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34 Gertrude St, Mulgrave, has had thousands of people viewing it online thanks to a video promoting the home featuring Hollywood star Liam Neeson.
A Mulgrave home spruiked by Hollywood star Liam Neeson is among the more than 1300 Melbourne homes testing the auction market this weekend.
And some of the state’s top real estate experts believe that with 10 days since interest rates were cut, this weekend could be poised for an uptick in seller success.
BigginScott director Ming Xu said the extraordinary Liam Neeson voice cameo in the marketing video for 34 Gertrude St, Mulgrave, had resulted in more than 5000 people looking at the home online ahead of its 10am auction today.
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It’s more than double what a house in the area normally gets, and close to 3000 of the visits came within a few days of the video, which was done as an homage to Taken, being posted online — thanks to a connection between its film director owner and the Hollywood star.
“A lot of people have looked at the listing, and today we find out if they are ready to buy and the home will be … taken,” Mr Xu said.
The four-bedroom house has a pool, multiple living zones and a $1.2m-$1.3m asking price.
Real Estate Institute of Victoria president Jacob Caine said this would be the first weekend where buyers had functionally had enough time to make adjustments based on the decision, and he was expecting a “bumper result” for the city’s auctions.
The Mulgrave home promoted by Liam Neeson comes with an impressive outdoor zone.
Luxuriously appointed, the home stands out for more reasons than its owners’ connection with a Hollywood heavyweight.
“So the weekend ahead will be the weekend that it has a real world impact of the rate cut,” Mr Caine said.
“Sentiment is a big driver, but when people go out to bid today they will have a much clearer understanding of what their borrowing capacity and serviceability is.”
Real Estate Buyers Agents Association of Victoria representative Matthew Scaffidi said those planning a purchase now had until about the end of March to get the best of the market, with Easter creating a significant barrier to sales in the middle of April and lower listings expected after that as the market heads into the traditionally quiet winter.
However, Mr Scaffidi said it was possible this week’s clearance rate might not jump immediately if home sellers got ahead of themselves and assumed prices had already risen in response to the cut — however a further bump to the market was likely as a new wave of buyers emerged in the next 20 to 50 days.
7 Salvana Court, Taylors Lakes, sold during the week for close to $200,000 above expectations.
The home’s light and bright interior made it a compelling choice for five bidders.
But there were already signs of rising demand this week in midweek auctions.
Ray White Taylors Lakes principal Peter Travlos watched 25 of 27 homes sell under the hammer in two nights of sales earlier in the week and noted that the results, often driven by four or five bidders, had very clearly been influenced by the interest rate cut.
“There is a whole different vibe compared to January, when we had two or three bidders,” Mr Travlos said.
One of the top results was for 7 Salvana Court, Taylors Lakes, which sold for $1.202m, close to $200,000 above what had been expected.
“In the past six months we haven’t seen anything exceed $100,000 over reserve, it’s been closer to $50,000-$60,000 in that timeline,” Mr Travlos said.
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