Ray White Bayside Group director and chief auctioneer Kevin Chokshi in action at a Patterson Lakes auction on Saturday. Picture: David Crosling.
Melbourne has sailed through its busiest auction week of the year amid the best conditions for homesellers since emerging from the Covid pandemic.
According to PropTrack, the city recorded a 68 per cent preliminary clearance rate from 956 early auction results on Saturday.
The realestate.com.au research arm was expecting more than 1750 auctions across Victoria this week, while the Real Estate Institute of Victoria was anticipating 1880 homes would go under the hammer – making it the biggest Melbourne auction week since March 2024.
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Jellis Craig chief executive Andrew McCann said this spring had been the best market for sellers since demand spiked and prices soared in 2022, following the pandemic.
“We certainly came out of Covid with an incredible head of steam, and it was an effectively unbelievable marketplace – I think it’s the best spring that we’ve seen since,” he said.
The last four to six weeks has seen more bidders participating at auctions and more homes sell at reserve price or above, he added.
And Mr McCann said it looked like there would continue to be low numbers of homes listed for sale into 2026.
This townhouse at 34/74-76 Gladesville Blvd, Patterson Lakes, went under the hammer on the weekend.
A crowd gathered for the auction, squeezing inside as rain started to fall across Melbourne. Picture: David Crosling.
“Buyers will have to compete for better property, so they’ll need to be prepared for some competition,” he said.
“It’s going to be a fairly consistent, much of a muchness for the next six to 12 months – which is that houses in good locations that are well presented are going to find a competitive audience and that tends to trickle through the market.”
Mr McCann said on Saturday, Jellis Craig’s branches held a combined 195 auctions across Melbourne of which 155 homes sold.
The entertainers’ area features a built-in barbecue and courtyard gardens, plus a water view.
Ray White Victoria auctioneer Jake McIntyre said inspection numbers were up sharply across Melbourne, while stock levels remained limited.
“We’re seeing larger crowds and more participation at auctions across Melbourne notably averaging around 55 people per auction this September, compared to 49 last year and inspections are up nearly 17 per cent year-on-year,” Mr McIntyre said.
“It’s still very much a sellers’ market, but we’re seeing genuine engagement from all buyer segments, especially first-home buyers and investors.”
52 Victoria Ave, Albert Park, also scored a sale on Saturday.
A three-bedroom townhouse at 34/74-76 Gladesville Blvd, Patterson Lakes, sold for $1.31m on Saturday.
More than 80 buyer groups inspected the waterfront property during the auction campaign overseen by Ray White’s Genevieve Hill and Tez Hashemi.
Ray White Bayside Group director and chief auctioneer Kevin Chokshi auctioned the home that was listed with $1.08m-$1.16m price hopes.
A gas log fire in the living room, with French doors opening to the garden.
Also on the weekend, a Victorian-era house at 52 Victoria Ave, Albert Park, sold for $2.7m after being listed with a $1.85m-$2m range.
Marshall White’s Oliver Bruce said the three bidders competed for the keys to the two-bedroomhome which was placed on the market after the $2m mark.
“There was a big crowd there and even today, just across all our offices, we have been seeing very strong results with many properties well above reserve, with multiple residents,” Mr Bruce said.
About 566 auctions will be held across Victoria next week.
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