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Century 21 Agent Aaron Vlachos and Auctioneer Ben Hanley at an auction in Coogee that passed in on Saturday morning. Picture: Sarah Wilson. Picture: Sarah Wilson Even ocean views couldn’t lure buyers across the line on Saturday morning, with a two bedroom Coogee unit passing in below $2m, as the latest interest rate rise takes a further toll on buyer confidence.
Perched upon a sought-after street overlooking Gordon’s Bay, 3/22 Battery Street saw three registered bidders and two active in the competition to call it home. It was both a slow start to bidding and rivalry between the two active parties that passed in at a final $1.95m, below the hopeful starting price of $2m and price guide of $2.3m to $2.5m. With reluctance from both active bidders, the competition saw multiple $5,000 rises.
Auctioneer Ben Hanly of Century 21 spotlit interest rate rises weighing on buyers for the unit’s bids and result. “I think the hesitancy would be the latest interest rate rise that we’ve just had, chat about another one potentially occurring before the year is out and then maybe even before we start to get interest rate cuts, potentially another one again next year,” he said. Auctioneer Ben Hanly at 3/22 Battery Street on Saturday in Coogee.
Picture: Sarah Wilson Mr Hanly said there is plenty of properties advertised for auction, yet the traction to get a sale across the line is not on par, with the current market offering vendors “a bit of a reality check”. “There is definitely a lot of auctions running, but as far as commitment from buyers, we’re not getting them to play ball like they used to,” he said. “Buyers will come in extremely low as what occurred at this auction, really looking for a bargain and properties are being discounted to be sold.
“The auctions that are still running need to happen, there’s a reason behind it whether they be mortgagee repossessions, factors such as death or divorce, that’s the reality right now.” Lead Agent Aaron Vlachos of Century 21 said the result of the home was well under its undisclosed reserve price. MORE: Distressed property listings surge across Australia The two-bedroom unit passed in at $1.95m, below its $2.3m to $2.5m price guide. Picture: Sarah Wilson “There were lots of small bids and it went up in small increments, that’s a reflection of the state of the market and the economy, they were coming in well under the reserve,” he said.
With retro bathrooms and evident carpet and wall defects, Mr Vlachos said the need for renovation and repair on the original apartment was another factor for buyer hesitancy. “Buyers are definitely factoring that in when they come to purchase because of the extensive cost to build and renovate these days that is taking a hit on the end results as well,” he said Mr Vlachos added he is seeing a lot of properties pass in at auctions at the moment. “Vendors have to adjust their price to be able to sell at auction, or before or after the auction,” he said.
Across the city, other auctions saw similar results. In Sydney’s West, Ray White United Group Meshel Bahnam had two auctions pass in on Saturday. “I had a house in North St Mary’s that was an investment and another house in North St Mary’s as well, they both passed in,” Mr Bahnam said.
MORE: Homeowners lose $90k in 125 Sydney suburbs Saturday’s wave of passed-in auctions across Sydney was largely attributed by agents and auctioneers to the recent RBA cash rate rise to 4.6 per cent. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman “One of them had one registered bidder with no bids and the other one had two registered bidders, passed in way under the reserve. “We’re seeing that first week at the moment after the interest rate rise, it takes a bit of an impact across the Western Sydney properties.
“Entry level, yes, they do still get a decent level of buyers. However, when there’s a change in the rates, it does take a bit of an impact as buyers are a bit more afraid.” Mr Bahman said buyers that have already been pre-approved, were likely to want to purchase before the approval expires. “Going for another one, their borrowing capacity will reduce, so I think there’s going to be an urgency in buyers that have been searching for the last month and a half to two months.
“I think new buyers in the marketplace are going to be a lot more relaxed and very selective. “Owners are going to need to adjust in this market and the question is how long will they take to adjust and how fast.” There were, however, some successful auction sales on Saturday with certain homes smashing reserve prices while some sellers made price cuts to get others across the line. 313 Woolooware Road, Burraneer sold for $3.4m, $300,000 above its $3.1m reserve A four-bedroom Sutherland Shire house sold for $3.4m, $300,000 above its $3.1m reserve. The home at 313 Woolooware Road, Burraneer saw four registered and three active bidders.
“It took a few minutes for someone to get the bidding started, but once it started it moved in $50,000 increments up to $3m quite quickly,” Auctioneer and Avenue Auctions Director Andrew Cooley said. The home sold via Gibson Partners Real Estate’s Ivan Lampret and Karla Madgwick. 1 Bray Street, Erskineville A reinvented 1890s terrace in Sydney’s inner west also sold at auction, but only after its reserve price was lowered at 1 Bray Street, Erskineville. One buyer competed against a $1.5m vendor bid, with the home fetching $1.58m, below its original $1.7m reserve.
Lead agent Shaun Stoker of Ray White said the vendors were happy to adjust the price, now looking to upsize themselves. “They understand the market,” Mr Stoker said. This weekend’s results follow SQM Research data showing auction clearance rates in NSW on the week of October 04 sitting at 26.87 per cent, with 122 properties rescheduled and 197 readvertised as a private treaty sale.
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Source: Real Estate
