Melbourne buyers are negotiating an average of $18,000 off asking prices as auction numbers surge across the city heading toward a major late-March peak in time for easter.
Melbourne buyers are scoring homes at about $18,000 below their asking price in large chunks of the city amid growing signs they are in control of the market.
Latest PropTrack data shows more than 1300 homes go under the hammer this weekend, with volumes set to explode toward 1900 by the end of March.
lba Property director said data from Spachus Aus was showing in the past six months homes were selling as much as $18,000 below the listing price initially sought by vendors.
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Mr Mifsud said his firm’s buyer agency network’s Alba Advantage growth calculator showed sellers might struggle more in the city’s south east, however better opportunities to buy might be in the north west where their analysis suggests home values are actively rising.
He said there was a window for buyers in established suburbs including Essendon, Moonee Ponds, Yarraville and Seddon.
“In Sydney, buying within 15 kilometres of the CBD can easily cost $2.5m or $3m,” Mr Mifsud said.
“In Melbourne you can still find homes around $1.5m within that distance in suburbs with excellent fundamentals.”
He said an increase in stock was giving buyers more room to assess their options and negotiate harder.
Alba Advantage director Thomas Mifsud says rising stock levels are giving buyers more room to negotiate and forcing some vendors to meet the market.
“More stock doesn’t automatically create confidence,” Mr Mifsud said.
“For many buyers it can actually create indecision.”
Mr Mifsud said Melbourne was behaving like a two-speed market, with affordable areas drawing stronger demand while some blue-chip pockets were seeing softer conditions and slower turnover.
More than 1300 homes are set to go under the hammer across Melbourne this weekend as the autumn selling season builds toward one of its busiest periods.
Heavyside Boroondara auctioneer Paige Heavyside said buyers were still showing up, but the emotional intensity seen in previous auction seasons had cooled.
“At the moment there is usually one standout buyer for a property rather than a large pool all competing at once,” Ms Heavyside said.
“It’s a tougher market in that sense because buyers are being far more conservative with their decisions.”
Heavyside Boroondara auctioneer Paige Heavyside says there is often one standout buyer rather than large pools of bidders competing for every property.
She said inspections were still drawing solid attendance, but buyers were approaching campaigns with a more analytical mindset.
“Buyers are being smarter, more strategic and much more deliberate about what they are willing to pay,” Ms Heavyside said.
That had made presentation even more important for vendors heading into auction.
“If a seller doesn’t want to invest in staging they really need to reconsider,” she said.
“Buyers are comparing everything closely and the polished homes are naturally rising to the top.”
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