There is some good news from the current real estate market in Melbourne, for both buyers and owners.
Homes across Melbourne smashed auction reserves by six-figure sums on the weekend — a result that agents hope will convince would-be sellers the market’s alive and kicking, despite the impact of COVID-19.
Melbourne smashed auction reserves by six-figure sums on the weekend
Six bidders notably pushed a dated Moonee Ponds house, near the Puckle St shopping strip, at 24 Laura St a whopping $351,000 past reserve to a $2.201 million sale.
A century-old Footscray house that once belonged to the Baptist Union of Victoria attracted the same level of competition to soar $288,000 past the vendor’s bottom line, to $1.628 million.
In Glen Waverley, a couple paid $200,000 above reserve for an old-fashioned weatherboard it plans to rent out for a few years, before demolishing it and building “their son’s dream home” in its place.
Ray White Glen Waverley area manager Calvin Huang said five bidders pushed the 744sq m property at 28 Tobias Ave to a strong $1.304 million sale.
“Buyer confidence is certainly on the way up. Especially now, with the return of on-site auctions,” he said.
A 965sqm Fawkner property featuring a retro 1960s house also sold $220,000 above the reserve, for $920,000.
Ray White Coburg director Nazir Abbouchi said “builders, first-time buyers, developers and investors” all competed for 27 Shirley St, noting “demand is very much outstripping supply”.
More first home loan deposit places will be available
The Federal Government’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme has been fully reserved, but for those who missed out, a further 10,000 places will be made available in two weeks.
The figures on the scheme show 5500 guarantees have already been used to purchase properties, with a further 4500 still in the process of finding their first home.
The makeup shows just who are first-home buyers in the current era. Around a third of recipients have been for NSW buyers. Some 70 per cent are buying houses.
Some 59 per cent are singles earning an average of $67,387, the Housing Minister and Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar recently noted.
That’s considerably less than the limit of $125,000 a year for singles, or $200,000 a year for couples, with wages based on earnings from the last financial year.
Some 58 per cent are aged under 30 years with some 12 per cent over 40 years old, a clear indication the scheme is helping those who may have struggled in the past to get a deposit together.
Based on the data from the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation, which is administering the scheme, there is a nice mix for the scheme that Prime Minister Scott Morrison unveiled in the final week of his re-election campaign last May. The scheme began in January with 27 lenders – including just the two big banks – lending to first-home buyers who take out a mortgage with a deposit of as little as five per cent.
Sally Tindall, research director at RateCity.com.au, said would-be first-home buyers could use this scheme to take advantage of a slowing property market.
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