Secrets to The Block success

They were apartment number one, the first to auction their property and now the twins from Adelaide have continued their winning streak by taking out Channel 9’s The Block Sky High.
Alisa and Lysandra were the big winners in last night’s auction show when their ground floor luxury apartment sold for $1.435 million, $295,000 over the reserve. This meant they were awarded an extra $100,000, bringing their prize money to a huge $395,000.
However, all five couples were winners on the night, signalling more confidence in the prestige property market according to the twins' real estate agent Anton Wongtrakum, managing director of Dingle Partners.
“The prestige market is one of the areas we work in most,” he told Real Estate Business.
“And over the last year, I have seen a lot more confidence return to the market and this project just highlights that.”
Mr Wongtrakum worked weekly with Alisa and Lysandra throughout the competition to ensure their property was customised to a prestige market.
“In this luxury market, people are fairly precise with what they are after, so we worked very closely with the girls to give them advice to make sure the property would appeal to the right audience,” he said.
“They brought us on very early and then we would meet weekly to make sure the apartment was heading in the right direction.
“The apartment was custom built for what we believed to be the prestige market, and from the results at the weekend, the advice paid off.”
In just a few short months, the five couples took a run-down apartment complex on Park Street in south Melbourne and renovated it, transforming it into luxury apartments. Each couple had to renovate eight bathrooms and four bedrooms.
In second place was the youngest couple on the block, Maddie and Jarrod. Their level four apartments sold for $1.601 million, $291,000 over the reserve price.
Western Australian couple Matt and Kim were $250,000 over their reserve, going under the hammer last but still selling their level two apartment for $1.455 million.
Crowd favourites George and Bec came in fourth, selling their property for $1.507 million, $242,000 over the reserve price.
Meanwhile, the penthouse apartment sold for $1.605 million, earning Brisbane parents Trixie and Johno a cool $205,000.
According to RP Data, the average sale price of a south Melbourne house is $900,000 and $520,000 for a unit.
Gerald Betts, director and auctioneer at RT Edgar Albert Part who represented fourth-placed George and Bec, said last night’s auction results were not a surprise as they were always destined to do well.
“Good properties will always sell, no matter what market you’ve got,” he told Real Estate Business.
“But you get worldwide marketing with a television show like The Block, where other luxury properties couldn’t possible get such attention.”
According to Mr Betts, George and Bec’s apartment was designed with neutral tones and thus appealed to a larger audience. However, he admits they would have preferred to have been second in the auction order.
“The first auction sets the price for the day,” he explained.
“While the second auction still has great buyer interest, we would have preferred to be second.”

Source: Stacey Moseley - Real Estate Business

Sydney continues record streak

Sydney has again recorded auction clearance rates that have not been seen since mid-2009, according to RP Data.
RP Data recorded a preliminary clearance rate for the city of 79.1 per cent, up from 77.4 per cent last week, and an increase in auctions from 378 to 410 this week.
Similarly, Australian Property Monitors (APM) recorded a strong rate of 81.1 per cent, which followed on from last week’s result of 81 per cent.
Senior economist for APM Dr Andrew Wilson said the Sydney market was continuing to strengthen towards record levels with its year-high weekend auction clearance rate.
“Buyer momentum in the Sydney auction market is currently almost irresistible, with the market at levels not experienced at this time of the year since the house price boom of 2002, 11 years ago,” he said “Listing numbers this weekend were also similar to last weekend, with 306 properties auctioned compared to 268 over the same weekend last year.”
In Melbourne, the auction clearance rate fell from 67.3 per cent last week to 62.8 per cent, with 486 auctions held across the city this weekend.
APM recorded an auction clearance rate of 69 per cent for Melbourne across 426 auctions.
Dr Wilson said it was another solid result for the city, which would continue to see strong house price growth.
“The Melbourne market has been characterised as remarkably consistent this year, not only in regard to clearance rates but also with the mix of sales between buyer types, regions and price ranges," he said.
“Higher auction listings reflect increased confidence from Melbourne sellers, as clearance rates continue to track at the highest levels recorded for over three years.”
RP Data recorded a slight fall in the auction clearance rate across the capital cities with a result of 65.4 per cent this week, down from last week’s 67.7 per cent. However, auction volumes increased compared to last week, rising from 984 to 1,131.
Both auction clearance rates and volumes remained high compared to last year, when the capital city auction clearance rate was recorded at 52.1 per cent across 880 auctions.
According to APM, over the weekend the most expensive and most affordable properties were in Brisbane with a value of $5.2 million and $195,000 respectively.

Source: Real Estate Business Bulletin