Tim Heavyside

𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐕𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞-𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐛 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬.

Although just over 1,100 auctions were schedule in Melbourne on Saturday, some were postponed due to the lockdown. Those vendors brave enough to proceed were rewarded, with the Fletchers Group achieving a 100% success rate between properties sold under the hammer and prior to auction.

In a marathon online auction lasting 90 minutes, two bidders tussled over the renovated home at 9 Kawarren Street in Balwyn North, which eventually sold for $2,421,500. I fielded more than 100 bids from the front room of my home, with bids of just $500 taking up the final 30 minutes of the auction. The underbidders twice conceded and congratulated the other party, only to jump back in with more offers. The home sold for more than $200,000 over the reserve price – it was on the market at $2.2 million – an example of how successful online auctions can be.

“𝘝𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨”.

There were only two inspections before Melbourne’s sixth lockdown was announced, which made vendor Nav Krishnan feel a little nervous, with the auction held on a day when the Andrews Government announced further restrictions, including a lockdown for regional Victoria.

“𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦-𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦, ‘𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵?’,” Mr Krishnan said. “𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵, 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦.” The location of the house inside the coveted Balwyn High School zone was also a major drawcard.

As stock levels begin to tighten up due to the lockdown, it is becoming very frustrating for both vendors waiting to put their property on the market, and those buyers keen to purchase. We have even seen some properties sell to keen buyers, sight-unseen! These are certainly very trying times and we continue to work with both our vendors and buyers to facilitate transactions as best we can, whether that be via virtual inspections or reaching out to our database.

We strongly believe that it’s important to get the ball rolling if you’re considering selling, to ensure you’re ahead of the pack when the inevitable post-lockdown rush to market begins. Eighteen months into the pandemic, our team is adaptable to the conditions and is available to assist you with advice and strategy. Don’t hesitate to contact me today for a confidential discussion.

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥. 😷