Melbourne Property News Monthly Wrap – April 2018

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Melbourne Property News - Buyer Marketing

Sellers’ market retreats further – is a buyers’ market coming?

In April’s first 3 weekends more than 1,433 auctions were recorded by the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV). 744 of those homes sold under the hammer. 411 properties were passed in, 186 of those on a vendor bid. The clearance rate so far for April has averaged 68%, matching March’s 68%, but lower than February’s 71.5%.

The subdued auction market emerging in 2018 continues in April. A study of Melbourne clearance rates over 2018’s first quarter shows more cautious buyers, with many suburbs clearance rates dipping under 50% (Domain Group), in areas as diverse as Balwyn, Altona, Springvale, Mont Albert, Berwick and Sunshine West.

The contrast is clear in Camberwell which managed a first quarter clearance rate of 54.7%. This is way down on 79.4% for the same period last year. Prahran rates dropped from 73.7% to 57.4%.

Buyer Marketing observed four auctions in Hawthorn on March’s last Saturday before Easter, resulting in just one sale at auction – 5 Hawthorn Gve. for $4.96M. Further out though it’s often a different story. Up north at Roxburgh Park, first quarter clearance rates are up from 54.2% (2017) to 87.5%.

The Melbourne market appears to have peaked in Autumn 2017. Auctioneers report fewer bidders willing to raise hands in 2018. Going against this grain are the more affordable types of property, attracting keen interest from first-home buyers.

Urban crowding in Melbourne and Sydney, plus immigration growth, is getting a lot of media coverage. New research by CoreLogic confirms that population growth is the main driver lifting home prices.

The 4 states with high immigration levels, Victoria, NSW, Tasmania and ACT are the same states that have logged the highest property value growth over the last few years, whereas states with lower than average immigration have weaker value growth.

Three quarters of overseas migrants arriving in Australia go to Sydney (98,000 a year) and Melbourne (88,000 a year). CoreLogic noted that any decrease in immigration would affect demand and logically, home values would be impacted in these cities.

A NOTE: Last month’s Buyer Marketing Report noted the March 5 auction of 46 Glover Street South Melbourne, passing in at $1,260,000. Unknown at the time to this column, the home sold later that day (Greg Hocking Holdsworth) for $1,450,000, at a healthier $11,154 per square metre.

Peter Fox
Principal Advisor &
Licensed Estate Agent
Buyer Marketing

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Gail Lobo
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Peter's knowledge and expertise were invaluable when purchasing my first home. He guided me through every step and kept me informed regularly, which made the process easier and less stressful. I felt supported and in good hands throughout. Everything fell into place within a few weeks, quicker than expected! I would highly recommend Peter and his services.
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Charlotte St John
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Peter Fox is an outstanding buyer’s advocate. I am so glad that I hired him. It was incredibly helpful to have someone so experienced in real estate navigate the ins and outs of buying a home on my behalf. He achieved the result I was looking for in record speed, and took the stress out of everything. Thank you Peter.
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Colby Hart
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Peter was a fantastic buyers advocate - identified and negotiated our dream home for us extremely quickly. Couldn't recommend higher.
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Beatrix Neville
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I had an excellent experience working with Peter in purchasing my first home. Peter has a calm demeanour and is a clear communicator - never once did I feel stressed, pressured or uncertain of where I was in the journey or what the next steps would be. Peter understood me and my brief, selected quality properties to inspect and took me through off-market properties to compare. Within 3 weeks of contracting Peter we secured the perfect place. I am absolutely thrilled with my purchase, and believe I would have missed out on the property without Peter's rapport and expertise in communicating with Real Estate, and then guidance once the negotiation process started. Peter made the process of finding a property so fun and exciting that I was almost sad when it was over! Thanks Peter!
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Jean-Pierre Eid
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We engaged Peter Fox for bidding and negotiating, hands down one of the best decisions we ever made. He was clear and comforting ahead of auction and on the day witnessing Peter go to work was awe inspiring. Having done his due diligence beforehand, he was quick to assess a sizable field of interested parties and surgically execute a winning strategy securing for us our dream home. All that aside Peter was empathetic and understood our worries and motivations while also demonstrating strong discipline and an ethical approach throughout. Thank you Peter Fox
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Jessica Fagioli
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Peter is nothing short of a real estate king. I engaged Peter because I was looking at buying a specific house in a very competitive area, and which was being sold under a complex set of circumstances. Before even formally engaging him, Peter had gone to see the house in question, had spoken to the real estate agent, and had a good idea of what we were working with. From that moment on, I knew I was in safe hands. Peter was always available to alleviate any concerns and answer any questions, and when he wasn’t in a position to know the answers, he knew exactly how to get them in a prompt manner. Peter established a strong rapport with both the vendor’s solicitor (which ensured my lawyers and I were comfortable with the state of affairs before auction day) and the selling agent (which was critical to my ultimate success at auction). I cannot even begin to describe Peter’s mastery on auction day: there is no way I would’ve succeeded had he not been there. I cannot recommend Peter highly enough. Infinite thanks to you, Peter!
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patty goodman
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I purchased an investment property through Peter and he made the process so easy and stress free. I saved so much time being able to work while he inspected multiple property’s and negotiated a good deal for the right one. Highly recommend this bloke!
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Peter Mallen
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Peter Fox from Buyer Marketing helped us buy a property in Vermont South recently. We have been looking to downsize for some time and, honestly, are fairly fussy with our criteria. So when a house came along which ticked many of the boxes for us, we enlisted Peter's help to negotiate with the agent and to get the deal across the line. Peter was friendly, approachable and professional throughout. His knowledge and experience of the real estate market and the buying side in particular meant that we could leave the conversations and timing of offers to Peter. We were able to secure the property we wanted at a price that met our budget and met our criteria. So we are very grateful for Peter's advice, assistance and good communication throughout the process.
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Peter Villinger
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With Buyer Marketing’s Peter Fox I was in good hands from the beginning. An initial meeting with Peter set me on the path to a successful purchase of a property. This was an informal chat whereby he was able to understand precisely what my requirements were.From there the process was clear and efficient, Peter explaining not only what he would do but also how and why those were his strategies.Regular updates and the knowledge that he was up for a chat anytime was most reassuring. Peter V
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James Ireland
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Peter provided us with deep knowledge of the local areas, the real estate market and contacts within the industry that allowed us to quickly purchase a property that suited us perfectly. He gave us calm and thoughtful recommendations and was there for us at every step. He gave us insights we would not have otherwise known, and made the whole process simple. He conducted all the negotiations on our behalf and we came away with the perfect property at the right price. Could not recommend his services higher.

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