Auctions finish on a high

THE Ray White Group saw a four per cent year on year increase in auctions scheduled in 2022, at 27,272 properties across the country, which cemented the leading group’s place as the dominant auction house in Australia.

Ray White’s auction market share was 23 per cent for the calendar year 2022, with a spike to 27 per cent market share in July to August.

The group cleared 63 per cent of all its stock under the hammer on auction day in 2022, with a healthy 71 per cent campaign clearance.

There were 4.3 average registered bidders in 2022, down from the record high of 6.3 the year before, and active bidders averaged 2.3 per property this year.

The group’s top auction sale for 2022 was a magnificent rural property at 70 Callans Lane, Vittoria called Glendower in New South Wales. One of Australia’s leading mid-tier gold companies, Regis Resources, sold Glendower farm, near Bathurst.

Ray White Emms Mooney partner Stewart Murphy and Sam D’Arcy handled the sale while Ray White Rural Managing Director Stephen Nell conducted the auction.

“The sale was a testament to the excellent land management practices and due to its size and location,” Mr Murphy said.

A price of about $14,700 a hectare was needed to secure Glendower, which is one of the largest holdings between Orange and Bathurst.

Glendower attracted five registered bidders including local graziers, neighbours and large corporations, which resulted in four active bidders and 40 bids.

Mr Nell said Glendower was one of the best marketed properties he had seen in his 30-plus year career.

The top residential auction sale was 12 Bronte Marine Drive, Brontewhich sold under the hammer for $17.7 million in April. Ray White Double Bay Director Ashley Bierman signed up four registered bidders and two of them were active.

This showstopper trophy home was sold by F45 gym founder Rob Deutsch and bought by a local family. The home boasted one of the eastern seaboard’s most coveted beachfront addresses.

“The flight to quality homes remains strong, driven primarily by a lack of supply. Prices are holding up and even if there was some stabilisation this year, we were coming off a very high base as last year was a record by all accounts,” Mr Bierman said.

“This landmark residence had recently undergone a dramatic contemporary renovation and had uninterrupted grandstand views of Bronte Beach and the Pacific Ocean.”

Spanning three expansive levels with a 14m frontage, the home with dual street access featured full home automation. Mr Bierman sold the home with co-agents Brad Pillinger of Pillinger and Alexander Phillips of PPD.

The highest number of registered bidders across the leading group was in Brisbane, when Ray White Mount Gravatt principal Grant Boman had 52 registered bidders sign up to buy39 Croxley St, Upper Mount Gravattin February.

The three bedroom original home on 607 sqm of flat land sold for $1.360 million, some $250,000 over its reserve. More recently Mr Boman attracted 42 registered bidders at 78 Lumley St, Upper Mount Gravatt.

The most prolific and consistent auction operator this year was Josh Tesolin, owner and principal of Ray White Quakers Hill in Sydney. Mr Tesolin (pictured above in his signature auction winning suit), the top international principal for Ray White, conducted 156 on-site auctions in 2022, and sold 142, representing a 91 per cent auction clearance rate.

“Auctions are the best method of sale. It’s transparent for the buyer to see other interests. For the seller, it creates competition where multiple buyers bid and fight to own the home,” Mr Tesolin said.

“Our job is to create competition and there’s no better way than an auction. In the heat of the moment, emotions get involved, and the best price is always achieved.

“You can also sell prior if the right offer comes in, or sell post auction with a price guide after the campaign feedback but there’s no downside to auctioning. There’s also no cooling off period and all sales are unconditional at the fall of the hammer which offers sellers certainty.”

Ray White feels so strongly about the auction method that this year the group successfully trademarked the phrase ‘competition creators’.

The term was coined by the group’s chairman Brian White AO (pictured above with Managing Director Dan White at Ray’s original office, The Shed) and is now interwoven into the everyday language at Ray White when referring to auctioneering.

“The term came to me one night when I was grappling with just who we are? And what’s the best term to describe the value we can bring to the community? We are the vendor’s agent and our job is to get the very best price for our vendors,” Mr White said.

“The greatest way to achieve a better price is when someone who wants a property realises there’s someone else who wishes to have it and is prepared to pay a higher price than they had hoped that they could. We create that competition at auction.

“Nothing gives buyers more confidence in the value of the property than seeing other people bidding for it and bidding higher prices.

“We believe this is what has been the foundation for our success. And to be known as competition creators tunes in perfectly with why we represent ourselves to potential sellers as their best choice.”

Ray White, Brian’s grandfather, started his business at age 24 in regional Queensland.

“Ray had the instinct to auction. Auctioning has been at the heart of our business since 1902. We are so passionate about being the competition creators as the best method of sale to achieve the best result for our sellers.”