SELLERS can make a motza by opting to take their home to auction over private treaty in certain suburbs.
CoreLogic data, collected in 12 months ending May, shows outstanding margins in median sale price in favour of selling under the hammer.
Brisbane’s inner-northern suburb of Clayfield recorded 284 properties sold via private treaty with a median price sale of $423,750, compared to 36 successful auctions with a median price of $1.1925 million.
The difference in median price is a whopping $768,750, but it’s even greater in the Gold Coast suburb of Clear Island Waters which had a difference of $1.015 million.
CoreLogic’s top five southeast suburbs to record the largest differential in median sale price, all in favour of auction, also included the Sunshine Coast’sMinyama ($730,000), Runaway Bay on the Gold Coast ($577,500) and South Brisbane ($540,000).
CoreLogic auction spokesperson Kevin Brogan said homes taken to auction in these suburbs had a couple of commonalities.
“The characteristic of each of those is suburbs in which there are high value and sought-after properties and as such those properties do lend themselves to sale by auction,” Mr Brogan said.
“When the decision is made to put a property to auction, clearly the vendor and agent are satisfied there’ll be competitive tension with a good level of interest and active bidders.
“So the locations and property all have characteristics of being best serviced by auction as the method of sale.”
And while Brisbane’s auction clearance rate notoriously hovers around the 50 per cent mark, for thousands of sellers the likelihood of offloading a home under the hammer is exceedingly greater depending on the property’s location.
Acacia Ridge recorded the highest auction clearance rate at 81.8 per cent butEnoggera wasn’t too far behind (81.3 per cent), followed by Rocklea (80 per cent), Runcorn (79.2 per cent) and Fairfield (78.6 per cent).
Mr Brogan said the higher clearance rates in these suburbs may be connected to third party sales, age of stock, demographic of the seller or motivation to sell.
“Where a third party is looking to release the asset in a mortgage scenario,” he said.
“In some of these suburbs, where there may be a higher incidence of third party transaction, the property is on the market because they want to sell it.
“With higher value properties sold voluntarily by you or I, for example, and didn’t meet expectations would we sell it or settle back to see what more we could do?”
Mark Reynolds with his daughter Zoe, 2, outside their Clayfied home which is going to auction on Saturday, July 23. Picture: Mark Calleja
Clayfield couple Mark and Stacey Reynolds are taking 52 Gellibrand St to auction on Saturday, July 23 after purchasing the home five years ago.
Mr Reynolds said they’d accepted advice from their LJ Hooker Clayfield agent Jason Gegg and were comfortable with the sales option.
“I can’t imagine getting $700,000 more but it’d be pretty good if we did,” Mr Reynolds said in response to the CoreLogic data.
The couple plans to relocate with their two young children to the Sunshine Coast following the sale of their second home.
The backyard of the Reynolds’ home at 52 Gellibrand St, Clayfield.
Mr Reynolds said experience in selling their first property in Kedron had been beneficial.
“I reckon we got caught up in the emotion part of it quite a bit but I’m more level-headed this time,” he said.
“Auction is pretty exciting, rather than have a set price on the house, and as long as we get a few people interested it’s definitely a beneficial way to sell.”
LJ Hooker Clayfield principal Jason Gegg said auction provides ample opportunity to sell in a competitive environment and ensures all markets have been tapped into.
“When I do sit down in front of owners, most want private treaty because that’s what they’re comfortable with but once they understand the method they quite often do choose auction,” he said.