Imperfect storm brings cool change to property market

A cyclone, a public holiday and an election had a dramatic effect on what should have been a busy auction weekend.

Cyclone Alfred was top of mind this weekend as Queensland and northern New South Wales residents prepared for the onslaught. As a result, auctions across the state were postponed and the preliminary auction clearance rate sits at just 20 percent for the state.

Victoria

Victoria’s Labour Day long weekend had 1629 city homes up for auction compared to 2749 just seven days prior.

In Victoria, signals pointing to a positive turn for the state which has been stuttering for some years remain with the preliminary auction clearance rate sitting at 61 percent.

1/2 Como Avenue, South Yarra sold under the hammer to a local family for an undisclosed price but within the quoted range of $1.9 — $2.09 million.

“We had very strong interest from family home buyers wanting this premium location,” says listing agent Lily Keating of Jellis Craig Stonnington.

“It’s close to great private schools, tennis clubs and everything South Yarra and Toorak have to offer. I’m pleased that the home — which has been owned by the same family for 32 years — has gone to another family.”

Echoing the sentiment of many Melbourne and Victoria real-estate agents, Ms Keating feels that the RBA rate will continue to have “a positive impact on buyer sentiment in our market”.

First-home buyer activity and interest from inter-state investors also appears to be lifting in the Victorian capital.

In Keilor East, a suburb which has long been popular for its relatively affordable quality homes on generous land parcels offering good proximity to amenities and transport, demand and competition is heating up.

Barry Karp of Barry Plant Keilor East had three registered bidders for 29 Stirling Drive, including an investor who flew in from Sydney.

“Our market is considered underperforming and attractive to Sydney buyers, Mr Karp says. “When the land size is over 600m, and the price ranges between $600,000 into the mid $800s, and the homes are easy to rent, and also provide options to redevelop or add value at some stage, it stacks up. We’ve seen a noticeable increase in appetite from interstate investors since late ‘24 which has continued into 2025”

Mr Karp sold 29 Stirling Drive, a solid brick and tile three bedroom, one bathroom brick and tile home on 653sq m of land for $810,000 on Saturday.

“The home was bought by first home buyers. So while we do have increasing interest from interstate investors, the buyers in our local markets are predominantly still the buyers.”

New South Wales

In Sydney, one of the last remaining original cliff-top homes in Lurline Bay remains on the market, despite having three registered bidders for the Saturday auction.

With the owner downsizing after living in the home for 50 years, this rare knock-down and rebuild proposition represents incredible buying for someone with vision and grit. “There is nothing else like it in the area in terms of position, says Archibald Wadsworth of Ray White EasternBeaches. “There are so few ‘blank canvas’ sites remaining here.”

Mr Wadsworth remains confident that the property will sell in the coming days. At the time of writing he and his colleague Nader Hotait are negotiating between $7 to $7.5 million. “The challenge with this one is the construction cost. It’s down a cul-de-sac, on the edge of a cliff, so you need a crane for everything.”

With preliminary auction clearance rates for New South Wales at 55 per cent, this outcome isn’t entirely unexpected, and proves that there are very few certainties in life, and even fewer in property.

An hour and 45 minutes south, in the quiet coastal town of Blackbutt, a lovely solid two bedroom, one bathroom brick and tile townhouse at 2/127 Pioneer Drive sold at auction for $685,000. For those doing the maths, that’s just shy of 9.15 per cent of the expected sale price for Lurline Bay.

The perfect lock and leave option close to amenities, it represents great buying in an area that has become increasingly popular. Mere minutes from local beaches, Shellharbour Marina and shopping precinct, fantastic parks, walking and cycling paths, as well as train stations connecting into Sydney and beyond.

It will be interesting to track the performance of the Sydney market in the coming months to see which direction it heads after a prolonged period of seemingly unstoppable growth.

South Australia

In Adelaide, a charming period weatherboard home with the added bonus of a self-contained unit offering a secondary income stream at 12 Russell Terrace, Woodville was sold for $1.2million by Peter Kiritsis Ray White Woodville.

Oozing relaxed Adelaide charm and so close to transport corridors and all the lifestyle perks that the western and beachside suburbs have to offer, competition on Saturday was strong. “We had two bidders vying for the home,” says Mr Kiritsis. “The sale price of $1.2million is what we were expecting for a property like this.”

In an enviable location combined with solid bones and plenty of character features, the home appealed to families and investors alike. On this occasion, it was a young family, not the investor bidder, who were successful on the day. “They’re going to restore it and bring it back to its former glory.”

The demand for quality homes with character and potential has remained strong in Adelaide. Indeed, much has been said about the “boom” taking place in Adelaide. According to Mr Kiritsis, “the undersupply of stock over the last two years has eased off a little but there is still plenty of demand in the western and beachside areas of Adelaide. Demand in the $1.5 to $2.5 million range is really hot at the moment.”

Preliminary auction clearance rates for South Australia sit at 40 percent, a slight decrease on last week when Adelaide recorded the highest clearance rate at 66.4% according to Core Logic. This is unlikely statistically significant and represents the natural ebb and flow of sales that come with the end of the prime summer selling season.

“The premium beach side of the Adelaide market is also going really strong,” said Mr Kiritsis. “A property at Tennyson we have coming up soon is expected to sell for $4 to $5 million. A comparable home and location in Sydney would easily be $10 million or more. And, compared to Sydney we don’t get the floods and cyclones and our premium beach suburbs are only 10-15min away from the CBD. You’ve got good infrastructure, with the beach on one side, the city on the other.”

Considering all of this, it’s no wonder that demand from local and international buyers has driven prices up in the South Australian capital.

Western Australia

The election did not prevent the number of scheduled auctions in Perth with 11 scheduled in line with the previous week, with a 40 per cent clearance rate being reported.

Despite the strong interest and excitement about it coming to the market for the first time in 47 years, 2 Cliff St, West Perth didn’t sell over the weekend.

Built in 1900, the six bedroom, four bathroom period home on 567m2 of land high on Kings Park escarpment with commanding views across the Perth skyline.

The home which holds a special place in the hearts and minds of locals, has undergone very few alterations, the most significant being an expansion by Sir Laurence and Lady Brodie-Hall, who reimagined the once modest home to enhance its internal spaces and panoramic outlook.

Rio Varen of Ray White Dalkeith/Claremont says that interest in the property has come from families, investors and developers.

The property is not heritage listed nor covered by a heritage overlay zone, which means it could be knocked down and the site developed. Mr Varen nevertheless hopes that this special home will be passed onto another family to cherish and modernise.

The property is now on the market for mid $3 million.