“The pass in rate is up…..the pass in rate is down”. So what does that really mean? The weekly announcement from the newspapers is useful but often can send negative or positive messages to the public.However there is no method to disseminate the results. For example when the rate moves one week to the next it does not necessarily mean that prices have gone up or down nor does  it say that the pass in rate in the outer suburbs [where Auction is not as common as in the inner suburbs] is higher or lower and vice versa.                                              
 
Therefore do not think that auction results are in any way a reflection of the state of the market and remember that not all auction or private sales are reported to the media.                         
 
This weekend past 63% of properties auctioned sold .Last year the rate was 85%.                                             
 
Call Brian if you feel you need more explanation.0439004889

This weekends auction results did not produce any surprises except perhaps the Albert Park Victorian featured in The Sunday Age which was passed in near a million on a Vendors bid. The opening [genuine] bid was $700,000 and that was the only interest.Unusual for the area.and maybe, just maybe ,the “Quote” was too high.
 
Once again expectations were exceeded in Camberwell.Not surprising because of the suburbs proximity to the City and probably more importantly, the access to private schools.                                       
 
It will be interesting to read the release of median prices next week.These figures give a false impression of market conditions because “Median”means the difference between the hightest and the lowest sale prices in any given suburb for the quarter.It is not an average.                 
 
The commercial market.                                 
Listed Property Trusts[LPT’s] are taking beating and for a very good reason.Investors money is used as “equity” in the purchase of large commercial,industrial and retail assets and then,based on a valuation at the time of purchase, significantly geared.They then rely on regular re-valuations to pay dividends. As soon as there is a downturn in the market, valuations do not come up to expectations,dividends are not maintained at initial levels, unitholders get anxious and sell just to get out which has a serious impact on the value of holdings and unit prices.
 
The pattern will continue because yields are diminishing across all sectors of the non residential market.

By Brian  from Buyer’s Advocates Melbourne

 A fairly ordinary weekend for auctions although the dailies reported some extraordinary prices for properties in the inner suburbs,namely Camberwell and Richmond where expectations were exceeded.                                      
 
Of course this time of year is not the best gauge of the market or auction results.I’ts cold,the snow season is on,school holidays are near their end and most Vendors will be holding back for better weather. However the paucity of stock can be beneficial to Vendors.                                          
 
General sentiment re interest rates,share prices and market conditions is not good and it is being reflected in the property market.
 
Demand will build and put pressure on so we expect an improvement in results at auction and other means of sale.
 
An interesting and usually overlooked stat. is that auctions only make up aproximately 30% of all sales. However most commentators use auction results as their barometer of market conditions.
 
In a forthcoming article we will talk about sales reporting.