Ray White's winter auction event to warm up Canberra market

Ray White Canberra is taking advantage of the traditional lull in the housing market to stage its Winter Warmer auction on Thursday night (23 August), offering a spread of properties from across the ACT before competition heats up with the weather.

Twenty-four properties – from a rare, four-bedroom, architecturally designed home in Casey, to a solid two-bedroom brick home in blue ribbon, Hughes – will go under the hammer at the Bradman Room, Manuka Oval from 4:45 pm.

Ray White Canberra director Ben Faulks said some commentators had been talking about the Canberra market easing but his team was yet to see the same softness.

“There are simply fewer homes on the market during the colder months in Canberra so this is the exact reason we hold a winter auction event before the warmer months of spring when there’s a lot more stock,” Mr Faulks said.

“We showcase our vendors’ homes before a lot of the competition comes on to the market.”

Ray White Canberra agents Lisa Van Niekerk and Jake Battenally have six properties set to go under the hammer.

“There’s been quite a lot of interest in 23 Wilenski St, Casey (above) with more than 27 buyers inspecting the property during its three-week campaign. It’s been so popular for its well constructed architectural design – built in 2010 – and its three-car garage and high raked ceiling,” Ms Van Niekerk, who was expecting two bidders to register, said.

Ray White Canberra agents Nathan Wood and Kaine Walters are marketing 34 Coxen St, Hughes (above) which is likely to attract up to seven registered bidders.

“There’s been a lot of inquiry on this property with up to 50 parties interested to buy into the suburb plus also lots of builders and developers who are keen as it’s got RZ2 zoning which could see the land redeveloped into high-end homes,” Mr Wood said.

The property has been owned by the same family for more than 40 years and it’s in a very original state.

Ray White Canberra have conducted 238 auctions so far in 2018 and have a clearance rate of 77 per cent. In 2017, the Ray White team conducted 333 auctions and had a clearance rate of 80 per cent.

Mr Faulks said buyer activity has been good in the lead-up to the Winter Warmer auction event.

“In the past three weeks that our campaigns have been running, our office has met a total of 1,292 buyers which is a significant number and stable with the numbers we saw this time last year,” he said.

Twenty-seven properties had originally been listed for auction but three had sold already, and there had been good buyer inquiry and inspections on most of the other homes.

Mr Faulks said Ray White Canberra always looked for times of the year to maximise exposure for vendors, holding its first Winter Warmer auction event last year at the Belconnen Arts Centre and selling 18 homes out of the 22 that went under the hammer.

The Ray White Canberra team also held a Summer Sale event in January, when it took 29 homes to auction on one night, selling 22.

Head of Sales Scott Jackson said the success of the auctions in these quieter times should see them becoming annual fixtures.

“It’s the second time we’ve done it and hopefully we’ll do it again next year. I can’t see a reason why not to,” he said.

Mr Jackson said listings had been strong and vendors saw the value in beating the spring rush.

“I think they can see if they only have to compete with two other four-bedroom homes as opposed to 20 in two months’ time, that makes sense,” he said.

Mr Jackson said buyer numbers were consistent throughout spring and winter, the only difference was the volume of homes on the market.

The auction offered a broad spread of properties across Canberra and even some from Jerrabomberra and Murrumbateman in NSW.

Properties listed for auction are:

• 17A Clark Close, Spence
• 34 Coxen Street, Hughes
• 4 Buckingham Street, Amaroo
• 76/215 Aspinall Street, Watson
• 12 Avenal Street, Crace
• 5 Turtle Rock Street, Harrison
• 24 Hayward Street, Macgregor
• 23 Bott Crescent, Casey
• 56 Irvine Street, Watson
• 23 Wilenski Street, Casey
• 314 Gooda Creek Road, Murrumbateman
• 9 Erdos Street, Bruce
• 6 Harpur Street, Garran
• 26 Olary Street, Amaroo
• 6/2 Mundawari Circuit, Ngunnawal
• 7/3 Newlop Street, Ngunnawal
• 27 Carolyn Jackson Drive, Jerrabomberra
• 11 Concertina Street, Lawson
• 10 Anakie Court, Ngunnawal
• 13 Hedley Street, Hackett
• 90 Diamantina Crescent, Kaleen
• 7 Aaron Place, Macgregor
• 52 Branson Street, Dunlop
• 14 Peter Cullen Way, Wright

For more information, go here.