Balance of power held by buyers as Melbourne and Sydney auction tipping competition properties sell at or after auction

Balance of power held by buyers as Melbourne and Sydney auction tipping competition properties sell at or after auction
Mark ArmstrongDecember 8, 2020

Although the clearance rate in Melbourne this week was a reasonably healthy 60% the buyers clearly had the upper hand as their compatriots were thin on the ground. Many auctions were passed in and negotiated shortly after.

For those who want to have a harmless punt, there's now a tipping website, www.propertytycoon.com.au, where punters can guess auction five results in Melbourne and Sydney, with no outlay. It's mostly about testing your market knowledge with a small cash prize as a sweetener.

When a property is passed in the balance of power immediately moves to the buyer, as was the case at 19 Lee Street, Flemington (pictured below). After a brief auction, where only one bidder appeared, the property was passed in for $800,000.

For the buyer this was gold, as it gave him the opportunity to stand firm and drag out the negotiation. After extensive discussions lasting a couple of hours the property sold for $820,000. This price was $10,000 less than the top of the agent’s quoted range.

In Sydney auctions clearance rates were just behind Melbourne at 58.8%, but interestingly 28 or around 15% of the scheduled auctions were withdrawn. This indicates a significant number of properties had no interested parties, as a property is usually withdrawn if no one registers their intention to bid.

Four out of the five Sydney Property Tycoon auctions were sold. The top floor Art Deco apartment at 10/78 Birriga Road, Bellevue Hill (pictured above), sold under the hammer for $675,000. This result is what the majority of auction tippers expected, with the average tip being $670,000.

Mark Armstrong

Mark Armstrong is a director of ratemyagent.com.au, Australia's number one real estate agent rating website.

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