Nothing on David Walsh's Horizon, but Sydney's streetside weekend auctions yield 80% plus again
Sydney’s seventh consecutive weekend with 80% or higher auction success rates was notched up this weekend, as the intensive four week countdown to the Easter break now tests the market depth.
Saturday's trophy listing, the penthouse in the Darlinghurst high-rise Horizon was withdrawn from auction given as yet uncompetitive buyer interest, with that black Mercedes van full of touring Chinese buyers remaining apocryphal.
The Ballard Property Group did however secure the day's highest notified sale which was $3.01 million in Maroubra. Auctioneer Damien Cooley from Cooley Auctions took a $2.3 million opening bid. Property Observer gleans a higher sale at about $3.35 million had been secured in undisclosed prior auction negotiations through McGrath for the 1893 sandstone Hunters Hill house, Norwood.
The 81.8% strong clearance rate came from 413 results, although there were some 630 plus results expected in any final tally by Australian Property Monitors.
Last weekend's 82.4% came in at a revised 76.1%, a much larger than typical downward revision suggesting to Property Observer nascent signs of a slowing down from record-level pace.
The year's results are still well ahead of last year’s low 70% results and auction numbers are also significantly higher this autumn.
This weekend's 632 home offerings was around 38% higher than the 456 that were listed over the same weekend last year.
The inner west was the most active region for auctions this weekend in Sydney with 110 followed by the south with 87, then the upper north shore 73, the city and east with 70, the lower north 65 and the northern beaches with 55 auctions listed.
Mosman on the lower north shore is the most popular suburb for auctions with 12 listings, followed by Strathfield with 10, Blacktown and Greenacre with 9 each, and Erskineville with 8. APM reported four of the five Mosman results as sold. Three of the four Strathfield results were reported as sold. All six notified Blacktown results had sold. None of the three notified Greenacre results had found buyers.
"There's a dramatic increase to the number of properties coming on the market prior to the Easter period," one auctioneer told Property Observer.
Melbourne’s weekend auction market bounced back this weekend to 73.9%, up from last weekend's 65%, which were first reported by APM as at 70% for the Moomba mini-pause last weekend.
That 65% - the lowest for the year so far - was interestingly not much higher than the 61% recorded around the same time a year ago, suggesting Melbourne fillip is on the wane.
The APM weekend's initial result in Melbourne came from 678 of the 930 auctions scheduled. Melbourne's volume is only just ahead of last year’s 832 over the same weekend.
The most popular region for auctions were the inner south with 157 auctions scheduled with the most popular suburbs for auctions being Reservoir with 19, followed by St Kilda with 16. Some 13 of the 16 notified Reservoir listings found buyers, and in St Kilda nine of the 10 notified results were sold.
Tasmania's gambling arts patron David Walsh had $16 million expectations for his full-floor penthouse atop the Harry Seidler-designed Horizon, Darlinghurst tower.
It was scheduled for March 15 auction through Bill Bridges of Ballard Property Group.
The proprietor of the much-admired MONA gallery and Moorilla Estate vineyard, was to include select artworks from his private collection, including a watercolour triptych on paper by John Olsen, to sweeten the property deal for the 43rd-floor penthouse.
It was bought from property developer Lang Walker in 2002 for $10 million through Bill Bridges and exceeded Sydney's then $8-million penthouse record.
Walsh has recently had a Coco Republic custom furniture fitout with the aim of enhancing its appeal to Chinese buyers as a home and corporate home office suite, which would perhaps help on the annual strata levy deductability.