The property market is subjective.

The property market is subjective. There are objective measures of the market, such as the clearance rate or auction volume.

Yet each buyer, seller, agent, owner or renter will have a completely different view of the market at any given time based on their own experience.

A prospective tenant right now will tell you how challenging the rental market – highly competitive and no stock.

A rental provider (landlord) might also tell you how challenging conditions are right now, with holding costs such as interest rates and land tax outstripping the modest increases in rent.

An owner who sold for $1,000,000 above reserve at auction (there were at least a couple of these in Stonnington on Saturday) will tell you the market is fabulous.

An owner who passed in without a bid at auction (there were quite a few of these in Stonnington on Saturday) will tell you the market is soft, or patchy at best.

One agent in Hawthorn may tell you they’ve had the best start to a financial year in their 20-year career and have never seen so many bidders per auction.

Another agent in regional Victoria may tell you how hard it is to sell anything right now and they are carrying more unsold stock than ever before.

The market is not a single entity that can be encapsulated as a whole… as much as we try to.

The market is thousands of isolated transactions, each with its own context and nuance.

The market is also thousands of non-transactions – people choosing not to buy, sell or rent for reasons inside or outside of their control.

It’s a bit like the 2023 AFL Grand Final. Objectively, it was a great game – exciting, lots of lead changes and came down to the wire. Subjectively, it was a bad outcome for Brisbane fans.

Super Saturday was objectively a successful day for the Melbourne real estate market with over 1,000 auctions.

Jellis Craig achieved a clearance rate of 73 percent across 158 auctions. This is slightly down on previous weekends, which have been hovering around 80 percent, but on half the volume.

Team Fetter/Sciola sold two out of three at auction on Saturday, with competitive bidding from three bidders at both 30 Dixon Street, Malvern and 40 New Street, Armadale.

Our third auction in Windsor passed in without a bid on Saturday but promptly sold for the full ask on Monday.

There are only five auction weekends left in 2023 and time is running out to secure a property this side of Christmas, with a very long wait until the next round of auctions in mid February.

Feature Property:22 Domain Street, South Yarra