No. 91 Sackville Street, Montmorency, is among the Melbourne homes testing the waters on Melbourne’s first weekend of live auctions since lockdown.
And with a 25km lockdown bubble still in force, you can catch the action from your phone or computer via the Herald Sun’s auction blog from 10am on Saturday, including video streamed directly from auctions and rolling updates from some of the day’s most competitive sales.
Auction numbers are traditionally low on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, but Ray White Victorian chief executive Stephen Dullens said numbers had slipped further during the lockdown.
Four weeks ago the firm had just under 130 auctions scheduled for this weekend; by Tuesday this week the number had fallen to 57. Mr Dullens said he expected others to drop off by Saturday.
“There have been 46 postponed, which is much more than average,” Mr Dullens said.
“I think there will be some that go on, but it will depend on how confident vendors and agents are.”
There will be live footage from the auction of 21 Miller St, Carnegie, from 11am.
Barry Plant chief executive Mike McCarthy said he too expected a soft start for the market this weekend, with the firm having scheduled 36 homes to go under the hammer — about 25 per cent of a normal weekend for the agency.
“I think there will be some (that proceed) … but there will be a good number of others that will be postponed to give them another week or two run up to auction day,” Mr McCarthy said.
“And I think we will need two weeks to fully recover.”
At 3pm, tune in for the auction of 1/47 Katrina St, Blackburn North.
However he noted a strong clearance rate was still likely, with the firm reporting 95 per cent of homes that went under the hammer last weekend as sold.
“If history tells us anything, we will probably see some pretty strong results,” Mr McCarthy said.
The first home to test the waters will be 7 Pescott Close, Burwood, which goes under the hammer at 7pm tonight.
Biggin & Scott Glen Waverley director Ming Xu said the home’s sale had been delayed twice already by lockdown, but he was still expecting bidding after issuing a number of Section 32 contracts in the past few weeks.
No. 7 Pescott Close, Burwood, will be Melbourne’s first auction after lockdown.
The home’s light-filled living spaces were popular with buyers ahead of lockdown.
The four-bedroom, two-bathroom house has a $1.2-$1.3m asking price.
Melbourne’s busiest auction hubs will be Reservoir and Glen Waverley, with 11 and 20 auctions apiece.
Hockingstuart’s Andrew Montalto is expecting up to six bidders to pursue 1/21 Harbury St, Reservoir, from 12.30pm tomorrow.
The two-bedroom unit is going under the hammer two weeks later than planned, but with plenty of interest retained during the lockdown he was expecting the auction to pick up right where Melbourne’s strong market left off at the end of May.
No. 1/21 Harbury St, Reservoir, goes to auction at 12.30pm Saturday.
The unit has a number of buyers interested in it.
“Most of the buyers are young couples or downsizers,” Mr Montalto said. “So I think this one will be business as usual. Though we will do registers of all attending and spread the people there out. We’re also doing an open tonight so people don’t have to come through on Saturday.”
It has a $620,000-$640,000 asking price.
Meanwhile, a Montmorency family home has about a dozen people registered to bid.
Buckingham & Company director Stuart Buckingham said the 91 Sackville St property had attracted 140 inspections before Melbourne’s lockdown, prompting the agency to push its auction back two weeks rather than just run it online.
No. 91 Sackville Street, Montmorency, goes under the hammer at 1pm Saturday.
The home has a number of families interested in its refined living spaces.
“We didn’t want to do it online as the property deserved to have an in-person auction, so people could see it from the street.”
Among the most popular homes listed for auction this weekend on realestate.com.au, the character-filled four-bedroom home also benefits from a convenient location.
“It’s breaking their (the vendors’) hearts to go, but they just can’t maintain the block any more,” Mr Buckingham said.
It goes to auction at 1pm with a $1m-$1.1m price guide.