Sydney Records Another Year-Low Clearance Rate
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Sydney Records Another Year-Low Clearance Rate

The auction market is trading well below last year’s figures.

By Terry Christodoulou
Mon, Mar 21, 2022 9:52amGrey Clock 2 min

The national home auction market enjoyed a weekend free from weather events and holiday distractions, posting a lift in clearance rates and auction numbers.

Across the country, the market saw 2475 listings, up on the previous weekend’s 1574 and well ahead of the 2190 reported over the same Saturday last year.

Further, the national clearance rate lifted to 75.1% at the weekend — higher than the previous weekend’s 73.8% but significantly down on the 87.4% recorded over the same weekend last year.

Out of all the capital cities, Adelaide was the only market to break 80%, posting an impressive 89.8% clearance rate from 111 auctions.

Sydney’s market was lower again with an elevated number of withdrawals posted.

The NSW capital recorded a year-low clearance rate of 69.6% at the weekend – similar to the 69.8% reported last weekend but well below the record high 92.4% reported over the same weekend last year.

Sydney reported 866 homes listed for auction. However, this figure is down on the previous weekend’s 884, yet higher than the 856 auction over the same weekend last year.

Sydney recorded a median price of $1,757,000 for houses sold at auction at the weekend — higher than the $1,605,500 reported over the previous weekend and 9.1% higher than the $1,610,500 recorded over the same weekend last year.

Melbourne’s market saw a predictable surge in auction listings following the holiday weekend, up to 1390 homes listed for auction from the previous weekend’s 423.

The Victorian capital recorded a steady clearance rate of 69.9% on Saturday which was slightly lower than last weekend’s 70.3% and remained well below the 82.1% recorded over the corresponding weekend last year.

Melbourne recorded a median price of $1,115,000 for houses sold at auction at the weekend which was significantly higher than last weekend’s $1,008,000 and 13.8% higher than the $980,000 recorded over the same weekend last year.

Data powered by Dr Andrew Wilson, My Housing Market.



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You don’t need to be a golfer to enjoy the benefits of living adjacent to a golf course in Australia

By Sara Mulcahy
Wed, Oct 30, 2024 3 min

From the Spring 2024 issue of Kanebridge Quarterly. Order your copy here.

W hile water views are usually considered most desirable for property buyers, golf course vistas are snapping at their proverbial heels. This past quarter century has witnessed a golden age in Australian golf course living, with dozens — if not hundreds— of residential courses built around our major cities and tourist towns. These days, there’s a buoyant market for established large golf homes alongside off-the-plan apartments being retro built to take advantage of existing golf course views. So what’s the appeal?

Green dreams

Barbara Wolveridge is a director at Sotheby’s International Realty. She has worked with many of Australia’s most prestigious golf course developments including The National in Cape Schanck Vic, Moonah Links on the Mornington Peninsula, Macquarie Links International Golf Club in Sydney’s West and the Mirage Country Club in Port Douglas where she currently lives. (She was also married to the late renowned golf course designer and former US Tour player Michael Wolveridge.)

“People like to live on golf courses,” she says. “You can walk out of your house onto a beautiful course. But what you’re really buying is the extended view. You have acres and acres in front of you, but you’re paying for a small block of land.”

And while you can’t run across the greens in your bare feet, as soon as the golf is finished for the day, there are tracks and cart paths where you can walk and bike, enjoying the natural surrounds of lush greenery and wildlife.

“Some courses are a haven for wallabies and kangaroos,” says Wolveridge. “Here in Port Douglas the pristine ponds attract the magpie geese. There are the most beautiful birds everywhere — and the odd croc as well.”

Who’s buying?

While you might expect golfing real estate to be the exclusive domain of well-heeled golf-mad retirees, that’s only a part of the story. Golfing homes appeal to a broad section of the community, especially in the post-COVID era, when home often also serves as an office.

“Probably 50 to 60 percent of my buyers are golfers,” says Wolveridge. “But in some areas people skew younger, in their 40s — not necessarily golfers, but those who want that lovely view.  A lot of people like to come up here for the winter and when they’re not here, they rent out their properties.

“My very wealthy clients don’t do that, but the middle bracket come and use it when they like, and then it goes into the letting pool for the rest of the year.”

A cautionary tale

For most golf course adjacent dwellers, the only potential negative is the odd Titleist Pro V1 ball shattering the serenity as it sails through the bedroom window. But that’s not the worst thing that can happen.

Built in 1990 on the edge of the Great Dividing Range, Paradise Palms in Cairns lived up to its name with pristine rainforest providing a backdrop to rolling fairways and man-made lakes. Home to professional events including the Skins Game and Ladies’ Masters, it climbed to number nine ranking in Golf Magazine’s list of the nation’s Best Public Access Courses.

In 2016, the signature 7th hole was sacrificed to make way for an access road into a residential development of 585 luxury units. Then, horror. The course declined under new owners, was sold again, and a multimillion-dollar redevelopment plan was revealed that would close the 18-hole course and transform it into a new housing estate.

Those who dreamed of seeing out their days overlooking manicured greens are now facing the prospect of a sea of roofs.

“Once a development is established, it has to make money,” says Wolveridge. “The developer has to put in somebody who knows how to run a golf course — and that is the hard part.

“If the developer isn’t making any money, it won’t necessarily devalue the properties, but if the course does so badly it goes broke, that is the danger.”

Happily, cases like Paradise Palms are few and far between.

“I can think of so many golf course developments in Australia that are very successful, and probably only three or four that aren’t,” says Wolveridge.

As always with property, to avoid a triple bogey, it’s a case of buyer beware.

How green is your view?

A commonly held belief is that golf courses use vast amounts of water, chemical pesticides and fertilisers to keep those greens pristine. In reality, golf course management in Australia claims to be at the forefront of environmental sustainability, pioneering the use of grey water and efficient irrigation techniques as well as new drought- and disease-resistant grasses.

Following the release of the landmark GC2030 report by The Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A) in Scotland in 2018, Australia has joined a dozen or so other countries globally answering the call to action on topics such as climate change, resources, water conservation, pesticides, labour and land.

While golf courses have historically relied on a cocktail of pesticides and herbicides, many are today transitioning to organic maintenance practices, using natural means to control pests and promote healthy turf.

KDV Sport golf course (12 holes) on the Gold Coast and Kabi Organic Golf Club (27 holes) at Boreen Point in the Sunshine Coast hinterland are Australia’s only two organic golf courses to date. But there is no accommodation — yet — at either.

MOST POPULAR
11 ACRES ROAD, KELLYVILLE, NSW

This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan

35 North Street Windsor

Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.

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