD
Clearance
76%
Auctions Attended
37
Ducks
8
Volcanoes
5
2023M4 Week 2
Bidderman
1.3
Stock
LOW
Clearance
41%
Auctions Attended
29
Ducks
12
Volcanoes
3
It takes a bit to shock me stats wise…but today did. The market trend had been down since June but the weekend before Melbourne Cup was so emphatically positive in the mid-ranges, that I floated the idea of a market going against the odds and lifting again. I was at odds with the general media, but the sample size was large and our methods scientific and consistent with what we began over a decade and a half ago. You can see the results above.
Today after seeing a few volcano reports floating in and seeing what is happening at the Top End, outside Toorak, I was thinking about another positive summary (against the odds)
But how wrong I was as the stats and auction reports came in – today was a disaster for the market in the middle Top End price range ($2m to $5m) and even the shining light in the east – Boroondara could not escape the inactivity of buyers. Mitigation could be the occasional volcano and an argument stock quality was weaker but mmmmm, that’s a stretch!
Wow – what do I think this means? Was the pre-Cup weekend, just a statistical anomaly on a trend of down, or is today caught up in some kind of horsey hangover? I seriously don’t know – the world of interest rates and wars is saying the market should be hurting but there is also another world of migration and cashed-up post covid buyers. To be honest the last two weeks’ divergences have me now second-guessing myself in that $2m to $5m market, as to what the run to Christmas holds.
I look forward to next weekend with interest.
Sorrento circa $7m
Brighton
Kew circa $20m
Mal James
Buy Sell Agent
0408 107 988
mal@james.net.au
As we travel through our fourth and final market of the year – the pre-Santa 2023M4 – and in a week where Sim, Gina and Mal quietly completed $ 30 million in transactions – although none at auction, little coverage on the internet and no mainstream media – we thought it could be interesting for us to put forward some thoughts on how we see negotiations.
For 40 years professionally and longer as a kid I have negotiated my position and/or those I represent to ……….
…………get what I/they really really want.
That’s it – to get what I really really want. Self-interest……….is the only game in town that makes sense to me in life.
Even Mother Teresa and Gandhi were a self-interested girl and guy. They negotiated for what they wanted, for what they believed in. They were no less or more than you, in trying to achieve what one wants.
However, where I have evolved in my life of negotiating, is seeing that many of us including myself at times, are not negotiating for what we really really want – we are simply negotiating for the sake of it or from habit.
And whilst we negotiate with increasing efficiencies (transactions) our level of increased satisfaction and happiness appears to be not equally matching.
Of the 3 transactions of ours this week (agents involved: Marcus Chiminello, James Tostevin, Andrew McCann, Emil Foller and Jack Johnstone): one took a year, one took a few months, and one basically a week.
For us, there is only one optimal result…what you really, really want…but there are many ways to achieve and many ways to miss that.
Conflict vs Competition. Cooperation vs Compromise.
In the pursuit of an outcome, you will face many choices between negotiation strategies:
There is Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” (conflict)
and Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” (competition)
Competition doesn’t just mean multiple bidding by the way. In our opinion there was only one real buyer on each of the 3 homes we bought and sold.
I am talking about the deal itself – it’s style – you can see this in agencies. For instance, some are very combative: they aim to smash rather than find common ground and some have been and are still, very successful agencies. We have worked with them and against them successfully and unsuccessfully.
Others are competitive, they promote a more amicable approach, which can at times seem blissful and growing together but also can be expensive… if you are not switched on. You can still be beaten, but you don’t tend to feel as bad …. that is the nature of this beast at times.
I prefer competition to conflict personally, but can live with either and by the way, competition is not always healthy as an excessive focus on winning (competition) erodes ethical considerations, as well as leads to significant burnouts.
In the case of this week, all 3 were competitive rather than combative or conflictual negotiations, although Andrew McCann was making me cry most of the time.
Let’s talk Cooperation vs. Compromise:
Cooperation with an emphasis on building good relationships. Collaborating, pooling resources, and sharing responsibilities…. we feel lead to a stronger sense of joint effective problem-solving.
We think they lead to more and better deals than Compromise which requires finding middle ground, often leading to suboptimal solutions.
Whilst compromise may be necessary to maintain relationships in real estate, your buyer or seller agent should not be concerned about relationships if it means a lesser deal to you, the one they represent. So, whilst we find co-operation generally more effective, we dislike compromise in dealmaking as it’s less satisfactory. Combat with a riskier downside, is a superior strategy for clients where compromise is becoming the outcome.
We always recommend walk away from a home, from a price, even from us if you feel you are compromising – for it may work for you now but it almost surely won’t in the future.
Compromise is sometimes hard to quantify, but our definition has always been, if it’s not what you really really want, then it’s a compromise. The skill as you get older and wiser (if you do) is to refine and attach what that deeply means to the big picture and not the current noise and minutiae.
The Role of Commitment
Commitment to oneself and to others involves staying true to sound values and ethical principles, even in the face of conflict or competition. It’s a trust thing.
I am an Asperger, meaning on the spectrum. For me, I see myself as a different thinker, committed to a narrow range of causes and actions. Others see me as inflexible, lacking social skills – prickly, uncompromising, annoying and they are my clients, the small number who possibly like me.
My point is….. this week all 3 deals were done because there was a level of commitment by our clients to us and us to them and the agents to us and vice-versa and the agents and their clients. Differing levels yes, but there was commitment. What commitment in negotiations is about is trust (or lack of), more so than sugar and spice and all things nice… commitment as we see it, revolves around truths with various levels of respect thrown in.
Ultimately every deal is about truths, just different versions at different levels for each of us.
The stronger the commitment to a principle of getting what is really really wanted (for the client) and the stronger the return love from the client, then generally the stronger the outcomes for the client and the agent. Not always, but generally.
Commitment is building rapport yes… but it’s not sucking up, being agreeable, nor is it being polite and quiet, not rocking the boat, but unhappy if you are a client. Commitment is a robust focus on client needs….. and high commitment often includes respect for each other.
If you show none as some agents and buyers /sellers do, then the bar of trust is lowered next time and lowered again and again and those connected with those bar-lowering people, generally get poorer results due to lack of trust.
I cannot work longer term with people who are not committed to me, and you should not if I am not committed to you – as there is insufficient trust. Some smartarse will add the Groucho Marx, I wouldn’t want to be a member joke to this statement.
A case in point on commitment and trust is 111 Sackville owners to James, Marcus, Gina and me. If both C&G (clients) had begun to lose commitment to a process of co-operation, then categorically their circa $20m result would not have been achieved, as the trust needed on this tightrope would have dissipated.
Ditto if James Tostevin, who had a relationship with the 111 buyers, had not been committed to the buyers and vice versa, then they would not have trusted enough and bought this unbelievable home.
Multi-agent works but it’s multi-agent with commitment – multi-agent with us is commitment and trust in a process (and it’s people) that includes respect for clients and agents, and others…….. it’s not simply open slather.
The only rider to all of the above in commitment negotiations is skill and ethics, for commitment without them is not that valuable in a deal. Negotiations with skill, ethics, commitment and self-interest, is the property quaddie I suggest you try and find every Saturday.
Effect of Timing: Immediacy vs. Longer Time Frames
What is one of the greatest oversights in dealmaking and deal quality?
Timing!
- The immediacy of conflict or competition can yield quick results but may neglect long-term consequences. Longer time frames often favour cooperation, as they allow for sustainable solutions to emerge. This is not a rule, it’s a statement.
- Today the seller is at $3m and the buyer at $2.8m. Next week the seller may be at $2.8m and the buyer at $3m. No deal today but a good or bad deal for either buyer or seller is available next week. (That’s timing combined with never giving up and keeping the ball bouncing – a negotiation triumvirate)
Changing Opinions: Opinions are dynamic ….. adapt your strategy accordingly. The ability to recognize and accommodate your friend or enemy’s viewpoint can be the difference between a deal and no deal.
The whole shebang on timing I learnt from a Brighton agent called Stan the man, in fact, I now reminisce sitting in the back of an LTD with Dennis Bowen Day, Michael Cooney and Stan the Man, as we did the Tuesday caravans at Hodges, going from new listing to new listing at the turn of the millennium.
Dennis with hand flat on the steering wheel, turning the power steering would be regaling some weekend success and I would lean to Stan and say how is that deal coming together with that buyer on such and such. Stan would look at me and say….. “almost”…. (pause)….. “they are not quite ready yet” (meaning buyer and seller) ……. (wink from Stan)….. “but will be very soon Mal” (meaning he was applying his fear of loss magic to both sides).
It’s all about timing…. Thank you Stan….. you were the best at timing………great lesson.
Do You Have to Reach an Agreement Now?
Reaching an agreement is vital in certain contexts, such as legal matters or business negotiations or what we are seeing in the rest of the world, even in Aus recently, where clear resolutions are necessary sooner rather than later.
And in homebuying and selling you do need an agreement to do a deal…….. but way too often (in part due to buyer/seller inexperience and in part due to agent ethics or skill) buyers and sellers rush to the exits of a deal; to be gone with it all; however in fact all they really achieved was that dreaded compromise.
You can live well in an environment of disagreement or non-completion when:
- Active listening and empathy are practiced.
- Open, respectful dialogue prevails.
- Common goals are identified and pursued.
Yep, for me …………something I need to improve……… but for Gina’s client’s Brighton purchase which may have seemed speedy – (failed auction and significant price drop) – it was all about both Gina and her client having been in a good place, despite no action on previous homes.
No action, no agreement, but the trust remained, in fact, it was strengthened with good dialogues and when the client was advised by Gina to go all-in, she did.
Agreement vs. Disagreement (alternative view)
- Reaching an agreement leads to stability but may involve compromise.
- Working in disagreement can foster diversity of thought and creativity and if you communicate well, it can build trust.
Over the years I/we have found in dealmaking the choice between conflict, competition, cooperation, and compromise depends on context and goals.
Commitment, timing, and adaptability can play significant roles in navigating any deal.
While agreements are crucial in some situations, an environment of disagreement can also lead to positive outcomes when managed with respect and cooperation.
The repercussions of each approach differ, highlighting the importance of choosing the most appropriate deal strategy for the given circumstances and again having real clarity on what it is …….you really, really want.
3 deals this week at $ 30 million with no fanfare says maybe there are better ways to buy and sell real estate than what you are currently seeing and hearing.
Gina reference from one the deals this week:
Engaging James Buy Sell and Gina and Mal was one of the best property decisions I have made. Gina and Mal were able to help me identify a high-quality property that met all of my criteria and then move quickly to secure the house ahead of other bidders.
Throughout the process, Gina listened carefully to what I was looking for and invested the time into developing an approach that was tailored perfectly to my situation. I had full confidence in the advice I was being provided and I have no doubt that the outcome I achieved through James Buy Sell is better than I would have achieved on my own.
On top of everything else, nothing was too hard for Gina and Mal! The entire process was seamless, communication was great and they worked hard to make the buying experience as easy as possible. I’d highly recommend James Buy Sell to anyone who is looking to purchase a new property and I will definitely be looking to work with them in the future.
Thank you Gina & Mal !
Chloé
Quiet sale appointments through
Paul Richards of Bekdon Richards 0414 503 324
Boroondara
Camberwell Canterbury Glen Iris Hawthorn Hawthorn East Kew
1st Week M4
Bidderman
1.9
Stock
GOOD
Clearance
79%
2nd Week M4
Bidderman
1.3
Stock
LOW
Clearance
38%
Camberwell – Withdrawn/Method Change
Glen Iris, 9 Rowen Street
SOI: $2,600,000 – $2,800,000
Sales Agent: Sarah Risteski – Jellis Craig
Bought auction: $undisc
Bidders: 1
Ashburton, 6 Duke Street
SOI: $2,650,000 – $2,900,000
Sales Agent: Michael Rosano – Fletchers
Crowd: 54
Opening Bid: $2,700,000 VB
Passed in: $2,960,000
After auction: $2,970,000
Bidders: 3
Slow start at the auction however, three eager bidders stepped in to purchase the home. After a brief half time break, the property was passed in, with the highest bid reaching $2,960,000. Sold after.
Kew, 5 Heather Grove
SOI: $3,600,000 – $3,800,000
Sales Agent: Sophie Su – Kay & Burton
Crowd: 30
Opening Bid: $3,600,000 VB
On the market: $3,900,000
Under the hammer: $3,940,000
Bidders: 3
This poolside auction had three bidders competing for the keys to this property, with auctioneer Scott Patterson declaring “on the market” at $3,900,000 with the hammer falling at $3,940.000.
Hawthorn, 31 Denham Street
SOI: $4,200,000 – $4,600,000
Sales Agent: Walter Dodich – Kay & Burton
Crowd: 40
Opening Bid: $4,350,000
On the market: $4,950,000
Under the hammer: $5,200,000
Bidders: 4
The auction started quickly with 4 people joining the race. It eventually sold to the highest bidder.
Balwyn, 12 Knutsford Street
SOI: $5,900,000 – $6,300,000
Sales Agent: Nicholas Franzmann – Marshall White
Crowd: 40
Opening Bid: $5,900,000 VB
Passed in: $6,000,000 VB
Bidders: 0
Quiet auction with a vendor bid to open and close the auction.
Camberwell, 35a Radnor Street
SOI: $3,150,000 – $3,450,000
Sales Agent: Robert Le – Marshall White
Crowd: 30
Opening Bid: $3,150,000 VB
Passed in: $3,250,000 VB
Bidders: 0
A vendor bid of $3,150,000 began the auction. After consulting with the vendors Mr McLauchlan placed a second vendor bid of $3,250,000 which he subsequently passed the property in for after no further bids were placed.
Kew, 28 Carson Street Kew
SOI: $2,800,000 – $3,000,000
Sales Agent: Scarlett Hang – Marshall White
Crowd: 40
Opening Bid: $2,800,000 VB
Passed in: $2,880,000
After auction: $undisc
Bidders: 2
Two bidders got involved in the auction before the home was passed in at $2,880,000 and sold soon after.
Hawthorn, 1 Kooyongkoot Road
SOI: $4,200,000 – $4,600,000
Sales Agent: Scott Patterson – Kay & Burton
Crowd: 20
Opening Bid: $4,000,000 VB
Passed in: $4,050,000 VB
Bidders: 0
No bidding and the property passed into the street.
Glen Iris, 36 Sunhill Road
SOI: $2,300,000 – $2,500,000
Sales Agent: Zali Reynolds – Shelter
Crowd: 27
Opening Bid: $2,350,000 VB
Passed in: $2,360,000
Bidders: 1
A lone bid of $2,360,000 was placed, auctioneer Mike Millington passed in the property shortly thereafter.
Canterbury, 171 Prospect Hill Road
SOI: $4,800,000 – $5,200,000
Sales Agent: Wendy Zhou – Heavyside
Crowd: 60
Opening Bid: $4,800,000
Passed in: $5,150,000
Bidders: 2
2 parties fought it out on the street for this property. It eventually passed in to the originally bidder.
Camberwell, 15 Glencairn Avenue
SOI: $3,350,000 – $3,650,000
Sales Agent: Vanessa Cao – Established
Crowd: 25
Opening Bid: $3,550,000 VB
Passed in: $3,550,000 VB
Bidders: 0
No bidding from the street, and the property passed in
Canterbury, 62 Bryson Street
SOI: $3,750,000 – $3,950,000
Sales Agent: Geordie Dixon – Jellis Craig
Crowd: 50
Opening Bid: $3,700,000 VB
Passed in: $3,800,000
Bidders: 1
The 50-strong crowd only offered near-silence at this auction, despite auctioneer Jonathan O’Donoghue’s attempts to entice activity, with just one bidder speaking up once, resulting in a pass-in.
Stonnington
Armadale Malvern Malvern East Prahran Richmond South Yarra Toorak
1st Week M4
Bidderman
1.8
Stock
GOOD
Clearance
91%
2nd Week M4
Bidderman
1.3
Stock
LOW
Clearance
57%
Malvern, 41 Jordan Street
SOI: $3,700,000 – $4,000,000
Sales Agent: Joanna Nairn – Marshall White
Bought auction: $undisc
Bidders: 1
Armadale, 37 Stuart Street
SOI: $2,000,000 – $2,100,000
Sales Agent: Carla Fetter – Jellis Craig
Crowd: 35
Opening Bid: $2,000,000
On the market: $2,170,000
Under the hammer: $2,270,000
Bidders: 2
Blink and you’ll miss it! Two keen bidders met the reserve and knocked down the property within minutes.
Malvern, 12 Ewart Street
SOI: $2,000,000 – $2,200,000
Sales Agent: Carla Fetter – Jellis Craig
Crowd: 55
Opening Bid: $2,000,000 VB
On the market: $2,180,000
Under the hammer: $2,267,000
Bidders: 2
After a break, two bidders stepped up to meet the reserve. Bidder 2 took the top spot and the keys.
Malvern East, 24 Tennyson Street
SOI: $2,100,000 – $2,300,000
Sales Agent: Michael Armstrong – Jellis Craig
Crowd: 70
Opening Bid: $2,200,000
On the market: $2,370,000
Under the hammer: $2,721,000
Bidders: 4
Plenty of interest here. Bidder 4 sniped the auction with a winning $1,000 bid
Malvern East, 95 Tooronga Road
SOI: $2,695,000 – $2,900,000
Sales Agent: Joseph Ben-Danan
Crowd: 10
Opening Bid: $2,650,000 VB
Passed in: $2,650,000 VB
Bidders: 0
The property was passed in on a sole vendor bid of $2,650,000.
Malvern, 36 Elizabeth Street
SOI: $2,300,000 – $2,500,000
Sales Agent: Michael Armstong – Jellis Craig
Crowd: 20
Opening Bid: $2,300,000 VB
Passed in: $2,300,000 VB
Bidders: 0
Auction was kicked off with a $2,300,000 vendor bid, however the crowd remained silent, therefore the property was passed in on this initial vendor bid.
South Yarra, 12 Barnsbury Road
SOI: $2,900,000 – $3,190,000
Sales Agent: Adrian Wood – Kay & Burton
Crowd: 25
Opening Bid: $3,000,000 VB
Passed in: $3,000,000 VB
Bidders: 0
Open and closed on a vendor bid of $3,000,000.
Bayside & Port Phillip
Albert Park Brighton Brighton East Elsternwick Elwood Hampton Middle Park
1st Week M4
Bidderman
1.3
Stock
GOOD
Clearance
58%
2nd Week M4
Bidderman
1.3
Stock
LOW
Clearance
33%
Brighton – Withdrawn/Method Change – on auction day
South Melbourne – Withdrawn/Method Change – on auction day
Brighton – Withdrawn/Method Change
South Melbourne, 16 Tribe Street
SOI: $2,300,000 – $2,400,000
Sales Agent: Simon Gowling – Jellis Craig
Crowd: 50
Opening Bid: $2,300,000
Passed in: $2,410,000
After auction: $2,510,000
Bidders: 2
A genuine opening bid of $2,300,000 kicks off the action as Simon Gowling steers toward a sale after the home passes in at $2,410,000. Sold afterwards for $2,510,000
Brighton East, 35 Lucas Street
SOI: $2,000,000 – $2,200,000
Sales Agent: Phillip Georgiou – Meridian
Crowd: 50
Opening Bid: $2,000,000
On the market: $2,350,000
Under the hammer: $2,501,000
Bidders: 6
It was a fast paced auction at 35 Lucus St Brighton East. The property was on the market at $2.35mil. With a total of 6 bidders, It sold for $2.501mil.
St Kilda West, 59 Mary Street
SOI: $3,950,000 – $4,300,000
Sales Agent: Sam Hobbs – Jellis Craig
Crowd: 50
Opening Bid: $4,100,000 VB
Passed in: $4,100,000 VB
Bidders: 0
Despite the presence of Collingwood greatness and an Olympic gold medallist the home today at 59 Mary Street, St Kilda West was passed in at the opening vendor bid of $4,100,000.
Elsternwick, 1 Clonard Avenue
SOI: $2,000,000 – $2,200,000
Sales Agent: Angelos Stefanis – Biggin & Scott
Crowd: 42
Opening Bid: $2,000,000
On the market: $2,240,000
Under the hammer: $2,240,000
Bidders: 2
Two keen bidders in the mix the property quickly climbed from an opening bid of $2,000,000 to it being sold under the hammer by auctioneer Bill Stavrakis at $2,240,000
Black Rock, 3 Potter Street
SOI: $3,200,000 – $3,400,000
Sales Agent: Garry Donovan – Belle Property
Crowd: 30
Opening Bid: $3,200,000 VB
Passed in: $3,200,000 VB
Bidders: 0
Garry Donovan of Belle Property opens and closes the bidding today at 3 Potter Street Back Rock, with an unanswered vendor bid of $3,200,000.
Hampton, 8 James Crescent
SOI: $2,450,000 – $2,695,000
Sales Agent: Leon Gouzenfiter – Gary Peer
Crowd: 40
Opening Bid: $2,400,000 VB
Passed in: $2,510,000
Bidders: 2
A bid of $2,100,000 from the crowd elicits a vendor bid of $2,400,000 but the bidder, not discouraged, agrees to parry and adds 10,000. A second bidder joins in, and they trade bids until the home is passed in at $2,510,000 to bidder 1.
