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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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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Camberwell 26 Alma Road: Bought $1,615,000. Bang! 5 bidders. Richard Jellis. Good to see the 'ol tiger back prowling around.

In contrast to last week, we saw all 9 properties we covered over $1,000,000 today, sell.   Three sold before auction, 3 sold under the hammer and 3 were bought after.  That’s a 100% clearance rate and Bidderman was back up to two.

Five of the nine properties had two or more bidders.  Richard Jellis of Jellis Craig had 5 bidders at 26 Alma Road Camberwell.  3 Bristol Street Surrey Hills (Antony Woodley Marshall White) also had good bidding strength, with three bidders taking the price to tick over $2,000,000.  Steve Burke of Jellis Craig sold  71 Broadway in Camberwell with a strong result just over $3,700,000.  Sure it needed a bit of work, but had very good land content.  12 Lorne Grove  Camberwell (Peter Batrouney and Campbell Ward) next weekend will be interesting.

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Mark Dayman: They call him the "Deli Lama": Why? Because of his pearls of wisdom at sales training and his culinary expertise (eating that is). We like him too and today so did his vendors: Hawthorn 29 Hill: Bought under the hammer: $1,685,000: 2 bidders.

A solid day today in Boroondara – or so it felt.

Of the 8 auctions we covered,  5 sold and 3 passed-in giving a 63% clearance rate. Bidderman was at 1.75 which is still quite good (for what it is worth we did see  8 vendor bids - these are starting to come into play more now as buyer depth thins out).

Of the reported auctions it was 21 from 33 or 64% for $1m+ auctions.

The market is weakening but is that because of stock overload or overall weakening demand? The big question for the next month or so! The true answer determines the length and depth of easing. Supply issues – shorter term and not as dramatic. Demand issues – probably longer term and more dramatic.

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Surrey Hills 6 Langford Street: Big Home; Big Crowd; Big Nothing. Passed in to a lone bidder at $2,020,000 – well short of reserve. Tim Heavyside of Fletchers, like most auctioneers, having a little more stress today than in past weeks.

Although major Boroondara agencies were reporting around 75-80% clearance rates this seemed incongruous to what we saw. The clearance rate on reported auctions including Glen Iris was 68% down from 75% last week. This we calculated on the 43 reported auctions (we had 53 scheduled in our records). 

Of the seven auctions we covered today – only one sold under the  hammer (and that was Auburn Parade) - Bidderman overall was a lowly 1.4 and our clearance rate was 57% but on small numbers. Crowds low again, perhaps understandable given the time of year – one exception was 6 Langford Street in Surrey Hills – 160 people there – only one bidder however.

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Canterbury: 55 The Ridge: This auction had the hype of Ben-Hur. Auctioneer Richard James stepped out into the limelight ready for action kicking things off with a vendor bid of $3,100,000. Silence. Vendor Bid $3,200,000. Silence. Passed In.

I’ve been in New York and what a difference a fortnight makes. Did I come back to the same place – it’s noticeably quieter! But the market is still turning over big, big numbers of stock – not saying we are going backwards like TOP END South Yarra and Toorak.

Of our nine featured auctions, four were bought under the hammer, two were passed-in and three were bought before. Activity is less frenetic overall than a month or so ago. However homes are still selling in large numbers make no mistake. Look at our analysis below on the list of $M+ scheduled auctions. 75% reported clearance rate with only 2 not reported.

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Strange. Very strange. Yes Glen we can see you but check out the guy to the right. I'm not sure if he was there for marketing or to revive injured buyers. Maybe he will be mandatory at all auctions soon. Camberwell: 52 Athelstan Road: Glen Coutinho. Passed In.

It is 6pm Saturday and the James Million Dollar-Plus Clearance rate for the 38 Auctions we attended today was 74%; basically no change on the 77% ( pre Easter Super Saturday -March 27).

Bidderman was down from to 3 to 2.3 bidders per auction but that is still very strong all things considered (stock quality and Easter holidays).

Market Mood

Today was expected to dip to reflect this being a secondary weekend for $m+auctions; but it didn’t. Many of the really top homes wouldn’t have been launched with an Easter or School holiday start and May 1 and May 22/29 are shaping up to be the next $M+ Super Saturdays (stock quality and numbers wise).

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33 James Street Surrey Hills is a property that may not immedidately impress you -  in fact, you might walk straight in and then straight out.  But give this one a chance: it does have a lot going for it and it would suit a young family very well.

Big pluses here are that it is located in a quiet street wthat is within walking distance to the Union Road shops and Chatham Primary School. While the backyard is not overly big, you do have Grovedale Park across the road, with plenty of room to kick the footy or fly a kite. The house itself is quite good, with original 1920s facade,  double carport, private backyard and the arrangement of rooms is not too bad.

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