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Auction market starts the year strongly, as values continue to rise

This four-bedroom, two-bathroom home in Lane Cove, NSW sold for $3,165,000.

This four-bedroom, two-bathroom home in Lane Cove, NSW sold for $3,165,000. Photo: Belle Property

Capital city auctions kicked off strongly after the extended holiday season.

Sydney recorded a success rate of 80 per cent, with Melbourne close behind on 75 per cent.

Property analytics firm CoreLogic said volumes were higher across all markets with the exception of Adelaide, where the number of auctions held was lower, and Canberra, where activity remained steady.

Sydney was the busiest auction market with 428 auctions. Melbourne was the second busiest with 401.

Kevin Brogan, CoreLogic’s auction commentator, tipped continued price growth after clearance rates and home values ticked up towards the end of 2019.

The weekend results suggest that knocks to consumer confidence from bushfires and coronavirus have not affected the residential auction market.

Of the 205 Sydney results captured, 165 homes sold, CoreLogic reported.

In Melbourne, 246 results were captured and 185 homes sold.

The highest confirmed residential sale in Sydney was 5 Trouve Street, Lane Cove, a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house that Belle Property sold for $3,165,000.

The 530-square-metre building block cost $892,000 in 2008.

The Lane Cove property has a media room and resort-style pool. Photo: Belle Property

Elsewhere, there was a $3.35 million pre-auction sale at 14 Bennett Street, Curl Curl, through McGrath.

The five-bedroom, three-bathroom house was built in 2012 and came with an initial price guidance of $2.9 million.

More expensive listings in Mosman and Northbridge failed to find buyers.

Cooley Auctions auctioneer Damien Cooley told Domain the average number of registered bidders across those auctions was six, well up on last year.

The highest-known number of bidders was at Wentworthville, in Sydney’s west, where Ray White Parramatta agents and brothers Amit and Ritesh Nayak attracted 43 registered bidders to 53 Dorothy Street.

The four-bedroom home sold for $1.46 million.

This five-bedroom home in Curl Curl, NSW, sold before auction for $3.35 million. Photo: McGrath

“The Sydney weekend auction [market] hasn’t missed a beat, roaring into 2020 with yet another boom-time auction clearance rate – taking off where it left off in 2019,” said Dr Andrew Wilson, from My Housing Market.

Sydney auction numbers will increase next weekend, with more than 500 homes set to go under the hammer.

Capital city auction activity ramped up with 1122 homes taken to auction over the week, almost twice as many as the 625 auctions last week.

The higher volumes over the week returned a national preliminary auction clearance rate just under 70 per cent.

“As the remaining results are collected, the final clearance rate is expected to revise lower, however it’s likely to come in higher than last week’s final clearance rate of 61 per cent,” Mr Brogan said.

“Comparing results to one year ago, when housing values were falling and auction markets were much weaker, both volumes and clearance rate are now higher.”

Ready for conversion, this Port Melbourne church sold for $2,190,000. Photo: Greg Hocking

This time last year, 928 homes went to auction across the nation’s capitals, with just over half finding a buyer.

Domain said Sydney had a median auction sale of $1,150,000 this week.

It was $800,000 in Canberra, $760,000 in Melbourne and $695,500 in Adelaide.

The highest advised residential sale in Melbourne was 80 Ross Street, Port Melbourne, a church ready for residential conversion on a 350-square-metre holding.

It sold for $2,190,000 through Greg Hocking Holdsworth.

The price guidance had been $1.85 million to $1.95 million.

Melbourne had the cheapest sale among the capitals, with 4/58 Sharps Road, Tullamarine selling through Stockdale & Leggo for $310,000.

It last sold for $262,500 in 2015.

The price guide had been $289,000 to $309,000.

This two-bedroom unit, at 4/85 Sharps Road, Tullamarine, was the cheapest sale of the weekend. Photo: Stockdale & Leggo

Melbourne auction numbers will continue to rise, with well over 600 homes set to be auctioned next weekend.

Canberra had the second highest preliminary clearance rate across the capital cities (77 per cent).

Only 36 per cent of homes sold at auction in Brisbane.

The city’s sales included an original 1900s Queenslander at 23 Sixth Avenue, Windsor, which sold for $1.165 million through Ray White agent Alistair Macmillan.

The vendor paid $1.02 million last May and “did nothing to it”.

Developers looked at the site, but the buyers were a young couple.

Cassandra Lau is a reporter at Property Observer

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