Melbourne auction numbers, prices tipped to rise heading into winter: PropTrack

A waterfront position and expansive views helped 2/25 The Strand, Williamstown, snag a $4.15m sale.

Melbourne’s auction market has been tipped to heat up as it heads towards winter after a long-weekend spree and federal election put it on ice for the past few weeks.

Yesterday, PropTrack data shows 67 per cent of homes sold at, just before or after auction, based on 452 reported results.

However, senior economist Anne Flaherty said there were signs buyers were “biding their time” and waiting for this weekend’s election result before they made a move — particularly first-home buyers.

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Latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows there were 10,334 home loans issued to Victorian first-home buyers in the final three months of 2024 — the highest figure since 2021.

They are one of the biggest forces in the state’s housing market, and them pulling back helps to explain a clearance rate that sank to just 60 per cent last week, compared to the 64 per cent of homes selling at auction prior to a 0.25 per cent interest rate cut in February.

Ms Flaherty said sellers were also likely to be waiting for a better understanding of which party’s policies would be implemented, and how that could impact the market.

But with expectations of interest rate cuts ahead likely to boost housing market conditions, the economist said there could be a lift in activity this year instead of the traditional cool off in sales volumes heading into winter.

446 Balwyn Rd, Balwyn North, sold for $2m in one of Melbourne’s top results under the hammer as Australia went to the polls.

Ms Flaherty said while home seller sentiment in Victoria had been the lowest in the nation in October last year, a rising list of positives for the market could break the tradition.

“And some owners will choose to sell because of that,” she said.

“So, compared to the traditional winter period, we could see activity pick up a little.”

Coupled with interest rates falling, Ms Flaherty has suggested home prices are likely to continue to rise in Melbourne this winter after a buoyant start to 2025 that has made the Victorian capital the nation’s second best performing housing market so far this year.

As Australia went to the polls this week there were 722 homes scheduled to go under the hammer across Melbourne, the highest figure in a three week span during which numbers fell as low as 144 in the lead up to Easter.

7 Hudson Court, Ashburton, was among the top home sales on the day of the federal election, with a $1.7m auction result.

Next week that number is forecast to jump to 866, and by mid May it’s expected to be just shy of 900.

Among the homes scoring the best results yesterday were a three-bedroom home at 2/25 The Strand, Williamstown, that sold for$4.15m, and a three-bedroom house at 446 Balwyn Rd, Balwyn North, which collected $2m at auction.

A $1.7m sale for a four-bedroom house at 7 Hudson Court, Ashburton, was the third strongest result for the day, according to PropTrack.

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