Tim Heavyside

𝐀𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧-𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬, 𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐬. 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞.

In Burwood East, the four-bedroom, family home at 4 Skene Street offered scope for renovation and attracted six bidders to the online auction. Bidding began at the bottom of the price guide and rose fast, in a mix of increments mostly ranging from $10,000 down to $1,000. The race for the keys narrowed to two bidders, with the home selling under the hammer for $1.663 million.

Auctioneer Ben Williams said, “the market is holding up really well since we have come out of the lockdown period for real estate…there has been a lot more stock…demand is still far outstripping supply”. He said that buyers had become comfortable with the online method, which is why the sale went ahead virtually rather than in person.

Our team’s two auctions were called in Surrey Hills on Saturday morning, adopting the ‘hybrid’ style with both on-site and online bidders participating. The auction of 4/18 Essex Road in Surrey Hills saw a total of five bidders participate – two online and three on-site. The auction lasted for an hour, as I patiently fielded the bids traded between the parties. The successful bidder secured the keys to the home, when it was knocked down at $901,000. The following auction at 2/26 Florence Road was a much quicker affair with two bidders, with the property selling for $755,000.

In Malvern East, the auction of 12A Warida Avenue was also held on the street, seeing two bidders compete for the three-bedroom, single level home. The private, conveniently located home went on to sell for $1,013,000.

Online, the magnificently renovated and extended family home at 8 Tyrrell Street in Mont Albert North attracted five bidders and sold for $2,205,000.

In other property news, the Domain Group reports that some home sellers have brought forward their listings in hopes of getting the best price, before new mortgage rules kick in and reduce the budgets of potential buyers. Potential buyers who are hoping to borrow the maximum amount are also rushing to get in before the cut-off at the end of October.Property buyers will be assessed to ensure they could repay their loans, should the interest rates rise 3 percentage points, up from 2.5 per cent previously, under recently announced rules by bank regulator the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) that are likely to cut buyers’ maximum borrowing capacity by about 5 per cent.

But with only 8 per cent of applicants borrowing their maximum, on Commonwealth Bank figures, most buyers are unaffected, meaning property prices are likely to keep pushing higher, albeit not at the same pace.

As Victoria is set to reach the 80 per cent double-dose vaccination milestone, open for inspections will also make a return with a capacity limit of 150 attendees. Both inspection and auction attendees are required to be double vaccinated and, of course, must check-in upon arrival.

𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.

𝐖𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐀𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐕𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝟏𝟏:𝟓𝟗𝐩𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲. 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝟕𝟎% 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝.

In terms of real estate, private inspections will remain in place until the next vaccination milestone of 80% vaccination is reached (expected to be in the first week of November). Real estate offices will remain closed, but on-site auctions are permitted, with a maximum cap of 50 vaccinated attendees, outdoors. Masks are here to stay for the time being, required both indoors and outdoors for all Victorians.

During the week, a number of online auctions were scheduled, yielding fantastic results for our vendors. Some of the highlights included our mid-week auction of 52 Kitchener Street in Box Hill South. The beautiful four-bedroom home, zoned for Box Hill High School attracted a total of four bidders, however, it was whittled down to two extremely keen parties who sought to call the property home. I finally knocked the property down as sold at $2,055,500.

The auction of 4/51 Wandsworth Road in Surrey Hills was another online tug-of-war between two parties, trading bids to secure the single-level, three-bedroom home. With its own street frontage and within walking distance to shops, schools, and public transport, it was no surprise that the bidders didn’t want to let this one go! Of course, there can only be one winner, and the property was knocked down to the successful bidder.

Over the weekend, the lovely family home at 28 Currajong Avenue in Camberwell attracted four bidders. In the treasured Sunnyside Estate, the home boasts an expansive single-level design featuring multiple living zones. The property went on to sell under the hammer for $3,465,000.

We expect that this weekend will be a mix of on-site and online auctions, so please check in online and with your local Fletchers agent to keep up to date with any properties you’re interested in.

Stay safe and be well!

𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐓 𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 | Last 𝐰e𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟓𝟐 𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤, 𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐧-𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝟏𝟖 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫.

The REIV recorded a strong clearance rate of 86 per cent from another weekend of auctions conducted online. Over 800 auctions were called over the weekend, with the number expected to be over 1,000 by the following weekend. Of course, there are also a number of properties being scheduled for auction during the week as well, thanks to the flexibility that the online platform provides.

A highlight auction of the weekend was the sale of 22 Davis Street, described by my colleague and auctioneer Steven Zervas – Partner and Auctioneer – Fletchers Real Estate as “the best house in Burwood East”. He had sold the home to our vendors when it was brand new four years prior and they were hoping to achieve $1.95 million at auction on Saturday. With the home selling for $2.362 million under the hammer in a heated auction with nine bidders, the result was well above their expectations! A young family claimed the keys and are sure to enjoy the luxe five-bedroom home with its French oak floors, marble benchtops and multiple living zones.

During the week, my team and I have conducted a number of online auctions, including 2/67 Essex Road in Surrey Hills, 7 Loma Linda Grove in Balwyn North, 51 Valda Avenue in Mont Albert North and 52 Kitchener Street in Box Hill South which sold under the hammer after two bidders traded $500 bids at the end – the property eventually selling for $2,055,500.

𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.

𝐈𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫. 𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐯𝐢𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐮𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠.

In fact, the Domain Group reports that Australia’s property boom has reached record highs, resulting in the strongest annual growth in more than 30 years. Property values climbed more than 20 per cent over the past year nationally, marking the fastest annual growth seen since 1989, the latest CoreLogic National Home Value Index shows, with Melbourne up 15 per cent.

Whilst the number of homes hitting the market lifted in September, CoreLogic figures show they were still slightly down on the five-year average for this time of year, and the total supply of homes on the market is about 28 per cent below the five-year average. The combination of record low interest rates and low stock levels continues to put upward pressure on housing values.

Over the weekend, the renovated two-bedroom home at 7 East Court in Camberwell attracted 13 bidders at the online auction, which went for an hour. Steven Zervas – Partner and Auctioneer – Fletchers Real Estate fielded over 100 bids that were exchanged during the course of the auction, until it was finally sold under the hammer for $1,231,000.

Director Ben Williams called two auctions on Sunday, selling both 34 Maple Street, Blackburn and 1 Blake Street in Blackburn North under the hammer. The properties attracted four and five bidders respectively, demonstrating the demand for family homes in locations that cater for a convenient and secure lifestyle.

My team and I sold 2/24 Jersey Street, Balwyn post auction today.

We are certainly seeing the Spring property market come to life, even though it is looking a little different than in years past. Private inspections are in high demand and auctions are being scheduled both on weekends and during the week, so please ensure you keep an eye on our website and in touch with the agent, so you’re kept informed.

𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.