Booming Victoria Setting A New Record

• From:Herald Sun
• December 05, 2009 12:00AM
• 
  
• 
  

• VICTORIANS are expected to spend more than $1 billion buying homes next weekend, the first time in the state’s history.

  A record 1116 auctions are planned for next weekend which, when combined with private sales, will see more than $1 billion change hands.

  The boom end to the year will see estate agents pocket an estimated $12 million in commissions next week alone.

  The auction boom has seen clearance rates of about 80 per cent for most of the second half of the year.

  Ashwood, Ferntree Gully, Southbank, Boronia, Burwood East and Epping have been named as this year’s most successful auction suburbs with clearance rates of more than 95 per cent.

  Chelsea had the most unsuccessful auction year with a strike rate of 50 per cent, according to the REIV.

  Surprisingly, inner-city hot spots such as Richmond and St Kilda are well down the ladder. Agents in these areas, however, admit to passing in properties even when the sellers are prepared to sell for the passed-in price.

  They are often confident they can squeeze more money out of the highest bidders once they get them inside to negotiate after the auction. So success rates are much higher than the figures show.

  Last weekend’s 1050 auctions and 760 private sales saw $949 million change hands, according to the REIV.

  “The fact that clearance rates of over 90 per cent have been recorded in some of the city’s more affordable suburbs really shows that auctions can deliver results in many price ranges,” REIV president John Grabyn said.

  While the majority of sales would always be private sales, auctions were becoming more popular. “Vendors looking at selling next year should consider an auction as a selling method with their estate agent no matter where their home is or what price segment it may be in, because as the REIV analysis shows, auctions can work at all price ranges and in a wide variety of locations,” he said.

  “Vendors in suburbs like Ashwood, Boronia, Epping have, along with traditional auction suburbs of Glen Iris, Hawthorn and Carnegie, seen very strong demand from buyers this year.”

  Ray White real estate group Victorian general manager Marcus Williams said holiday areas had been strong in the past few months as buyers snapped up holiday homes they could use over summer.

  “Coastal areas are seeing a lot of interest at the moment, particularly Phillip Island, Mornington and Rye while the Geelong area has been on fire with first home buyers and investors active,” he said.

  Mr Williams said he doubted the interest rate rises would have much impact on buyers.

  Mortgage broker Mortgage Choice said 44 per cent of Victorian home owners who responded to one of its online surveys believed they would have no trouble paying their mortgage if rates rose to 11 per cent.