How rate cut is supercharging Melbourne’s late-autumn auction boom

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Melbourne’s auction market is heating up after the latest interest rate cut, with more than 2600 homes set to go under the hammer over two weekends.

Melbourne’s auction market is set for a late autumn surge as more than 1100 home sellers who had timed their sale for the days after the Reserve Bank’s interest rate decision chase a result.

It’s a jump of almost 300 from last weekend, with the owners who bet on a cut to add heat to their auctions hope to cash in on boosted confidence after a 0.25 per cent reduction in the cost of borrowing was announced on Tuesday.

PropTrack figures show 1151 auctions are scheduled across the city this week are also up 3 per cent on the same time last year, and the number will surge to 1533 next week — a 25 per cent jump from 2024.

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Buyers will have the best odds in Reservoir where there will be 22 auctions, followed by Craigieburn, 21, Mount Waverley, 19, as well as Carnegie and Wollert, with 17 each.

Prominent buyers’ advocate Cate Bakos said lower interest rates were already prompting stronger pre-auction offers, as buyers stretched their budgets to get in before stock thins out over winter.

Prominent Melbourne buyers’ advocate Cate Bakos said buyer competition is rising rapidly, warning that demand could outstrip supply by winter across key Melbourne suburbs.

Set in one of Toorak’s most exclusive cul-de-sacs, 4 Theodore Crt is a luxury listing offering grand proportions, manicured gardens and a dress-circle address heading to auction this weekend.

“There’s already a shortage of listings coming through, and I expect demand will outstrip supply by June,” Ms Bakos said.

Ray White Judd White director Dexter Prack said the cut had already supercharged competition in the southeast, with bidders “coming out swinging” at midweek auctions and some vendors accepting offers days before planned weekend sales.

Ray White Judd White director Dexter Prac said buyer urgency has returned in Melbourne’s southeast, with many homes selling before auction day. Picture: Rob Leeson.

This seven-year-old Porter Davis home at 10 Sutton St, Chelsea Heights, boasts multiple living zones is heading to auction on Saturday.

“Buyers who were sitting on their hands are jumping back in,” Mr Prack said.

But Melbourne buyers advocate Simon Murphy said as competition rose first-home buyers were being pushed further out, with intensifying competition in fringe suburbs.

“If you’re chasing value, now’s the time to act, because by spring, you might be priced out,” Mr Murphy said.

“There are still good buys in areas like Craigieburn, Wollert and Rockbank.

“But the window’s closing. If you wait until spring, you could be priced out.”

Buyers advocate Simon Murphy said outer-suburban buyers are facing fierce competition, with fringe areas like Craigieburn and Wollert no longer flying under the radar.