Activity High In This Weekend's Residential Auction Market 1

Activity High in this Weekend's Residential Auction Market

Media Release

Friday 27 November, 2009

This is the busiest selling weekend since late April 2008 with 1,060 homes listed for auction.

REIV CEO Enzo Raimondo said that in the last 4 weekends before Christmas this year there will be just over 3,500 auctions held, over 1,000 more than this time last year.

"The 1,060 scheduled auctions this weekend is the highest number since mid April last year and will ensure buyers have plenty of choice.

"Sellers and buyers this weekend will face a completely different market to last year when demand fell to the lowest point since the middle of 2004 when 51 per cent of the 861 homes offered at auction sold.

"In accordance with the positive sentiment over the last six months the REIV expects a much stronger result this weekend than last year. In light of the results over the past 6 months a clearance rate around the year to date clearance rate of 81 per cent would not surprise.

"Buyers, sellers and estate agents confidence in the economy and market has done a 180 degree turn this year. At the start of the year auction numbers were low and sellers preferred private sales.

"On a suburb by suburb basis the most auctions will be held in Toorak with 18 homes listed followed by Essendon where there will be 17 auctions and Richmond which also has 17 auctions. In the three popular adjacent bayside suburbs, St Kilda, Ellwood and Brighton there are 45 auctions listed.

"The following weekends will see 928 auctions on the 5/6th of December, 1,116 on the 12/13th December and 429 the weekend before Christmas.

"The increase in stock is welcome but it does not solve the underlying issue behind recent price increases and the ongoing low rental vacancy rate. Melbourne needs a much higher number of homes to be built if we are to accommodate our growing population," Mr Raimondo concluded.


Auction results will be available from early Saturday evening at www.reiv.com.au

MEDIA COMMENT:
Robert Larocca, 9205 6622 or 0409 198 350


SOURCE: The Real Estate Institute of Victoria