Tim Heavyside – Fletchers Real Estate

In the wake of Victoria’s second Super Saturday of auctions for the year, which saw 937 auctions recorded across the state, Melbourne’s property market continues to show no signs of slowing down.

As competition between buyers climbs to an all-time high, demand is currently outweighing supply, with hundreds of properties now selling above their reserve and many agents seeing multiple bidders at auction.

‘The thing that we’ve really been seeing over the past couple of weeks, is that buyers are trying to jump on homes for sales quite quickly and buy prior to auction. There’s such a depth and strength to the market at the moment,’ said one agent.

In Fletchers news, my team and I were thrilled with the sale for 35 Broughton Road in Surrey Hills on Saturday. With 3 bidders participating in the auction, the eye-catching, 4-bedroom Californian Bungalow sold for $1,878,000, a remarkable $178,000 above its reserve price.

Congratulations to all the buyers and sellers at auction this weekend and best of luck to all those currently in the market.
#news

A trio of Melbourne’s eastern suburbs have a northern bandwidth tuned into an increasingly desirable frequency. And Box Hill North, between Mont Albert North and Blackburn North, is the star performer.

Once a bridesmaid, but now for many a first-choice location, it’s a distinct entity from its Box Hill and Box Hill South counterparts and has its own story to tell.

The Eastern Freeway, which forms much of the suburb’s northern border, plays an important part in Box North’s differentiation, director Tim Heavyside, of Fletchers real estate agency, says.

“There’s really easy access to the freeway, which makes a difference in desirability,” he says. “But what we’ve seen over the not too distant past is people priced out of Balwyn North, East Kew and Mont Albert saying, ‘We can find something much better in Box Hill North.’ It’s a lovely area with lots of amenity for families.”

Read more here: https://www.domain.com.au/news/box-hill-north-the-sister-suburb-forging-its-own-path-1025887/

Following the events of Victoria’s snap 5-day lockdown last week, Melbourne’s property market returned for its first Super Saturday of the year, which saw a remarkable 823 auctions recorded across the state.

Interestingly, the on-site ban of auctions and inspections during lockdown resulted in many agents choosing to reschedule auctions to the weekend just passed, leading to one of the biggest auction weekends of the year.

This brought in a total auction volume of $815 million for Victoria, with another $265 million from private sales.With agents reporting ‘no ill effects’ from Melbourne’s strict stage 4 restrictions, the latest news from Domain revealed that buyers were back at public auctions in big, socially distanced numbers’ on Saturday.

Domain Senior Research Analyst, Nicola Powell, also said that with news the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out would begin this week, confidence was growing.

‘With such strong results, more vendors will be enticed to the market eventually and while housing finance is as it is, the market is going to remain heated,’ she said.

With buyers out in droves on Saturday, our auction with the highest amount of bidders went to 9A Shepherd Street in Surrey Hills, which had a total of 7 bidders fight it out for the 3 bedroom, single level haven.

Success. It’s a Fletchers thing.

Thrilled to be recognised as the #3 agent in the AREA Top Agent in Victoria category.

It was a tough 2020 for everyone but we managed to get through it and despite the recent lockdown, this year is looking much more promising!

As always, I am very grateful to my personal team and the wider Fletchers Group for their support, as well as the clients that entrust the sale of their most important asset with us.

Record low interest rates and government incentives continue to have a positive impact on the property market, despite the economy still being in recovery-mode. The Domain House Price Report shows that apartment prices in Melbourne, for example, finished 2020 up by 2.5%. Middle-ring suburbs such as Burwood, Williamstown, Blackburn and Hampton recorded strong price growth.

Of course, Melbourne’s median house price now sits at $936,073 after rising 5.3% in the last three months of 2020. The resilience of Melbourne’s property prices is evident by not only surpassing pre-pandemic levels but setting new house and unit price records. One of the biggest increases in house prices was seen in the suburbs along the Mornington Peninsula, with the rush to buy a lifestyle property since the pandemic saw prices there rise by nearly 25% over the past year.

The last auction weekend for January 2021 saw the REIV report a strong clearance rate of 82%, compared to 69% at the same time last year. Whilst auction numbers are still low given the time of year, the Domain Group identified that it was first home buyers and upsizers dominating bidding activity over the weekend.

The Fletchers Group was thrilled to achieve an 80% success rate, with most properties attracting multiple bidders and generating plenty of competition.

Success. It’s a Fletchers thing.

The Real Estate Institute of Victoria [REIV] has reported a landmark increase in median house prices in Victoria following the release of their quarterly December report.

Marking the largest increase in median values since the year 2000, metropolitan houses in Melbourne have now surpassed a median value of $900,000, jumping by 9.5 per cent from the September quarter to $941,000. Regional Victoria has also seen growth in the market, recording its highest quarterly growth since 2003.

In response, REIV President, Leah Calnan said, ‘Throughout the July and September quarters, we received constant reports of low listings and activity. Once restrictions across the state eased, demand and buyer competition skyrocketed. Certainly low interest rates and government incentives, including stamp duty concessions and first home buyers grants added to buyer appetite for the December quarter.’

A total of 29,500 transactions took place in Victoria over the December quarter, making it the highest number of transactions in 2020 after surpassing the March quarter, where 27,500 transactions took place.

Success. It’s a Fletchers thing.

Following a remarkable auction clearance rate of 100% for the Fletchers group on Saturday, Melbourne’s property market is already making a comeback.

With fierce competition amongst buyers, our agents reported strong attendance at auction, with as many as 6 bidders participating in the sale for 5 Conder Avenue in Burwood on Saturday, which was sold by my team and I for $1,450,000.

AMP Capital Chief Economist, Shane Oliver, suggested that the uptake in auction activity ‘was probably due to the pent-up demand of buyers and sellers back on the market after the city and property market was locked down during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic,’ according to Domain.

While real estate activity over the Melbourne Cup long weekend traditionally sees auction volumes dip across the city, CoreLogic has instead predicted a 27% increase in auctions, with 690 homes scheduled for sale. ‘It’s an increase from the 490 homes that went to auction last week, while just 255 homes went under the hammer on the same weekend last year,’ Real Estate Business reported.

The RBA delivered good news for home buyers with a rate cut on Cup Day, with the official cash rate now at 0.10 per cent.

Success. It’s a Fletchers thing.

As Melbourne’s property market gradually regains momentum, CoreLogic has reported a ‘striking turn in housing market sentiment’, with significant increases in consumer confidence and new property listings over the past month.

Corelogic Head of Research, Tim Lawless, said ‘with restrictions starting to lift and private home inspections once again permitted, we expect to see activity lift [in Melbourne] in October’.

Similarly, after releasing the quarterly median house prices for September, the Real Estate Institute of Victoria [REIV] says that the ‘Victorian property market has survived everything thrown at it in 2020’, with results showing a new quarterly record for Regional Victoria at $442,500 for regional homes and house values in metropolitan Melbourne remaining strong, falling by just 1.7% over the quarter while recording a 7.4% annual growth.

‘Despite six months of COVID-19, lockdown and moratoriums, the Victorian Property Market continues to prosper with properties remaining more valuable than they were in 2019,’ REIV President, Leah Calnan, said. During this time, sales by private treaty have also increased in popularity, with units in metro Melbourne recording a 0.8 per cent growth to a new record, surpassing $600,000 for the first time.

In Fletchers news, we have seen a number of new properties hit the market and properties once again being listed for auction sales.

Success. It’s a Fletchers thing.

With private inspections now permitted, industry experts believe home buyers could spur on a late selling season for Melbourne’s property market.

According to Domain, ‘buyers and sellers have barely 12 weeks – the time it can take for a property settlement – to make a move before Christmas, after private inspections resumed this week’.

With the late start to Melbourne’s peak selling season a result of strict COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria, Real Estate Buyers Association of Australia President, Cate Bakos, believes many buyers have ‘arbitrarily set Christmas as an emotional date for their property goals’, with the large number of buyers and few properties on the market having left many with a case of ‘FOMO’. ‘Others have access to pre-approval and they’re not keen on going through that rigmarole again,’ she said.

NAB Chief Economist, Alan Oster, said that other Australian markets had fared better than first expected post-lockdown and suggested that the sudden increase in transactions could result in an uptick in house prices across October and November. ‘There will certainly be a spike in sales,’ he said.

Give me a call if you’re considering selling this Spring.

As concerns grow over Melbourne’s COVID-19 outbreak, the Real Estate Institute of Victoria [REIV] has confirmed that the real estate sector will continue to do everything it can to ensure the transaction of property is provided in a safe and controlled manner.

Nonetheless, confidence in Melbourne’s property market continues to draw impressive results despite current restrictions. This weekend saw a total auction volume of $232 million and a total private sales volume of $132 million for Victoria.