As the usual seasonal drop-off in auction numbers has become more apparent in recent weeks, the focus seems to have turned to sales achieved through private negotiations. Yes, we still saw some excellent results achieved at auction this week. The modern 3 bedroom townhouse at 1 Ribbony Walk in Maribyrnong’ s popular Waterford Green Estate sold well, achieving a very pleasing $490,000 for example. We also saw the planned auction of a brand new 2 bedroom villa unit at 3/86 Quinn Grove, Keilor East (pictured) sell beforehand after a very strong offer of $465,000 was negotiated during the week. Looking further afield, however, the past week or two has been a period where some very strong sales have been negotiated in price ranges that have ranged from the first home buyer market to the million dollar-plus bracket, and in a wide variety of suburbs throughout the Moonee Valley area. As we reported last week, this strong demand in all areas and price ranges has been very broad, covering property types from apartments and villa units through to larger townhouses and free-standing homes, which is great news for anyone planning a sale in the next few months. I can only urge anyone considering a sale to act sooner rather than later. At some point we will inevitably begin to see this strong demand being met by an increase in supply of properties for sale, and at that point the current seller’s advantage must inevitably begin to diminish. Have a great weekend, and stay warm! Regards, Bill Karp Director – Barry Plant Essendon & Niddrie