A $4,865,000 sale in Malvern stood out at weekend auctions, especially as the purchaser also took up the adjacent neighbouring block option to bring the total sale price to $7,131,510.

It was auctioned by veteran auctioneer Gerald Delany, having been listed by Kay & Burton agents Michael Gibson and Matt Davis, who say it was bought as an intended residence.

The expansive corner allotment, of 2,057 square metres on the corner of Mayfield and Wilks avenues (pictured above), had been consolidated with three purchases beginning with $670,000 in 1989, then $435,000 in 1990 with the last block added at $1.31 million in 2003 for the now pool block.

It totalled a $2,415,000 cost.

It comes with a five-bedroom cottage with a floodlit north/south tennis court in established gardens. There were the three bidders, according to James Buyer Advocates attendee Adam Woledge.

Matt Davis said the highest bidder was entitled to first right of refusal on the pool block at a 7.5% discount on the rate per square metre for the previously auctioned two block offering.

The sale was the weekend’s highest sale, with the REIV reporting a 62% clearance rate compared with 58% last weekend and the same weekend last year.

“The decrease in interest rates announced earlier this week may help stimulate activity levels; however it is unlikely we will see any noticeable impact for another few weeks, as in addition to the rate cuts other economic indicators such as unemployment levels and consumer confidence will need to improve if we are to see an increase in activity and prices,” REIV chief Enzo Raimondo says.

There were 592 auctions reported to the REIV this weekend, with 368 selling and 224 being passed in, 131 of those on a vendor’s bid. Next week the REIV estimates 640 auctions will be conducted followed by 610 in a fortnight.

Buyers’ agent Mal James says the interest rate cut didn't seem to have the hoped-for effect of boosting activity in Melbourne's top end.

“Clearance rates were just 55% on the 33 million-dollar-plus auctions we attended in Melbourne's inner east and bayside areas.

“There were some strong results on well-priced quality homes, and our demand indicator showed a fairly healthy average of 1.6 bidders per auction.

“But there has definitely been a cooling of interest in the last week or so.

“There have been fewer buyers through opens, and agents are definitely glummer.

“It may be that buyers in this segment are focusing more on the bad economic news that triggered the interest rate cut, rather than the fact that money has become cheaper to borrow,” James says.

Sydney’s clearance rate was 60.5% from the 337 results reported to Australian Property Monitors.