Melbourne Auction Results – September 15, 2014
By Peter Sarmas on 15 Sep 2014
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| Melbourne Auction Results 8th-14th September 2014 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
75% 818 |
Sold at Auction: | 523 | Auction Volumes: | $520.16m | |
| Passed in: | 201 | Weekend Last Month: | 693 | ||
| Sold Before: | 94 | Weekend Last Year: | 916 | ||
| Sold After: | 0 | Houses: | 79% | ||
| Unreported: | 158 | Units: | 68% | ||
Preliminary Finals Don’t Shake The Melbourne Market
The first preliminary AFL round didn’t distract property buyers at all.
Melbourne’s clearance rate continued on its merry way to 75 per cent from 818 auctions, a very solid performance by any standard.
The REIV expected 1,000 auctions over the weekend however only 818 have been reported so far. According to their figures, the top auction locations were Prahran, Glen Iris and Coburg, though the inner east and the inner south had the largest number of auctions. Forward estimates indicate that there will be close to 3,000 auctions for the month of September, which would surpass last year’s 2,463 auctions.
It appears the finals did not have the negative impact many expected them to have, perhaps because both games were interstate and at later timeslots.
This coming weekend, the Swans will host Port Adelaide in Sydney while Hawthorn will play North Melbourne in what is expected to be a sell-out game at the MCG.
Expect property to take somewhat of a back seat before the first bounce at 4.45pm on Saturday.
On The Economic Front
Due to the release of some very interesting data last week, we have some new insights on the state of the Australian property market.
Firstly, there are those questionable employment numbers.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that the unemployment rate took a dramatic tumble from 6.4 per cent to 6.1 per cent. There were 121,000 new jobs created in August, which takes the total number of employed Australians to 11.704 million. This is great news!
Likewise in Victoria, the unemployment rate fell from 7 per cent to 6.8 per cent.
“Sydney and Melbourne sales volumes appear to have already peaked, though they may rebound once more during spring.”
However, while I would love to say that our economy is going well, these figures don’t paint a true picture.
Yes there was a fall in the unemployment rate, but this was due to a number of new part-time jobs rather than full-time jobs created, and the change in the way the ABS measures this data. It will take a few months to really determine where our unemployment levels lie.
Consumer Confidence
One thing’s for sure though – consumer confidence continues its downward trend.
Over the last month, the Westpac-Melbourne Institute index fell by -4.6 per cent to 94 points, indicating pessimism outweighs optimism.
The Federal Budget and economic conditions are believed to be responsible for this. I find this most interesting, because it seems the Abbott Government’s persistence about putting the budget back into surplus is hurting consumer confidence and destabilising the Australian economy.
More quarterly data showed that consumers felt the wisest place to invest their money was with the banks – this was up 36.6 per cent from 29.8 per cent in the previous quarter.
“In July, investors accounted for a whopping 40.3 per cent of lending.”
The number of respondents who felt real estate was the safest place to invest their money was up 25.7 per cent from 24.5 per cent in the previous quarter.
Last week’s ABS housing finance data clearly indicated a surge in investment lending.
According to the data, the value of investment lending increased by 6.8 per cent, while owner-occupied finance was unchanged.
In July, investors accounted for a whopping 40.3 per cent of lending. If you remove any refinancing, this figure jumps to 49.3 per cent of total housing finance commitments, which is staggering.
Properties On The Market
According to property research house RP Data, total listings in Melbourne are down by 10.7 per cent. In Sydney, the 12 month change is 15.2 per cent.
Sales in Victoria are up by 7.5 per cent for the 2013/14 financial year, and they’re up by 12.9 per cent in NSW.
According to Cameron Kusher from RP Data, 348,670 houses and 135,330 units were sold over the 2013/14 financial year. House sales increased by 10.4 per cent while unit sales increase by 8.6 per cent.
“Quarterly data showed that consumers felt the wisest place to invest their money was with the banks.”
“Houses were at their highest level since 2007/08 financial year and unit sales their highest since the 2009/10 financial year,” he said.
According to Mr Kusher, higher transactions are arguably more important for market participants than higher values.
“More sales means more commission for agents and brokers, more lending for banks and more business for valuers,” he said.
Sydney and Melbourne sales volumes appear to have already peaked, though they may rebound once more during spring.
“Overall, we would expect a reasonably high number of sales this financial year. However, final numbers may be lower than in 2013/14,” Mr Kusher said.
Street Advocacy News: Buying & Selling Property With Street News
Over the weekend I found myself in front of a very beautiful Edwardian home at 2 Sussex Street in Moonee Ponds.
After close investigation, I found that the property had been on the market a few years previously, and sold for $1.63 million in 2010.
There was no doubt that the vendors were motivated. Their strong auction campaign was being run by Rendina Real Estate.
Photo: The auction at 2 Sussex Street, Moonee Ponds
The only problem was the lack of buyers. With a quote price of $1.45 million the auction was very lacklustre and bidding was like extracting teeth.
“If you have been thinking about taking the plunge, make sure you have your finances in order and start doing your homework.”
A lone bidder competed against vendor bids to reach $1.5 million, before the property was passed in and later negotiated for an undisclosed sum.
This was very different to the bidding activity I had witnessed in Mount Waverley the previous weekend, and perhaps shows that not all areas and properties are performing strongly at the moment despite the high clearance rates reported.
After speaking to several real estate agents in the northern and eastern suburbs, I discovered that they are expecting significant rises in stock levels from October.
I am anticipating a good supply of stock over the next three months, which should lead to some very good buying opportunities for those prepared to be flexible in their property type and area.
So if you have been thinking about taking the plunge, make sure you have your finances in order and start doing your homework now.
Top 5 Houses
1. 97 Winmalee Road, Balwyn $3,155,000
2. 222 Esplanade West, Port Melbourne $2,920,000
3. 336 Burnley Street, Richmond $2,544,000
4. 25-27 Wellington Avenue, Beaumaris $2,460,000
5. 44 Story Street, Parkville $2,340,000
Top 5 Bargain Houses
1. 19 Tulloch Avenue, Kurunjang $178,000
2. 162 Mcgrath Road, Wyndham Vale $235,500
3. 78 Greenwood Drive, Carrum Downs $236,000
4. 2 Benalla Street, Dallas $283,500
5. 3 Maple Court, Campbellfield $305,000
Top 5 Apartments
1. 17B Draper Street, Mckinnon $1,200,000
2. 17A Draper Street, Mckinnon $1,176,000
3. 8D John Street, Ivanhoe $1,120,000
4. 4/11 Yarrbat Avenue, Balwyn $1,120,000
5. 25A Beddoe Avenue, Brighton East $1,100,000
Top 5 Bargain Apartments
1. 2 Hermione Terrace, Epping $220,000
2. 2A Hermione Terrace, Epping $220,000
3. 5/3 Mclennan Place, Preston $273,000
4. 1/39 Myrnong Crescent, Ascot Vale $284,000
5. 30/181 Geelong Road, Seddon $285,000
Source: REIV
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