Another super Saturday on the auction front Sunday property sales

The second super Saturday for the year scored another good pass but the market had to work hard to maintain momentum over the weekend with the clearance rate falling slightly.

The Real Estate Institute of Victoria reported a clearance rate of 69 per cent from the results of 884 auctions, of which 272 passed in. A further 71 results have yet to be reported. Last week's clearance rate hit 73 per cent, while on the same weekend last year, it was 61 per cent.

Some bayside suburbs turned in patchy results. In St Kilda, a scant four of 14 properties sold at auction; and in Elwood, seven of the 14 auction properties passed in.

But there were some stellar performers in the leafy eastern suburbs. Eight of the nine properties auctioned in Camberwell sold (with another two selling before the weekend's scheduled auction), and 11 auctions in Surrey Hills resulted in a 100 per cent clearance rate.

Buyer's advocate Frank Valentic said seven bidders pushed the price of a townhouse at 11A Scheele Street in Surrey Hills well past its $1.05 million reserve to sell under the hammer for $1.4 million.

"We didn't even get to bid for our client. It got up to $1.2 million in a few minutes," he said.

Two properties sold over the $6 million mark. In Brighton, Buxton director Leigh Hallamore auctioned a house at 26-28 Victoria Street, one block from the beach, which fetched $6.2 million under the hammer - $400,000 over its reserve. The five-bedroom house on two titles across 1440 square metres attracted two bidders.

In South Yarra, a block of 18 one-bedroom, two-storey flats sold after auction for $6.45 million. The stylish but tired, 1960s-era flats are on a 929-square-metre block at 32-36 Domain Street and came with plans for five luxury apartments. The 18 flats currently yield an income of about $250,000.

A crowd of about 60 people spread out in patches of shade to watch Kay & Burton director Gerald Delany, who took a confident bid of $6.2 million from a developer. That bid was unmatched and the property was passed in.

Title deeds show the vendor was society gardener Jack Merlo, who bought the flats for $4.5 million in 2009. The buyer intends to demolish the flats and rebuild.

Kay & Burton director Mike Gibson said: "I think the market's nicely balanced at the moment. There's a lot of confidence in the market, with buyers and vendors meeting their expectations, whereas a year ago, it was definitely a buyer's market.

"There are many more people looking at the upper end of the market. If you look at the upper end and look at the ASX, they nearly run in parallel. If that's going up, the upper end of the market is probably going to do the same."

The Australian Stock Exchange's All Ordinaries Index has climbed 17 per cent since November and 27 per cent since June.

Around the corner at 82 Toorak Road West, dozens of people turned out for the auction of Risby, a boomtime, two-storey Victorian belonging to ragtrader Alannah Hill.

The house has an elegant black lacework return verandah overlooking Fawkner Park and reportedly cost Ms Hill $4.31 million in 2010.

The property sold under the hammer on Saturday for $4.36 million after a difficult auction presided over by Marshall White director Marcus Chiminello.

Five bidders, some of whom were outside in a hot courtyard while others were inside at the doorway, competed for the well-located house.

The Reserve Bank of Australia meets on Tuesday but the market is not expecting a rate cut.

Sunday property sales

ALBERT PARK

SO 64 Beaconsfield Pde B 7rm 288sqm undisc Cayzer

CARNEGIE

PI 1/24 Lyons St BV $650,000 VB res undisc Wilson

CAULFIELD

SO 3/19 Anderson St BV 5rm strata undisc Gary Peer & Associates

PI 55 Neerim Rd B 7rm 565sqm $1,110,000 lo $1,200,000 res $1,250,000 Biggin & Scott

CAULFIELD NORTH

SO 44 Bambra Rd B 5rm 595sqm $1,055,000 Gary Peer & Associates

SO 2/8 Payne St B 3rm strata $482,000 Gary Peer & Associates

SO 13 St Aubins Av B 8rm 702sqm $1,965,000 Gary Peer & Associates

PI 3A Leaburn Av BV 5rm strata $1,600,000 VB res $1,795,000 Gary Peer & Associates

CAULFIELD SOUTH

SO 16 Brooklyn Av B 8rm 16mx35m undisc Rodney Morley Persichetti

SO 7/22 Griffiths St BV 3rm strata $553,000 Woodards

SO 26 Omar St B 7rm 16mx48.5m undisc Rodney Morley Persichetti

ELSTERNWICK

SO 3/29 Sandham St B 3rm stratum $468,000 Woodards

PI 57 Carlingford St B 11rm 836sqm $1,350,000 res $1,525,000 R T Edgar Albert Park

ELWOOD

SO 85 Milton St B 8rm 480sqm undisc Pride Real Estate

FRANKSTON

SA 318 Nepean Hwy WB 8rm 535sqm $449,500 Harcourts Frankston

MELBOURNE

SO 602/15 Queens Rd C 5rm $1,285,000 Marshall White & Co

ORMOND

PI 2/273 Grange Rd B 3rm strata $430,000 VB res undisc Gary Peer & Associates

RIPPONLEA

SO 8 Oak Gr B 4rm 182sqm $800,000 Gary Peer & Associates

SHOREHAM

SO 20-26 Coryule St WB 8rm 12950sqm undisc R T Edgar

SOUTH MELBOURNE

SO 93 Raglan St B 8rm 179sqm undisc Greg Hocking Holdsworth

ST KILDA

PI 8/9 Herbert St B 5rm strata $690,000 VB lo $690,000 res $725,000 Chisholm & Gamon

ST KILDA EAST

SO 11/194 Alma Rd B 4rm strata undisc Gary Peer & Associates

SO 2/312 Dandenong Rd B 4rm strata $580,000 Gary Peer & Associates

SO 20 Empress Rd 4rm undisc hockingstuart

REGIONAL

ECHUCA

SO 3/17 Murray St B 8rm 348sqm undisc Charles L King & Co Echuca

SO 181 Wharparilla Dr B 8rm 4000sqm $1,120,000 Charles L King & Co Echuca