It felt like boom times on Saturday.
Our first auction at 9:30am saw a strong crowd of 80, including five bidders (and a few reporters) at 32a Cromwell Road, South Yarra – a stunning, award-winning 90s Wood Marsh townhouse that garnered incredible attention and interest, including a nice write up in The Age on Sunday.
125 groups inspected during the short, three-week campaign, after we brought the auction forward a week due to strong interest.
At 11am, 6 Martin Crescent, Glen Iris was just as competitive, selling under the hammer with six bidders in front of an equally impressive crowd.
The locals were thrilled that the buyers, a young family moving to be close to Sacré Cœur, will keep the c1922 Californian Bungalow and renovate it, as the other five bidders were all looking to demolish and build new. The three-bedroom house on 687sqm had been in the same family for 96 years.
Our third and final auction of the day at 28 Edsall Street, Malvern, made it three from three for Team Fetter/Sciola, selling with four bidders in front of another great crowd, for an unrenovated single front in original condition.
It’s not often we average five bidders per auction on a Saturday, and all three results were stronger than expected. It was reminiscent of the red-hot markets of 2017 or 2021. Especially the large crowds.
Of course, this is a very small sample size of three auctions in mid-August, and we are expecting bidder numbers and crowds to return to normal in the coming weeks. But it was a very positive start to early spring, and it is clear that confidence has returned to the market.
The clearance rate across Jellis Craig dipped slightly this week to a still healthy 78 percent from 69 auctions.
Stock levels are slowly increasing, meaning buyers will have more choice.
There’s always a temptation at this time of year for buyers to wait for the next best thing.
Buyers like to hedge their bets, hoping that an even better property will come up this week or next week. Or a similar property for a better price.
There’s an inherent risk in this type of thinking. We see it all the time. Buyers who are crippled by indecision. Always waiting for more stock. They like a property but can’t commit. And they often miss the market.
They look back and think, “I should have bought Green Street. That one was good buying”.
The grass is always greener… (on Green Street).
So, if you see a property that you like, that fits within your budget, have a crack at it! Most buyers miss out on multiple properties before they eventually secure one.
If prices continue to rise, time is not your friend.
Not being in a rush is fine, but as a long-term strategy, it doesn’t tend to work.
Feature Property: 11 Airlie Avenue, Prahran
David Sciola 