Melbourne Auction Results 7th September 2015

Are we really just talking ourselves into a recession? In this week’s market wrap Peter Sarmas talks about the Australian Economy and its lack of impact on the current property market. He also covers a property auction in Glen Iris which had surprising results.

A clearance rate of 76 per cent was recorded this weekend compared to 77 per cent last weekend and 76 per cent this weekend last year. There were 841 auctions reported to the REIV this weekend, with 643 selling and 198 being passed in, 76 of those on a vendor bid.

Melbourne’s south-east and eastern suburbs remained popular with buyers in the past month. Bentleigh had the highest clearance rate in August (95 per cent), followed by Glen Iris and Caulfield South (both 91 per cent).

Recession? Not In Melbourne’s Property Market Yet!

You’ve gotta love the media don’t you? Front page articles that the Australian economy is heading for a recession is just what we all need to hear right? Of course the Australian dollar falling to a predicted fifty cents cents can only mean we are in dire straits, especially when I read our economy’s health being compared to that of Greece. I make no apologies for my sarcasm!

Proof in the pudding of this sudden downturn would be an immediate impact on property buyer numbers and prices right? Well I wish that were true, then I could buy more property for my clients who unfortunately missed out this weekend. This time the property was priced over $2mil and the auction was watched by over 100 spectators, guess what happened? I’ll give you a hint, it sold well beyond the reserve price! Read more about the auction in the Street Advocate news further down.

Economy

Last week the Reserve Bank met to discuss our economy and make a decision on whether more stimulus was required in the form of lowering interest rates. Needless to say Governor Glenn Stevens felt the state of affairs were as expected and made the decision to leave rates on hold. Economic growth was minimal, Australia’s economy grew by just 0.2% in the June quarter, below expectations of 0.4%, largely as a result of reduced mining and construction activity and a decline in exports of 3% during the quarter.

Nominal Gross Domestic Product grew by 1.8% during the year, which the Australian Bureau of Statistics said was “the weakest growth in nominal GDP since 1961-62”. Despite this, Australia has now recorded 24 straight years of growth. The RBA left the cash rate on hold at 2%.

Let’s not all talk ourselves into a recession but instead look at the fundamentals of what’s happening in the Australian economy. Our country is in the process of transitioning from a mining boom into a non-mining economy and this takes time. Thanks to the falling Aussie dollar our exporters are getting some help to compete globally and that’s a very good thing. Also, thanks to our Australian dollar, we are back on the radar for many tourists looking at destinations with more bang for their buck!

Tourism and education are two of our biggest exports. Melbourne’s education industry being one of the strongest in Victoria. Treasury is still expecting GDP growth at 2.5 per cent for the year although, there are genuine concerns our economy is softening and concern over the recent sharemarket volatility. History tells us October has been the worst month for equities around the world so, I would expect more bad news to come.

My view is that we need a plan to build our nation and stimulate our economy. Our government needs to stop playing popular politics and stop worrying about the deficit instead, start investing in infrastructure projects and building a food bowl for our Asian partners.

Street Advocate

16 Courang Road Glen Iris
Two weeks in a row we have turned up to auctions where the number of buyers has been very strong. This time we found ourselves in the leafy suburb of Glen Iris. Read More

Top 5 Houses

1.  8 Mcevoy Street, Kew $4,200,000
2.  45 Wentworth Avenue, Canterbury $3,360,000
3.  8 Elm Grove, Brighton $3,185,000
4.  386 Beach Road, Beaumaris $2,925,000
5.  13 Moody Street, Balwyn North $2,910,000

Top 5 Bargain Houses

1. 13 Stipa Street, Delahey $311,000
2. 5 Spurr Street, Craigieburn $355,000
3. 2 The Glen, Carrum Downs $360,500
4. 22 Stillman Drive, Mill Park $367,500
5. 15 Thoresby Circuit, Craigieburn $368,000

Top 5 Apartments

1. 4/103 Mathoura Road, Toorak $2,900,000
2. 6/20 Airlie Bank Lane, South Yarra $2,380,000
3. 9A Hazeldean Avenue, Brighton East $2,100,000
4. 1B Daly Road, Sandringham $1,645,000
5. 30 Highett Road, Hampton $1,540,000

Top 5 Bargain Apartments

1. 2/47 Curlew Avenue, Altona $256,500
2. 8/190 Murrumbeena Road, Murrumbeena $265,000
3. 2/107 Clow Street, Dandenong $284,000
4. 2/9 Gerald Street, Murrumbeena $285,000
5. 8/83-85 Mickleham Road, Tullamarine $285,000

Source: REIV