WEEKLY MARKET UPDATE - 4th July 2017
By | 4th Jul 17

The Melbourne market continues its consistent performance with a 74% clearance rate from 608 auctions. The auctions we attended as Buyer’s and Seller’s Advocates on the weekend all had very competitive bidding and there was an average of four bidders and reserves were smashed by $100,000 to $150,000 on average. The market is still on the move and we haven’t seen prices peak yet and we are still seeing some strong growth over the last few years, as was seen at our Vendor Advocacy clients Art Deco apartment on Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn, selling for $1,000,000 and we purchased on their behalf for $715,000 back in 2014. There was also some strong growth for another client who sold a house in Queen Street, St Kilda East for $1,595,000 after we purchased on their behalf only two years ago for $1,205,000.

July 1st has clicked over and there’s some major changes with some of the laws, including the stamp duty concessions that first home buyers will receive. It is now their time to shine and come out of the wood work to get their foot hold into the market. We saw them out in force at a few auctions on the weekend including four battling for a villa unit in a boutique block of four on Wilson Street in Highett and three battling it out at our Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn Vendor Advocacy auction. They are currently 15% of the total market and well below the long term average of 22%. In 2008, when the Government introduced more incentives, the numbers doubled to 30% so it will be interesting to see whether the stamp duty concessions on offer encourage them into the market.

It definitely is a two speed market at the moment as apartment auctions we have been to recently have had an average of zero to one bidders so there are some opportunities for buyers in the apartment market. There has never been a better time to buy one with the large supply in Melbourne and other capital cities. We saw this recently with a two bedroom apartment in a tree lined street on Tivoli Road, South Yarra having no bids and a villa unit in Brunswick West on Irvine Crescent only had one bidder and again passed in. So it is definitely a two speed market with houses still attracting five to six bidders on average. 

Please don’t hesitate to visit our website www.advantageproperty.com.au or contact us regarding our popular Buyer’s Advocate, Vendor Advocacy, Property Management, Owner’s Corporation services and Group Block Purchases, including our future villa unit opportunity at 159 O'Shanassy Street, Sunbury (approximately $250,000 each, with rental return of approximately $225-$235 per week).