Melbourne Auction Results – September 2, 2013
By Peter Sarmas on 2 Sep 2013
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Property Market Takes a Breather, but is this the End?
While multiple bidders were still out in force over the weekend, the auction clearance rate fell back from its revised 79 per cent rate last week to reach 74 per cent, which is still favourable when compared to the 63 per cent recorded at the same time last year.
Due to the substantial 141 properties yet to be reported, I would expect this figure to be revised down further once the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) gathers the unsold data.
Contrary to popular belief, it is very common for property prices to rise during winter when stock levels dwindle, which happened this year. But can these prices be sustained?
Home Loan Figures
Official figures released last week showed a 28 per cent rise in new home loan approvals for the June quarter as a direct result of the recovery in the Australian housing market.
The fastest growing property lending category was investors, while the value of investment loan approvals surged 35 per cent to $27.8 billion in the quarter.
Loans to owner-occupies grew by a substantial 25 per cent to $51.2 billion in the June quarter when the Reserve Bank also reduced the cash rate to a 59 year low of 2.5 per cent.
According to Tim Lawless, senior research analyst at RP Data, all capital cities have seen a rise in dwelling values, with the average homeowner gaining just under $30,000 in the value of their home.
Photo: Louisa Billeter via Flickr
What Time on Market Indicates
According to RP Data, Melbourne city home values grew by 0.2 per cent for the week ending August 25th, while showing a 4.5 per cent growth (YTD).
A good indicator on the health of the market is ‘time on market’ – the period of time it takes a property to sell from the moment it hits the market and is advertised on one of the major property portals.
Melbourne sits second only to the hottest housing market in the nation – Sydney. According to RP Data, the approximate selling time for Melbourne is 39 days, compared to 29 days for Sydney, though this is going down in both cities.
At the moment this translates to a seven week campaign, which is always worth taking into consideration if you’re thinking about selling.
Looking Forward
This election weekend 500 properties are expected to go up for auction, while 1000 auctions should go ahead the following week.
These are unusual numbers for September due to the fact that the AFL finals normally slow down activity, but they are a telling sign that more properties should enter the market when a (likely) new Liberal Government renews much needed business and consumer confidence.
It is also very common for housing prices to correct when supply increases during one of the highest selling seasons on the calendar – spring. Expect savvy investors who have been holding off during the past few months and buyer advocates with pent-up demand from clients to aggressively bid for stock when supply improves.
Top 5 Houses
1. 6 Heymount Close, Toorak $4,050,000
2. 30 Head Street, Brighton $2,675,000
3. 4 Sir William Street, Kew $2,450,000
4. 114 Prospect Hill Road, Canterbury $2,425,000
5. 10 Woorigoleen Road, Toorak $2,393,000
Top 5 Bargain Houses
1. 18 Borrack Crescent, Mernda $300,000
2. 1 Wright Street, Laverton $325,000
3. 15 Dallas Drive, Lalor $340,000
4. 31 The Parkway Road, Caroline Springs $351,000
5. 5 Wandella Road, Frankston $370,000
Top 5 Apartments
1. 8 Carpenter Street, Brighton $2,621,000
2. 39 Wellington Street, Kew $1,405,000
3. 5B Foster Avenue, Glen Huntly $1,337,000
4. 122 Curzon Street, North Melbourne $1,295,000
5. 3/191 Dow Street, Port Melbourne $1,225,000
Top 5 Bargain Apartments
1. 10/69 Barkly Street, St Kilda $272,000
2. 3/116 Middle Street, Hadfield $292,500
3. 6/299 Cumberland Road, Pascoe Vale $305,000
4. 1/34 Marna Court, Noble Park $309,000
5. 310/441 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne $318,000
Source: REIV
