The onset of winter typically means a quieter auction market in Melbourne and this year is proving no different.
Melbourne reported a clearance rate of 75.3 per cent at the weekend, which was lower than the previous holiday weekend result of 80.1 per cent but well ahead of the 71.8 per cent recorded over the same weekend last year.
Although Saturday's result was the lowest recorded since July last year, the market clearly remains in favour of sellers with the clear prospect of a winter resurgence driven by significant stamp duty reductions for first-home buyers that come into effect on July 1. A total of 983 homes were listed for auction on Saturday, which was predictably higher than the previous weekend's Queen's Birthday 279 but similar to the 989 auctioned over the same weekend last year.
Auction numbers will be lower next weekend with nearly 900 homes set to go under the hammer.
Melbourne recorded a median auction price of $879,000 on Saturday, which was higher than the $745,000 reported over the previous weekend and 9.9 per cent higher than the $800,000 recorded over the same weekend last year. A total of $445.9 million was reported sold at auction in Melbourne at the weekend.
The Melbourne rental market remains tough for tenants, with sharp increases in rents reflecting an overall chronic shortage of available accommodation.
Latest Domain data reports that over the three months ending May the median weekly asking rent for houses in Melbourne increased sharply by 5.0 per cent to $420 per week, compared to the same period last year. Melbourne unit rents have also surged over the past year - up by 5.3 per cent to $400 per week and the highest growth rate of all the mainland capitals.
Sharp increases in Melbourne rents reflect a shortage of available homes for lease as indicated by the latest monthly rental vacancy rates.
Although vacancy rates eased slightly over May, this indicated the seasonal impact on listings of the lengthy holiday distractions of the previous month. Melbourne vacancy rates, however, remain tight at 1.3 per cent for houses, 1.7 per cent for units and an overall rate of 1.5 per cent.
Rents can be expected to continue to increase in Melbourne, driven by record migration and an underlying shortage of rental accommodation. Actions by policymakers and banks to restrict activity by residential investors likely add to the current imbalances between rental supply and demand with even higher rents the logical outcome.
Although clearance rates have generally eased over recent weekends, the northern suburbs continue to produce boom-time results. Lower rates from higher-priced, inner and eastern suburban areas, however, reflect the typical winter break in activity from these regions.
The north east recorded the highest clearance rate on Saturday with an 83.5 per cent result followed by the north 83.1 per cent, the west 79.4 per cent, the inner south 78.6 per cent, the south east 75.0 per cent, the inner city 72.1 per cent, the inner east 70.5 per cent and the outer east with a clearance rate of 69.6 per cent.
Notable sales reported at the weekend included:
- A four-bedroom home at 1 Wilks Avenue, Malvern sold for $3,900,000 by Jellis Craig,
- A four-bedroom unit at 2/143 Cecil Street, South Melbourne sold by Cayzer Real Estate for $2,920,000
- Another four-bedroom home at 19 Cloris Avenue, Beaumaris sold for $2,800,000 by Kay and Burton
- And a five-bedroom home at 158 Wattle Valley Road, Camberwell sold by Jellis Craig for $2,690,000.
The most expensive property reported sold at auction was a four-bedroom home at 49 Lisson Grove, Hawthorn sold for $7,650,000 by Abercromby's Real Estate. The most affordable property reported sold at the weekend was a one-bedroom unit at 16/7-9 Hatfield Court, West Footscray sold for $195,000 by Biggin and Scott.
