$5.2m in Chatswood the pick as holidays weigh on auctions
It was possibly the quietest weekend for prestige residential sales since the summer break, as vendors understandably postpone seeking auction buyers amid a winter hibernation.
It was possibly the quietest weekend for prestige residential sales since the summer break, as vendors understandably postpone seeking auction buyers. Much of the buyer pool is away on holidays, and their estate agents too, which prompts winter sales hibernation.
There was just one under-the-hammer sale notification across the nation at $5m-plus. The top sale was in Sydney’s Chatswood, where a five-bedroom, three-bathroom house went for $5,228,000.
It was a strong result, as the double-brick, two-storey Clanwilliam Street offering on 619sq m had come with a $4.8m price guide from Dominic Smith and Lan Zhang at The Marshall Group.
There were 3600 page views on realestate.com.au during marketing of the home, which last sold in 2018 for $3.3m to the Wen family.
There were two pricier Chatswood weekend listings that did not find buyers.
There were prestige listings at Manly, Arcadia and Balmain that sold prior but with no price revealed. Another four prestige listings were pulled from their scheduled auction.
Queensland’s priciest house listing at Palm Beach, a five-bedroom, three-bathroom former BoysTown prize home, remains under negotiation after bidding stopped at $3.1m at its Ray White auction.
Tim Lawless at CoreLogic noted the overall national clearance rate held firm at 71 per cent. Melbourne dipped to 66.9 per cent, while Sydney jumped to 74 per cent.
Adelaide returned the highest success rate at 83.8 per cent, Brisbane came in at 61 per cent with 58 per cent selling in Canberra.
Mt Waverley winner
It was a close battle for Melbourne’s top-priced sale, with a Mt Waverley home fetching $3,910,000 – just pipping a $3.9m sale in Williamstown.
The five-bedroom, five-bathroom French Provincial residence, situated in the school zone of Mt Waverley, was built in 2023.
The Portsmouth Street home had come with a $3.6m to $3.96m price guide through Kerry Huang and Joyce Liu at JRW Property International.
In Williamstown, a two-bedroom Osborne Street house that sits on a 1,071sq m came with a $3m to $3.25m price guide from Sam Wilson of Jellis Craig Inner West. It had last sold in late 2021 for $2.57m.
The third-priciest was a 2.85ha holding at Balnarring on the Mornington Peninsula which fetched $3.01m.
The Renown Road acreage was listed by the administrator of the estate of Henry Geraint Vaughan with $2.8m to $3.08m guidance from Jackie Wright at The Coast Real Estate.
It last sold in 1985 for $67,000.
It has 2.83ha zoned green wedge, and a 2000sq m general residential zoning with a two-bedroom homestead.
Listings down
The seasonal slowdown in June saw a 15 per cent national decrease in listings, but new listings were slightly higher than a year ago, according to the PropTrack listings report.
Every capital city and rest-of-the-state region recorded a monthly fall in new listings in June, PropTrack director of economic research Cameron Kusher noted.
Canberra’s 28 per cent drop was the largest monthly fall, followed by Melbourne with a 20 per cent drop in its fresh private treaty and auction stock on realestate.com.au.
National regional markets saw a 13 per cent monthly decline in new listings, taking them 4.5 per cent lower year-on-year.
However, total listings in regional Victoria sit 25 per cent higher than a year ago.
They include Kingfisher, a picturesque holding situated at Yellingbo in the Yarra Valley.
The 32ha lifestyle property is being marketed as suited to livestock, equestrian, horticultural and viticultural practices. It features a four-bedroom western red cedar homestead which has been updated by Susan To, the renowned Melbourne interior designer.
Patrick Kerr at LAWD and Peter Balharrie at Pat Rice & Hawkins, who listed it in mid-autumn, have given a revised $2m to $2.1m guidance.
Top agent shines again
Alexander Phillips, deemed Australia’s top real estate agent after again topping the REB’s recent Top 100 Agents rankings, has 41 properties set for spring listing.
His social media indicates that five properties come with $10m-plus expectations – including $20m homes in Tamarama and Bronte.
They will go up on realestate.com.au upon his mid-week return from a sojourn in the south of France.
“We have the best list of properties coming up we have had in many years,” he advised Competing Bids.
Phillips, of Phillips Pantzer Donnelley, and his support staff sell across the eastern suburbs of Sydney.
They typically secure annual sales totalling around $1bn.
He did $960m in the financial year just gone.
Phillips has 23 years of experience. He first made the REB list in 2015 when he ranked second, followed by nine consecutive top rankings.
His average sale has risen over the decade from $1.8m to $4.75m in 2023.
This compares to an average of some $2.28m across the top 100 agents.
Phillips also ranks as one of the quickest agents, selling homes in an average of 19 days.
One of his sales last month was a Paddington terrace that fetched $3,335,000 within five days of listing. It came after Phillips’ associate, Pru Kelly, overhauled the 1890s Hargrave Street terrace for the vendors in a two-week makeover to get it ready for market. Some 94 groups inspected the property.
“With many of our clients lacking the network of trades, time, and expertise in presenting a home, a vital part of our selling process is preparing properties and adding value for our clients,” Phillips says.
Signs of recovery
PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty says the national auction market is emerging from the lull seen over the winter school holidays.
“This week is busier, with NSW and Victoria each to see just shy of 1000 homes auctioned, with 2500 expected Australia-wide,” Flaherty says.
“South Australia is experiencing the strongest growth in auction volumes.
“Driving this growth has been confidence in market conditions and the increasing popularity of auctions as a selling method.”
Ray White South Australia auctioneer John Morris notes his offerings have been selling at an average of 4 per cent above their reserve prices.
Adelaide’s top weekend result came when a four-bedroom, two-bathroom art deco 1936 house at 14 Braund Road, Fitzroy sold through Georgie Todd at Harris Real Estate for $2,275,000.
It had sold in 2009 for $765,000.
Kate Smith at Kate Smith Property in Adelaide, who typically sells her listings in 17 days, has a three-bedroom, one-bathroom art deco house at 28 Coppin Street, Semaphore set for auction this weekend.
It is one of the 140 listings across Adelaide, with the city’s volume up 26 per cent on the same time last year.
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