Fresh Market News

April 5th & 6th Weekend, 2008. Melbourne.

Overall Clearance rate: 65% on 561 properties to auction.
Normal market clearance on an average Saturday's offering.

Million Dollar Melbourne.

Mal James Principal Buyer Agent 0408 107 988.

Multiple Bidders if it’s the right property. Rarity and Uniqueness are still qualities people will pay money for.

OVERVIEW
Houses
Very few million dollar houses offered in the Blue Ribbon Suburbs - eg Brighton, Toorak or Hawthorn. The "Blue Chip Fringe" eg Glen Iris, Balwyn Nth and Sandringham was still proving a tough battleground for both buyer and sellers. Why for buyers as well? Well you really do need to have a multiple negotiation strategy. Is the property going to go for $1.8m as you are the only buyer or are you going to pay $2.2m because you think there are many other buyers (when in many cases there is not).

Apartments
Four sales in Docklands and Port Melbourne reported on Apartments over $1,000,000 and one over $3,000,000. Let’s see if there are more of these results in the coming week.

Off Market
An increasing number of off market properties in the $3million and above range as some sellers acknowledging the market has shifted are trying to sell their home and they do not want a failed auction. We looked at off market properties in Brighton, Toorak, Malvern and Camberwell this week.

 

AUCTIONS LIVE
We attended a number of auction over the weekend – below are 2 auctions

8 Gordon St Balwyn -  A Property We Rated 643 out of 1000 (click here for full rating)

Not a lively turnout and to us it seemed to be because of the price. The property had some issues as our ratings show however at $1.3million it was a strong ask in this market. Opening bid was a vendor bid at $1.1million and then a bid from one interested party at 1.12, then vendor bid at 1.14m passed into original bidder at 1.145m which seemed plenty. IN and out pretty quick when told the reserve and it’s still on the market at time of writing.

 

39 Stawell St Kew -  A Property We Rated Land Only 616 out of 1000 (click here for full rating)

A very strong auction. About 80 in the crowd and started with an opening bid of $1.2 million. A vendor bid next to $1.25m and then things started to move with three other bidders joining in until it was sold under the hammer at a strong price of $1.66 million.

 

 

 

MILLION DOLLAR SALES (all results can be found at REIV)
ASHBURTON
S 23 Ward St B 7rm 629sqm $1,201,000 Hocking Stuart

BALWYN
PI 8 Gordon St B 9rm 700sqm $1,145,000 lo $1,155,000 res $1,295,000 Marshall White & Co

BEAUMARIS
PS Bruce St Rend 7rm 360sqm $1,240,000 Beaches RE/Buxton Mentone
PS Comport St WB 6rm 731sqm $1,020,000 Hodges
PS Folkestone Cr BV 9rm 789sqm $1,250,000 Hodges

BLACK ROCK
S 26 Iona St BV 8rm 670sqm $1,210,000 Hodges

BOX HILL NORTH
PI 41 Severn St WB 7rm 1145sqm $1,200,000 res $1,290,000 Jellis Craig
PI 231 Dorking Rd 5rm 2703sqm $1,000,050 VB res $1,000,150 Philip Webb

BRIGHTON
S 7/10 Dudley St BV 5rm strata $1,440,000 Buxton

BRIGHTON EAST
S 1 Melosa Av BV 6rm 743sqm $1,050,000 Buxton
S 14 Roosevelt Ct B 5rm 723sqm $1,237,500 Hocking Stuart
S 18 Robinson St B 7rm 1068sqm $1,050,000 Buxton
S 87 Baird St B 5rm 696sqm $1,200,000 Hodges
PI 8 Gillard St BV 8rm 780sqm $1,550,000 res $1,750,000 Buxton

CAULFIELD EAST
PS Queens Av v/land 2008sqm $1,865,000 Bennison Mackinnon

DOCKLANDS
PS Caravel La 4rm $1,040,000 Barry Plant
PS Waterview Walk C 6rm $3,800,000 Dingle Partners

EAGLEMONT
S 2 Lawrence St BV 5rm 812sqm $1,172,000 Miles RE

GLEN IRIS
PI 125 Glen Iris Rd B 5rm 676sqm $950,000 VB res $1,030,000 Jellis Craig
PI 16 Payne St B 6rm 571sqm $950,000 VB res $1,125,000 Jellis Craig
PI 8 Rowen St B 5rm 630sqm undisc VB res undisc Noel Jones

KEW
S 39 Stawell St B 8rm 826sqm undisc Jellis Craig

MELBOURNE
PS Spring St C 5rm strata $1,800,000 Icon Property

MONT ALBERT
PI 7 Laing St WB 6rm 583sqm $1,120,000 VB res $1,190,000 Jellis Craig

MOORABBIN
S 11 Sheppard St B 1808sqm $1,610,000 Buxton

PORT MELBOURNE
PS Rouse St B 5rm strata $1,300,000 Maher & Co Port Melbourne

RICHMOND
PI 136 Brighton St B 5rm 444sqm $1,195,000 res undisc Biggin & Scott

SURREY HILLS
PS Essex Rd B 8rm 1249sqm $1,900,000 Noel Jones

WARRANDYTE
PS Swansfield Ct BV 9rm 4000sqm $1,110,000 Barry Plant

WILLIAMSTOWN

S 217 Osborne St WB 9rm 1950sqm $3,710,000 Hocking Stuart/Williams RE Williamstown

 

1st and 2nd Homebuyers

Melissa Ryan Principal Buyer Agent 0409 409 357

$900,000 For The Wrong Property!

Congratulations to Bayside agents, Buxton who this weekend sold the unsaleable!

The auction of a  Californian Bungalow at 8 Hastings Street Hampton was hotly contested with a sale price of $835,000. A fantastic result for a property, that we would not recommend a client to buy.

Buying the wrong property (particularly if it is your first), will set you on a course for financial hardship that will affect you long term.

8 Hastings Street Hampton gave subtle and not so subtle clues in determining whether it was a good or not so good property. The nearness to a railway line was a huge negative for the home. It was positioned one home back from the Sandringham line.

The home may have been walking distance to the beach however it had a run-down property next to it and a mismatch of other styles of properties in the street. These being period homes and units.

Car access and off street parking was another issue. The front garden of the property gave you room to park, but you lost your garden in doing so.

The size, shape and orientation of the block was also a concern. The size of the block was approximately 485sqm, it was of irregular shape due to the railway line and was west facing. There was also a two storey home looking into the rear yard. Of which there was approximately one tree.

The condition of the home internally and externally gave us the biggest clue- the home had an extension that was approximately 20 years old. Why hadn't there been a more recent renovation? The answer is simple OVERCAPITILISATION.

 

Architectural advisory

Adam Woledge Registered Architect 0413 318 079

Clever renovations worth the stretch.

Although the market overall is cooling, good properties with clever renovations are still attracting a good amount of interest and selling well. Testament to this claim is 217 Osborne Street Williamstown, which on the weekend sold strongly under the hammer.

Situated on a huge land allotment over 2000m2 within one of Williamstown’s A grade streets, the auction was attended by well over 400 people (most of whom were locals). Opening at $3,000,000, after some spirited bidding the property was on the market at $3,500,000 and ultimately sold for $3,710,000 (a record for the street).

Why did this sell so well?  Firstly the charming street frontage has been retained, and the extension /renovation beyond was sympathetic to the house style externally. Internally tall ceiling heights have been maintained, open plan kitchen/living/dining connects easily to the rear yard and all of the utility rooms have been thoughtfully updated to suit contemporary living of the modern family. The rear self-contained two-storey apartment was a nice little bonus, serving well the flexible needs of a growing family. Finally the landscaping was superb and this was enhanced by a generous swimming pool.

 

 

Capturing the imagination

Some properties just have a feeling about them – and 14 Tennyson Street in Kensington is a good example of that. Situated in a lovely street amongst some beautiful period style homes, this quaint Victorian weatherboard is in some serious need of TLC yet sold on the weekend after some strong bidding for $660,000 after opening at $450,000 and being put on the market at $590,000.

 

Why is this so, given the cooling nature of the market at this stage? Well firstly this house presents looks good from the street and has some amazing original period features This all combines well with good land content, a northern aspect to the rear and potential off street car-parking via a generous rear right-of-way.  Emotion plays big part in buying, and it did so here. Most people visiting this house would have seen it’s potential and simply fell in love with it’s potential. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investors

Peter Sinclair Principal Buyer Agent  0423 778 774

Here is a good example of a property in sought after leafy Elwood that has some less than ideal physical characteristics.

3/38 Tennyson Street, Elwood.
We Rated 556 out of 1000 (click here for full rating)
No bathroom downstairs (not even a toilet), a street that does carry some traffic, no undercover car parking and the laundry is upstairs. There was a good crowd at the auction, auctioneer issued a vendor bid of $650,000, went inside at half time, back out, but no more bids. Out of a crowd of 70 or 80 people, not a bid. The property was passed in at the vendor bid of $650,000, from an agent quote range of $690,000 to $750,000. The Age results from the weekend show the reserve was $750,000.

Why talk about this one? The property rated 556/1000 and this is on the low side. Certain property characteristics do impact your enjoyment, or emotional attachment, to different homes. No bathroom downstairs, busyish street, stairs to manage, car parking not great, external areas not great, natural light not great.

The result on the day was probably not unexpected. In its own right it is a nice apartment; roomy, great location. But it does have features that let it down. When the vendor’s expectation is between 50% and 60% above the median price in Elwood for two bedroom apartments, it has to be very good. From an investor’s viewpoint, consider how prospective tenants may react to the issues raised above. It also impacts their enjoyment of the property.

In a slight contradiction to the above, 2A Taverner Street in Moorabbin, we Rated 686 out of 1000 (click here for full rating), sold for $540,000, well above its quote of $470,000, with six bidders taking part. Location not ideal; one door from Nepean Highway, opposite the old Ikea site, and plenty of traffic noise. A good unit though; three bedrooms, two bathrooms, lock up garage, good living spaces, close to trains and other amenities. It rated well, despite its not so great position.

Moorabbin property prices have performed well the last few years. The Domain Property Review in The Age Sunday 6th April, shows the median price for a house in Moorabbin grew by 27.1% last year and it remains an affordable entry point for first home buyers and investors. Unit prices however have been less than average, showing only 5.5% growth last year.

Eli Greenblat in Saturday’s Melbourne Age states that “properties located more than 30km’s from Melbourne CBD, which takes in suburbs such as Seaford, Cranbourne, Lilydale, Sunbury and Melton, are not enjoying the same appreciation as their inner city counterparts”.  So whilst a nice big block of land in Seaford may be your thing and growth has been good to you the last couple of years, the long term outlook may not that great.

Getting it right – your property investment – is not simple or straightforward. There is a fine balance between the three P’s of property. Price, Property, Position.
Tennyson Street – high asking price, average property, good position.
Taverner Street – high sale price, good property, average position.

Both properties have only ticked one of the three P’s. Whilst we all accept that not everybody buys a particular property for financial reasons, we could not have recommended either of these properties to our clients at those prices.