Methven 
The market is hotting up and never in my 19 year career have I seen a market this buoyant. To put it in perspective, prices have seen an increase of around $50,000 – $70,000 since January this year. The demand is incredible, with our Mooroolbark office averaging 1200 buyer enquiries for the month and our company as a whole averaging 2000.
Coming into winter, stock levels will drop, and we are already noticing a reduction in the number of properties coming onto the market, down approximately 30% since February. Prices are increasing with demand and the reduction of stock, and with these low interest rates, I can only see this hot market continuing. It’s anyone’s guess as to how long it lasts, but we really don’t know.
We’ve seen a substantial increase in the number of buyers coming from China, with around 30% of our sales now going to Chinese buyers. This is something our area has not seen before, and makes it very hard to judge how long this market will continue.
As an example, we recently sold a property in Jackson Street, Croydon at auction by Patrick Donker from our Mooroolbark office. The property was just over 1600m2 and was a potential 5 unit site, subject to approval. The bidding was fierce, with 8 or 9 bidders for an eventual sale price of $1,325,000. This works out to $268,000 per unit site, without plans or permits, and still needing to demolish the house. It was an incredible sale, and really shows the high demand for properties in that location.
There are no signs of interest rates going up, and the market is as good as we’ve ever seen. My father, Geoff Earney, told our team recently that he has never seen anything like it in his 43 year career in real estate. So if you’re thinking, now is a great time and as always, whether your time is now or in the future, we would love to hear from you.
