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Rip Curl creative lists cool father-son project<\/a><\/p>\n Real Estate Institute of Victoria president Jacob Caine said with the clearance rate unlikely to shift dramatically this week, ready buyers had an advantage while others hesitated.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the moment, buyers have a slight advantage over sellers,\u201d Mr Caine said.<\/p>\n \u201cBuyers have a bit more wiggle room to be discerning about which properties they will be interested in and what they are willing to pay.\u201d<\/p>\n Matthews Agency director John Matthews said there were scenarios in the $2m price bracket where homes were being listed for sale this year with prices up to $500,000 below the levels achieved a year a go for similar homes in the same street.<\/p>\n In Aberfeldie, 31A Brunel St<\/a> is listed with $2.95m hopes after nearby 26 Brunel St<\/a> sold late in 2025 for about $3.1m. <\/p>\n In Moonee Ponds, 6 Trinafour St<\/a> is asking $2.25m-$2.475m after nearby 8 Trinafour St sold late in 2025 for about $2.75m.<\/p>\n \u201cThe cleanest comparison is 26 Brunel, which sold late in 2025 for about $3.1m,\u201d Mr Matthews said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is probably the best comparable to 31A Brunel, where my vendors were initially hoping to achieve a similar result.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the market has shifted. We are now asking about $2.95m.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Matthews said the current market wasn\u2019t a cause for alarm. \u201cYou could say the same thing with Trinafour. 8 Trinafour sold late in 2025 for about $2.75m, and now 6 Trinafour, which is a similar property, is asking in the $2.25m-$2.475m range,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cThat is the story and it\u2019s not a negative story, it\u2019s a buying opportunity story.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Matthews said many buyers were trying to pick the bottom of the market, but risked missing the best window by waiting until everyone else felt safe.<\/p>\n \u201cThe risk with that strategy is that by the time everyone feels confident again, the best buying window may already be gone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He said the best value in his market was above $2m, where conditions had been slower and well-financed buyers had more room to negotiate.<\/p>\n \u201cAt $950,000 and below, you have first-home buyers active because that is around the first-home buyer deposit scheme range,\u201d Mr Matthews said.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce you get out of the $1m range and you want to upgrade, the next property that genuinely gives you what you want can be $2.5m to $3m, particularly if you want to stay in the same area.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is the challenge for a lot of families.\u201d<\/p>\n ALBA Prop director Tom Mifsud said some would-be buyers were too focused on picking the absolute bottom of the market, rather than moving while competition had thinned.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are not buyers. They are passive bystanders,\u201d Mr Mifsud said.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone likes the idea of buying something. Everyone likes the idea of walking past the shops to see if there is a discount.<\/p>\n \u201cBut those people are reactive. Genuine buyers are proactive, organised and disciplined. They understand the difference between time in the market versus timing the market.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you try to time the market, you lose.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Caine added that conditions creating uncertainty were weeding out buyers who weren\u2019t confident or willing to spend at the moment. <\/p>\n The latest PropTrack Property Preview Report shows 951 auctions are scheduled across Melbourne this week, with Craigieburn leading the city on 19, followed by Doncaster East on 15, Bentleigh East on 14, and Mount Waverley and Reservoir on 12 each.<\/p>\n Realestate.com.au viewing data shows buyer attention is spreading beyond the city\u2019s biggest auction-volume suburbs, with the most-viewed Victorian auction listing in the past seven days at 28 Diamond St, Niddrie.<\/p>\n Other heavily watched auction homes were in Fitzroy, Yarraville, St Kilda, Thomastown, Ashburton, Caulfield South and Preston.<\/p>\n The auction test comes after Melbourne lost its status<\/a> as a $1m house market, with the city\u2019s median house price falling $10,000 in May to $995,000.<\/p>\n Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here <\/a>to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox.<\/p>\n MORE: Melb first-home buyer adds six figures to sale<\/a><\/p>\n Melb fire-survivor has mansion-money twist<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018Red alert\u2019: 38,573 Vic landlords sound the alarm<\/a><\/p>\n david.bonaddio@news.com.au<\/p>\n Originally published as Stalling winter auction market hands Melbourne buyers top hand<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not about panic or distress. It is about the fact that there is genuine value in the market right now for buyers who are prepared to act,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n