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Key points
- A grand Brighton home that was bought in February has hit the market again.
- Another Brighton home is for sale for the second time in two years as the vendor plans to downsize.
- An empty block in Toorak is being offered again within two years of its last sale, after its owner had a change of plans.
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Why are homeowners in some of Melbourne’s ritziest suburbs selling up this spring after just a couple of years of ownership?
Agents insist it’s not to cash in on an improving property market. For some, it’s the result of a work or lifestyle change, while others have completed new builds and are moving on.
In Brighton, a five-bedroom home at 13 Park Street that last traded in February for $14.1 million has hit the market again.
It comes with a pool, spa and tennis court, plus a large outdoor entertaining area and gourmet kitchen, and is just metres from Middle Brighton Beach – and now has price expectations of $14.8 million to $15.95 million.
Marshall White senior director John Bongiorno said the vendors had built a new home that was finished sooner than expected, and were now selling.
“It’s just normal life, not prompted by the strength of the market,” he said.
Bongiorno said a tighter market in high-end suburbs was helping to keep prices buoyant, with agents expecting the spring market to arrive late this year after a dreary, wet winter.
“We’ve just hit school holidays, so the demand will build after the grand final weekend,” he said.
Melbourne’s overall property values have risen 3.2 per cent since their trough in February, although the top end of the market marches to its own beat, and auction clearance rates have been positive in sought-after areas.
Research from CoreLogic this week found there had been a rise in short-term resales within two years nationally. The share of quick flips that traded at a loss also increased, but remained uncommon – more than nine in 10 flippers made a profit in the June quarter.
Also in Brighton, a recently completed five-bedroom home at 57 Lynch Crescent has hit the market with expectations between $12.8 million and $13.8 million.
The vendor bought the property – then a block of land – for $3.82 million just over two years ago. They worked with an architect to design and build a new home to sell.
Hodges Real Estate Brighton’s Julian Augustini said the upper end of Melbourne’s market had bounced back, with the recent pauses on interest rate rises boosting the confidence of buyers and sellers.
“The fact that people think interest rate rises are coming to an end certainly has helped,” Augustini said.
He said buyers – including expats, overseas buyers and locals – were looking for turnkey properties like Lynch Crescent to avoid the hassle and cost of renovations or rebuilding (which often includes finding a rental home).
Another Brighton home at 7 Normanby Street has come onto the market less than two years after it was snapped up by the vendor for $9.5 million, records show.
The six-bedroom renovated Victorian home, also known as Clutha, has expectations of $10.3 million.
Kay & Burton Bayside’s Jamie Driver said the vendor was selling due to work commitments and a desire to downsize.
Driver said forecasts from bank economists that property prices would rise in the next 15 months had brought confidence back to the market.
“This has a trickle effect through to the buyers and sellers,” Driver said. “Combining that with the much-anticipated spring market and greater stock, the feeling is definitely optimistic.”
Like Augustini, Driver said there was a strong appetite for turnkey properties.
“The cost and uncertainty of building right now has made a lot of people who do not do it for a living nervous,” he said. “We are seeing more properties that have plans and permits ready to be built, but the vendors don’t want to execute on those plans.”
In Toorak, two blocks of land at 11 and 11A Linlithgow Road hit the market after the vendor, who had owned them for just over a year and a half, decided not to build.
11A Linlithgow Road sold in August for $10.5 million, records show, while 11 Linlithgow Road – a 907-square-metre block – is for sale with price expectations between $9.5 million and $10 million.
Marshall White sales executive Alan Crawford said the vendor had subdivided the original block and had plans to build two separate homes.
Records show the original block last traded for $16.25 million in February last year.
“Another opportunity came up, and he decided to just sell,” Crawford said.
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