First cab off the rank: 10am auction at 12 Barry St Kew: and a range of emotions for Alastair Craig, Chloe Quinn and Richard Winneke, all of Jellis Craig, as they sail through the reserve at $1,650,000 and on to an impressive $1,950,000. 5 bidders. (Photo Amy Wong)

At 6pm on Saturday, the James Million-Dollar-Plus Clearance Rate was 72% for the 36 auctions we attended on a wild and woolly Melbourne Saturday afternoon. It was a tricky day for auctioneers, spectators, reporters and photographers, with cosy indoor or wet outdoor auctions the norm.

Bidderman, our Demand Indicator, was at 1.6 bidders per auction.  We think Bidderman was almost as strong as last week, despite dropping a little this week. Today, only one in six auctions had no proven bidders; with a few selling afterwards despite no bidding at auction (Reed St Albert Park, Hopetoun Road Toorak, and Oakwood Avenue Brighton). To further support our claim of a stronger Bidderman, only two of the auctions we attended today had five bidders or more; meaning there was an even spread of bidders across most properties offered. Also we had a focus (possible statistical distortion) on $3 million-plus auctions today where you would expect less bidders per auction. Overall Bidderman was solid.

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He is loud, uncompromising and highly opinionated. He is also charming, hard working and effective. He is Tostevin and he is a machine. Come with me, come with me, he demands of two $7 million bidders at 49 Harcourt Hawthorn. And they did!

Key Points:

• Of the 10 auctions we attended in Boroondara on Saturday, all but one either sold under the hammer or was bought after auction.
• Canterbury 7 from 8 over a million were bought at auction today.
• Highlight auction was 49 Harcourt Ave, Hawthorn East, James Tostevin, bought in excess of $7 million.
• Weakest areas were Balwyn and Balwyn North, with only 5 from 10 selling.
• 35 purchases over $1 million in Boroondara this week.

Celia St, Glen Iris We love watching Celia Street Glen Iris blocks sell – they are very similar,  sell regularly and show you how the market works.

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What a funny lot we are at auction! Check out the Expressions! Malvern 4 Grace: Marcus Chiminello and Justin Long: 4 bidders, Bought After Auction

At 6pm on Saturday the James Million-Dollar-Plus clearance rate was 59% for the 31 auctions we attended.

Bidderman was at 1.5 – a more representative number than last week’s 2.2 we think. 

Main Points:

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• A significant, but largely expected, drop in activity and dollar value
• 3 Longstaff Kew East – sold by Glen Coutinho of Hocking Stuart, had a crowd of 80 with 5 bidders and was bought for $1,413,000. This one was all about the renovation and not the position, home rather than location. See our report and click onto our ratings below.

Balwyn North 12 Ajana: 'Mmmm - it is quiet today.' Toby Parker. Passed In $1,600,000, No bidders

Not much happening today, with one of the quietest non-holiday Boroondara auction weeks I can remember. There were 11 auctions and seven sold. In May we were running at four times this almost every week. Very few private sales either.

Bidderman was irrelevant on such small numbers. The highlights were:

3 Longstaff Kew East – Glen Coutinho of Hocking Stuart which had a crowd of 80 and 5 bidders and was bought for $1,413,000. This one was all about the renovation and not the position. It really was a matter of home over location. See our report and click onto our ratings below.

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Malvern East 11 Deakin St: John Bongiorno is all smiles as the 3 bidders put their hands up. Passed in at $1,135,000

In Stonnington this weekend we monitored 14 properties, of which 8 were reported as bought before, at or after auction.

Bidderman was a surprising 2.3 – surprisingly good given the stock quality

This gives a clearance rate of 57%. For the corresponding week in May of this year we monitored 18 properties at auction at which 12 sold, giving a clearance rate of 66%. So while numbers were similar for the week, overall sales numbers are down considerably for the month when compared to May, as many top end agents are now just getting back from holidays.

The other noticeable difference is the dollar value of transactions. Today the only significant transaction at auction was 4 Grace Street, Malvern which sold after auction for just over $3,600,000 – Marcus Chiminello of Marshall White. See auction report and James Home Rating below.

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What is it with redheads? They're running the country - and now they're taking over the auctions. We counted six in this photo in amongst auctioneer Phillip Kingston from Gary Peer. 7A Nightingale St Kilda East. Bought After $1,200,000. 1 bidder.

At 6pm Saturday the James Clearance Rate on the 22 $M+ Auctions we covered was 59%.

Our Demand Indicator Bidderman was 2.2.  Hmmm – an interesting increase but it was off a very low turnover.

Today’s Highlights

1)      Bidders were present at 18 of the 22 auctions we covered –  and at three auctions there were 6+bidders

• 23 Sunburst Avenue Balwyn North (Doug McLauchlan of Marshall White)
• 12 Lennox St Hawthorn (Russell Turner of Christopher Russell)
• 7 Monomeath Avenue Toorak (Justin Long of Marshall White)

2)      The Pies are top of the ladder – and the election is on

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Malvern 61 Wheatland: Andrew Hayne and Maddie Kennedy of Marshall White - spruiking the spruik on a crisp but gorgeous winter's day: Bought Afterwards in the very early $2ms: No bidders

Talking with James Connell of Marshall White as he scoots off for a bit of a break, he tells me the market is sound with no real price drops. When you get the figure of 140 sales in May for Marshall White, it’s hard to argue with that.

It’s also hard to argue when Kay and Burton’s Gerald Delany (also off on a break soon) backs up everything James Connell says.  (You can see Gerald voicing his thoughts on our new monthly buyers’ video called G-E-R-A-L-D on our marketnews home page.) In May 2010 K & B handled 80 properties and nearly $250million in sales.

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Hawthorn 18 Melville: With the sun in his eyes, auctioneer Alastair Craig took the helm on this crisp, sunny morning in Melbourne. There was a strong atmosphere in the crowd. With three bidders, it was passed in at $1,605,000 and was bought afterwards well above this figure.

As we approach the shortest day of the year, we saw a record number of auctions in Boroondara on Saturday (compared to equivalent weekends in past years). Given the large supply, the market seems to have  some resilience. In fact, there is so much going on that  many key agents are delaying their traditional mid-year holiday by a few weeks.

Of the 11 auctions we featured, two were bought under the hammer, six were passed-in,  one was bought after and two were bought before. Our demand indicator, Bidderman, was 1.4 for the weekend.

The word from some of the selling agents we respect:

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Hmmm - things are changing and right now it's not for the better. One of Hawthorn's top selling agents Richard P. Winneke fails to get a bid at 90 Walpole St Kew. Passed In $2,100,000

Today was a watershed day for the Boroondara market – a day when the market could no longer gorge the incredible amount it has been gorging (for the last six months). Today was a real (excuse me, while I burp) I just can’t fit in anymore kind of day. Today the Boroondara market which has been the strongest of the four big $m+ markets (Stonnington, Bayside and Port Phillip) showed the white flag and said I’m no different to the rest of you. At 52% it was literally a flip of the coin to see if the home sold on the day.

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Sorry did you say 5 bidders! This is June not April. A great Jeremy Fox RT Edgar auction took place at this home 23 Ferncroft Avenue Malvern East. Bought under the hammer for $3,560,000

Stonnington seems to have got itself back into the game with a second “OK, sort of – almost normal” auction week in the 60’s clearance rate wise. We monitored 23 homes of which 15 were bought; that’s a 65% clearance rate (last week 69%). Of the auctions we  attended 7 of the 10 were bought.

What’s happening? Price reduction is happening. The buyers are there!  Buyers got hit early May with a lot of stock and could see a lot more coming and they paused. That meant things didn’t sell as easily as April, pass-ins occurred and prices dropped. Stonnington sellers have had two more weeks than those in Boroondara to face the “new order” and they have used those two weeks to price adjust and things are now beginning to move again at auction. Welcome back sellers – lets see what happens from here.

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