Weekend auction wrap: Where the hammer fell
The so-so September auction results – and associated overly negative headlines – have thwarted the anticipated surge in October listings.
The discretionary vendors of Melbourne and Sydney have possibly postponed listings until 2012.
October stock levels seem set to be down by about 20% on last year in both capitals.
Despite the subdued spring volume, it’s still a buyer’s market, albeit there are the occasional strong prices.
Sydney vendors notched up a 55% clearance rate from its 314 weekend listings.
Melbourne recorded a 53% clearance rate from its 557 listings.
Both capital city clearance rates are down on the same time last year, when Sydney achieved 60% and Melbourne 62% from the corresponding weekend of 2010.
Any late surge in listings in November or December could test the market, which has effectively been in a cooling state of equilibrium now for much of this year.
The most expensive home sold at auction at the weekend was a four-bedroom house in the Sydney suburb of Mosman. Its $3.05 million sale fell well short of its initial $3.7 million plus hopes when it was marketed in August – and well below the then revised expectations of $3.5 million in September. It last sold at $2.6 million in September 2009 and before that at $3 million in 2007.
Things were far more bullish for the most expensive Melbourne property – a double-fronted three bedroom Victorian era house in Hawthorn – which had been quoted by Jellis Craig at between $1.6 million and $1.8 million.
The property was on the market at $1.7 million and sold for $2,225,000.
The Johnson Street vendors knocked back a pre-auction offer of $1.7 million.
Melbourne buyers’ agent Greville Pabst says the reduced volume was due to the vendors holding back in anticipation of improved selling conditions.
“This decision follows months of poor sentiment propagated by media reports of falling house price and delicate economic conditions,” Pabst says.
“While diminished in quantity, there remains a revolving stock of quality properties of various asset classes in high-performance areas across Melbourne.
“Selecting these limited number of properties requires due diligence on behalf of buyers, but is a process that will yield significant long-term benefits if undertaken correctly,” Pabst suggests.
