Alan Didak's Kew auction stalls as million-dollar Melbourne homes boom despite wet weather
PropTrack data shows the result came from 462 reported auctions, up one per cent from the previous week.
Middle Park recorded the city's biggest sale, with 100 Wright St fetching $5.53m under the hammer.
It was closely followed by 106 The Boulevard, Aberfeldie, which achieved $4.07m, and 8 Knowles St, Northcote, which sold for $3.285m.
Homes in Hawthorn East and Camberwell also surpassed $3m, reflecting continued appetite for quality family homes in established suburbs.
But not every high-profile listing found a buyer, with former Collingwood star Alan Didak's luxury Kew townhouse passing in.
Didak, a Collingwood premiership star and Copeland Trophy winner, played 218 games in the black and white, earning cult hero status among fans.
He was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame in 2017.
The property remains on the market with a $3.6m-$3.95m guide.
Marshall White Boroondara declined to comment.
Many auctions were moved indoors due to Melbourne's wild weekend weather, but agents say the real heat could be yet to come.
Ray White auctioneer Jeremy Tyrell said campaign activity had surged following the federal election.
'Buyers remained highly active at auction,' Mr Tyrell said.
'There was an average of 2.3 bidders per sale (for Ray White) and some really strong results, with people keen to act before the market opens up.'
Economists are tipping a potential interest rate cut at this week's Reserve Bank meeting, a move that experts say could spark even greater momentum in Melbourne's property market.
PropTrack senior economist Anne Flaherty said buyers were already moving quickly.
'There's a sense that prices may start to rise again, and if we get more rate cuts, that will only add fuel to the fire,' Ms Flaherty said.
Melbourne buyers' advocate Simon Murphy said demand was strongest in Melbourne's north and west, where properties in suburbs like Oak Park, Glenroy, Deer Park and Derrimut remained within reach.
'I just helped a client buy a townhouse in Oak Park for $710,000,' Mr Murphy said.
'But prices are moving fast. Some homes are jumping $50,000 in a matter of weeks.'
Mr Murphy said investors were returning to Melbourne, with many competing directly with first-home buyers for the same properties.
'Every rate cut gives buyers about $30,000 more in borrowing power,' he said.
'People know relief is coming, and they're getting in early.'
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- News.com.au
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News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Melbourne auction clearance rates surge to shock new levels
Melbourne's auction clearance rate is surging alongside prices, with major milestones achieved on both fronts in the past week. As the city's housing market heads into the final month of winter, PropTrack data shows about 73 per cent of homes that test the market using the auctions to snare a sale — a whopping 15 percentage points up from November in 2024. As PropTrack also revealed Melbourne's seventh straight month of home price growth yesterday, helping the city to a $24,000 price boost in the past year, two of Victoria's top auctioneers have shared their tactics for success. Boom suburbs: Blackburn unit owners' big win Now economists have forecast both could be set for further growth, with each of the nation's big four banks anticipating a 0.25 per cent cut to interest rates when the Reserve Bank of Australia meets on August 12. It's good news for both sellers and buyers of the 748 Victorian homes set to go under the hammer this week. 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PROFESSIONAL AUCTIONEERS' AUCTION TACTICS' TIPS: A three-time winner of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria's Senior Auctioneer of the Year Award, Paul Tzamalis – who took out the gong in 2025 – said homeowners should be open to post-auction settlement terms that were longer, or even a little different to, industry norms. 'That way, you can encourage more participants on auction day,' Mr Tzamalis said. His other piece of advice for sellers was to listen to their agent and auctioneers' advice on when to put a property on the market. 'It may lead to a better upside (result) under competition as opposed to under private negotiation,' he added. 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His other tips are: + Make sure you have all of your questions about the property answered well. + Visualise how you're going to act if the auction is slow at the beginning and also if it takes off, visualise how you are going to get involved. + If you're too nervous about either the auction or acting in public, get either a confident friend to bid on your behalf or hire an advocate for their bidding services. + Connect with the auctioneer, we're humans too! A house set to go under the hammer today is a former police station at 1082 Nepean Highway, Highett, with $1.2m-$1.3m price expectations. Now a five-bedroom home, the backyard features an original jail cell complete with a concrete toilet and barred door. Ray White Carnegie director Tom Grieve said the ex-station, decommissioned in the 1990s, had been inspected by renovators and builders. 'The house needs quite a bit of work but it's a solid brick upstairs and downstairs, it's going to stand forever,' Mr Grieve said. 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