Spring has sprung, and auctions are surging but will buyers come to the party?

New South Wales

A five-bedroom, three-bathroom home in Sydney’s upper north shore sold for more than $800,000 above its reserve on Saturday.

It was one of 2252 homes to go under the hammer in capital cities across the country last week, according to CoreLogic, 200 more than the previous week, and the most since the first week of June.

Bidding for the large, family home started at $2.8 million, with three active bidders quickly pushing the price well past the reserve of $3.2 million to $4.050 million.

The property at 162 Tryon Road, East Linfield last sold in 2022 for $2.75 million.

Listing agent Jessica Cao from Ray White Upper North Shore said the successful bidders, who fell in love with the bush views, were a family from the area who will move in and consider renovating.

“They outbid a developer who was planning to knock down the home and rebuild,” she said.

Ms Cao said there was strong demand for prestigious homes in Sydney’s upper north shore, with the spring selling period fast approaching.

“Demand is healthy and the results of this particular auction reflect that,” she said.

The home, which features a large pool and views over the national park, was one of 862 homes that went to auction in Sydney last week, compared to 816 the previous week and 913 at the same time last year, according to CoreLogic.

On Sunday, CoreLogic recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate for Sydney of 71.3 per cent from 642 reported results, down from 74.9 per cent the previous week, which fell to 66.7 per cent, once finalised.

Victoria

In Kensington, in Melbourne’s inner west, a light-filled, freestanding Victorian was passed in at auction for $1.775 million, before selling immediately after to the highest and only bidder for $1.9 million.

Listing agent Jayson Watts from Nelson Alexander Flemington got the auction at 35 McConnell Street underway with a vendor bid of $1.75 million and only received one further bid before passing in the three-bedroom, two bathroom home.

Mr Watts said it was sold after the auction to a local Kensington family.

“We had two other downsizers at the auction, who had shown a lot of interest during the campaign, but who didn’t get involved for whatever reason,” he said.

Despite having just one active bidder at Saturday’s auction, Mr Watts said he was beginning to see more genuine buyers in the market.

“I’ve sold seven homes in the last two weeks and they have actually all been competitive, so we are starting to see a bit more competition for that A-grade stock coming back on,” he said.

The period home with architecturally-designed interiors was one of 1006 homes that went to auction in Melbourne last week, compared to 938 the previous week and 1009 at the same time last year, according to CoreLogic.

On Sunday, CoreLogic recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate for Melbourne of 70 per cent from 779 reported results, compared to 68.7 per cent the previous week, which fell to 61.7 per cent once finalised. This time last year, Melbourne’s clearance rate was 63.8 per cent.

CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said Melbourne recorded the most auctions of all capital cities.

“This was the first time we have seen Melbourne break the 1000 mark since mid-June,” he said.

“The preliminary clearance rate held up well under the higher volume, rising to 70 per cent, 1.3 percentage points higher than a week ago . . . and the highest preliminary clearance rate since the first week of August,” he said.

In Ballarat, a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home, built in 2012, was passed in at auction for $745,000 after just one potential buyer bid for the home.

The vendors are selling the home after recently moving into their newly built home, seven months later than planned.

Lead agent Mark Williams from Ray White Ballarat said the house, at 46 Cuzens Road in Alfredton, was originally due to go to market in January, but a week before the owners were due to take possession of their new build, their building company went into administration and it was fenced off.

“We weren’t able to reach the vendor’s reserve at auction so we are speaking to some conditional buyers and hope we can achieve a sale during the week,” he said.

Mr Williams said all the interested buyers are local families hoping to move into the spacious family home.

Queensland

In Gordon Park, just seven kilometres from Brisbane’s CBD, a well lived-in and much-loved family home hit the market for the first time in 50 years, attracting 12 registered bidders when it went under the hammer on Saturday.

The two-bedroom, one-bathroom home in need of a refresh and sitting on 810 sqm and two lots sold for $1.9 million - more than $200,000 above its reserve.

Listing agent Holly Bowden from Ray White Wilston said it was an emotional day for the vendors of 29 Mcpherson Street.

“The property was a deceased estate, with two brothers selling their family home. All the bidding took place under the avocado tree that the brothers had planted as kids, so it was quite emotional for them,” she said.

Ms Bowden said the auction threw up some surprises, with some keen buyers failing to place a bid and one unexpected bidder.

“I was bombarded with registrations, we had five bidders already registered and then ended up with 12 in total,” she said.

Once the auction got underway, just seven of the bidders joined in.

“There were some people who registered but didn’t place a bid. One woman, for instance, held back strategically. She was friends with the neighbour and had been discussing the property with me for months, already knowing it would come on the market through her friend, but she chose not to bid in the end.”

“There was also a young couple who had just sold their home in Windsor after completing a renovation. They bid aggressively against several competitors, thinking they had outbid everyone, but each time, a new bidder would pop up. They were just a young couple eager to roll up their sleeves and build their dream home,” she said.

She said the successful bidder saw the home for the first time on Saturday.

“I hadn’t met the buyer during the campaign, he’d never been through the property and turned up for the first time today and bought it,” she said.

Ms Bowden, who also sold 70 Richmond St, Gordon Park for $1.722 million earlier on Saturday, with seven registered bidders and four active bidders, said competition for high quality homes was strong.

“I think buyers are really hungry for quality stock. I’m finding buyers are coming in strong and fast and identifying themselves to the agent. They really want to transact on property,” she said.

The nostalgic home was one of 158 homes that went to auction in Brisbane last week, compared to 137 the previous week and 156 at the same time last year, according to CoreLogic.

On Sunday, CoreLogic recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate for Brisbane of 58.6 per cent from 111 reported results, well down on the 67.3 per cent clearance rate recorded the previous week, which fell to 60.6 per cent once finalised. This time last year, Brisbane’s auction clearance rate was 60.3 per cent.

South Australia

In Parafield Gardens, north of Adelaide’s CBD, a large, family home with a pool room, outdoor swimming pool with fountains and a large backyard with a putt putt course sold under the hammer for $1.356 million.

Bidding for the four-bedroom, two-bathroom home, at 7 Tahlia Court, started at $850,000 with six of the 20 registered bidders competing for the home.

Listing agent Paul Whitney from Harris Sergeat said the depth of interest meant it quickly soared above the reserve.

“All the bidders, including the successful bidders, were families planning to move into the home,” he said.

Mr Whitney said Adelaide’s property market “continues to go from strength to strength”.

“We’ve seen another highly competitive auction today and the auction clearance rates are really strong and we expect that to continue,” he said.

The home was one of 152 homes that went to auction in Adelaide last week, compared to 150 the previous week and well up on the 103 auctions held at the same time last year, according to CoreLogic.

On Sunday, CoreLogic recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate for Adelaide of 82.6 per cent, from 92 reported results, compared to 79.5 per cent the previous week, which rose to 79.7 per cent once finalised. This time last year, Adelaide’s auction clearance rate was significantly lower at 75.7 per cent.

Western Australia

In East Fremantle, a charming three-bedroom, two-bathroom weatherboard miners cottage sold under the hammer for $1.65 million.

Bidding for the period home at 57 Duke Street began at $1.2 million, with eight registered bidders making 17 bids between them.

Listing agent Andy Mcintyre from Mint Real Estate said the successful bidders were a local family bidding on behalf of their parents, who were relocating to Perth from New South Wales.

He said the depth of buyers at Saturday’s auction was a reflection of the lack of supply in the Perth property market which was pushing prices higher.

“Supply is right down at the moment. In Perth, we’ve got just over 3400 homes on the market, including units. This compares to just over 5000 at the same time last year. But typically in Perth, about 12,000 homes is a pretty balanced market,” he said.

“It’s very tight and I can’t see anything changing anytime soon,” he said.

There were just 10 auctions held in Perth last week, with most homes selling by private sale. The week prior there were 11 auctions and at the same time last year, just eight auctions were held.

Round up

CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said with the volume of auctions set to trend higher through spring the depth of purchasing demand will be tested in the coming week.

“On average, the spring season sees around a 20 per cent uplift in new listings across the capital cities compared with winter, while sales activity records far less seasonality,” Mr Lawless said.

The volume of sales shows an 8.7 per cent uplift between winter and spring, based on the decade average, CoreLogic data shows.

“Given the range of demand side barriers, including affordability constraints, easing population growth, less ability to save and an erosion of borrowing capacity, there is a good chance the uplift in listings won’t be met by a commensurate rise in purchasers,” he said.

This article originally published at view.com.au.