‘Risky move’: Melbourne buyers and sellers scrambling to seize opportunities before festive property market slowdown

Tensions ran high as bidders competed to secure properties before the festive season slowdown.

Melbourne’s auction market is ending the year with a bang, as first-home buyers rush to secure properties before the festive season.

PropTrack data revealed the city recorded a 57.1 per cent clearance rate over the weekend, with 362 homes selling — 195 of those sold before auction, leaving 160 deals sold under the hammer on Saturday.

Ray White Mill Park’s Daniel Nardella said the pre-Christmas pressure was noticeable with buyers scrambling to lock in their dream homes amid rising uncertainty of interest rates cuts in the new year.

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“Every year, first-home buyers tend to impulse buy before Christmas,” Mr Nardella said.

“If they don’t buy now, they know they’ll be waiting until February.

“So, yes, we’re seeing a lot of buyers out there just trying to snatch and grab.”

Demand surged over the weekend as buyers rushed to lock in homes before Christmas amid interest rate uncertainty.

Ray White Mill Park’s Daniel Nardella sold a home at 37 Victoria Cres, Mill Park with the property exceeding reserve by $70,500.

Mr Nardella said one of the standout auctions from the weekend was in Mill Park’s Blossom Park estate at 37 Veronica Crescent, Mill Park, which sold for $800,500 – $70,500 above reserve.

“We sold the home to a first-home buyer in the area who was renting –

The property hasn’t had a cheap makeover for sale — it’s raw, authentic, and ready for the new buyer to put their own stamp on it.”

Western hotspots like Manor Lakes are drawing in investors and first-home buyers with their affordability.

Ray White Werribee’s Rene Mawad said there was strong demand in Manor Lakes after an investor outbid first-homebuyers in a $500,000 sale.

Ray White Werribee’s Rene Mawad said the western suburbs were as a hotspot for budget-conscious buyers and investors after he sold a home in Manor Lakes on Saturday for $500,000 to a Ballarat investor, outbidding three first-home buyers hoping to snag a home on this side of Christmas.

“If buyers want to secure a property before Christmas, they should’ve called me yesterday,” Mr Mawad said.

“Right now is the perfect time to buy with interest rates holding steady, and established homes becoming the go-to option as new builds slow down.”

Parks, schools, and a planned shopping centre are making Mambourin a place buyers are drawn to with a 70 per cent sell out of Fraser Property Australia’s first release of Mambourin Green.

Mr Mawad’s advice came as Wyndham Vale’s Mambourin Green development reported a 70 per cent sale on its first release, offering a mix of large family blocks and compact lots priced between $328,000 and $445,000.

Frasers Property Australia’s Sarah Bloom said the success to buyers’ was due to the confidence in Mambourin Green’s sister community, Mambourin, which is already thriving with parks, schools, and a shopping centre under construction.

“From what buyers told us on the day, it’s exactly the kind of amenity, all within walking distance of home, that they’re looking for,” Ms Bloom said.

PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty explains how looming taxes and holiday deadlines drive Melbourne’s pre-Christmas property rush.

With just two weeks left until Christmas, PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty noted the urgency gripping both buyers and sellers.

“There’s a lot of stock available right now, but agents are under pressure to sell before the market slows down in the last week of December,” she said.

Ms Flaherty said for investors, the looming January 1st land tax and Airbnb tax changes are another motivator for buyers to act now.

“Many investors are rushing to offload properties before the tax kicks in, but December’s tight time frames make it a risky move,” she said.

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david.bonaddio@news.com.au

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