32 sleeps and then it’s jolly bloke in red suit time and everything goes to bed until around March.
Panic, anyone?
Not a great strategy.
Yes, clearance rates are hovering in the late 60s, but that means there are still choices to be made among the remaining early 30s.
And of that 30%, some have been hoping for suitors for most of this year. Their problem? One word:
Price.
Are some of those plums ready to fall for sensible offers with cheques attached? It’s worked before.
And there are some to watch for signs as to how the year will end and, maybe, the mood which will prevail early next year.
Keep an eye on:
- 3 Montalto Avenue, Toorak, on the market for some time with a second shot next Saturday
- 15 Montalto Avenue, Toorak, designed by Michael Munckton for lovers of single level houses near the Village
- 13 Mowbray Street, East Hawthorn, 1386 sq m with tennis court and pool
- 67 Elizabeth Street, Malvern, 1757 sq m with court and pool
And the Superlatives of The Year Award goes to the writer of:
29 Harcourt Street, East Hawthorn, (closes early December) for a listing including:
- breathtaking
- brilliant
- celebrated
- colossal
- esteemed
- exquisite
- grand
- grandeur
- icon
- lavishly-adorned
- luxury
- magnificent
- majestic
- marvellous
- opulent
- perfect
- richness
- splendour
- sprawling
- stunning
- stylish
- sumptuous
- sympathetic contemporary enhancement (!)
- timeless
- unrivalled
Phew!
Christopher Koren
Bayside: Reality at the top?
Vendor, meet market.
There’s been a bit of it about in Brighton.
Speculation that 6 William Street was close to a sale was proved correct. Contracts were exchanged last week. It was first listed many months ago with hopes of $15 million. Our understanding is that the sale price fell between $10 and $11 million — a similar level to September’s sale of 2 Kinane Street.
It seems there just aren’t that many people who are ready to spend over $10 million in Brighton.
Down a notch at 141 New Street — a well restored Victorian on 2000 sq m — there was another outbreak of reality. It sold five or six years ago for an exceptionally generous $7 million and has just re-sold for a fair and reasonable figure in the early 5s.
Lessons for top end sellers? Reality may be painful, but it wins arguments.
Auctions held few surprises. Early-Spring excitement appears to have calmed.
5 Lorac Avenue was an exception. Initially passed in, it sold later for $3.15 million.
No champagne required at 31 Creswick Street, Brighton East. Its bucolic outlook over the golf links and all mod cons failed to attract a bid. A later offer of $1.625 million was not enough and a reserve of $1.85 million suggests some hard yards ahead.
Further south?
From Hampton to Beaumaris, more pass-ins than passes. A market past its boiling point?
So. Just three auction weekends to go — with the usual year-end stresses for both buyers and sellers.
Do it now; or wait until well into next year?
Simpler for sellers. If the price is near right, grab it, but for buyers the wrong decision made in haste can be the cause of regret for a very long time.
Damian Taylor