Brighton waterfront $7.77 million sale buoys Melbourne’s top-end market

Although more than $8 million was initially hoped for, a $7.77 million Brighton waterfront auction result has buoyed top-end market sentiment.

Especially as there were three bidders at the chilly onsite Marshall White auction once auctioneer John Bongiorno indicated it was on the market at $7.2 million. Another five had registered, but didn't get to bid.

"There is a market for correctly priced property," John Borgiorno said post-auction acknowledging the need for agents to have appropriate pricing expectations.

It was in 2005 when John established the then Melbourne residential record for a sale under the hammer on The Esplanade, Brighton which sold for $7.61 million.

Buyers’ agent Mal James described the weekend offering as “the best of the best of Brighton waterfront position-wise – opposite the dog beach”.

James calculated that the price reflected close to $10,000 per square metre for the 600-square-metre waterfront portion and the rear 600 square metres at $3,000 per square metres.

“The biggest auction for the year and the biggest I can remember for some time,” James said of the invitation-only auction.

The four bedroom house, on a 1,261-square-metre cul-de-sac block with 18 metre foreshore frontage, was part of a deceased estate, having been held in the same family for 25 years. It was listed through Barb Gregory at Marshall White.

The owner is expected to build a new house on the Seacombe Grove block.

"This is an open and fair market," Mal James noted.

"The market sure ain't dead for the well priced good stuff," he added.

Melbourne’s overall clearance rate eased to 59% from 586 reported auctions with some 86 results yet to be tallied. There was a 61% success rate in the prior weekend, according to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria. The clearance rate had been over 60% for three consecutive weekends, the first time that had been achieved for 14 months.

On the weekend Brighton and Brighton East auctions resulted in eight sales and eight passed in.

Sydney agents secured a 56.6% clearance rate, which was lower than the 58.1% of the previous weekend, according to Australian Property Monitors.