Buyers are increasingly bidding above asking prices

New research from realestate.com has found that across Australia a healthy 41 per cent of property buyers in the market in September and October were willing to bid above the asking price. 

To give some perspective, over the same period last year the figure was just 23 per cent. 

Properties priced between $500,000 and $1.5 million were the hottest ticket, with the number of buyers looking to buy within this price range jumping by over a third. 

In contrast, buyers looking to buy in the sub-$400,000 bracket fell to 38 per cent after being at 49 per cent a year ago.

Realestate.com general manager of sales and operations Arthur Charlaftis said the research suggests buyers were returning to the market.

“With low interest rates and a limited number of properties available, 49 per cent of buyers believe that property prices will continue to increase in the next six months, so if you’re considering selling, it’s a great time to take action,” he said.

The auction market is proving especially strong with 52 per cent of those properties bidding at auction going above the reserve price.

Victoria is 9 per cent higher than the national average when it comes to buyers bidding above the reserve price, with a whopping 61 per cent of buyers admitting to doing so. 

Harcourts director Dexter Prack told News.com that some buyers aren’t even waiting for the auction to place their bid above reserve price.

“I think what’s happening is that two or three people that are really red hot on a property don’t want to go to auction and they are making big offers that are well over reserve,” he said.

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