Two outer-east suburbs are among Victoria’s auction darlings with clearance rates of nearly 90 per cent.

Wantirna achieved an 88.6 per cent clearance rate while Bayswater had 87.5 per cent from a total of 142 auctions in the first eight months of the year, Real Estate Institute of Victoria data showed.

The findings did not come as a surprise to Barry Plant Wantirna director Brendan Murphy, who said the agency has recorded almost 100 per cent sales from its auctions so far in 2022.

“We have a very high clearance rate in the City of Knox and rarely have an auction property that is unsold,” he said.

“We had 71 auctions in the six months to June and sold everything either before, on the day or just after.”

Auctions have been a very popular sale method in Wantirna and neighbouring Wantirna South for many years, and have also become more common in recent years in Bayswater, Scoresby and other City of Knox suburbs.

As an indication of the popularity of auctions, 85 per cent of the agency’s listings are auctions, with the rest private sales, Mr Murphy said.

Wantirna is an auction hot spot because of strong demand for properties, particularly those in family-friendly locations close to schools, shops and transport links. The suburb’s median house price was $1,138,500 as at September 17.

Bayswater has more affordable properties, with a median house price of $925,000. With a train station and shopping hub, it has been popular among first-home buyers, downsizers and investors.

“Vendors prefer auctions because these are unconditional, have an end date and deliver the best results because buyers are buying with emotion on the day,” he said.

“And buyers like the transparency that auctions offer and they can see what other buyers are willing to pay.”

A recent auction of 24 Amersham Drive, Wantirna (pictured above), gave the seller an outstanding result that was almost $200,000 above their reserve price.

The property, located on one of the suburb’s best streets, sold for $1.443 million from a reserve of $1.25 million.

“It was a well-kept home of over 30 years and had seven registered bidders,” Mr Murphy said.

“The sale showed the market is still performing well for good homes in good locations.”

He noted that auctions meant buyers had to make “real-time decisions” on the day.

Good outcomes would encourage more homeowners to list their properties via auctions.

“With auctions, sellers do not have to wait for a buyer to get financing approved or a building inspection done,” he added.

Another strong auction result was for 12 Chagall Court, Scoresby (pictured above), which had five bidders and sold for $1.278 million.