Category: Business

He said the reserve was about $1.38 million to $1.4 million.

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“[It’s a] pretty typical experience, I think the quoted prices are where things are at,” Roberts said.

He did not think the impact of interest rates had filtered through yet, and said the market was “very price-sensitive, but still good”.

“Vendors are selling and doing well and bringing things to the marketplace,” he said. “It’s about getting the pricing right.”

In Maribyrnong, a three-bedroom parkside home also sold in the vicinity of its price hopes, fetching $1,015 million. This was just above the top end of price guide of $900,000 to $990,000.

Most interested buyers were young families but a middle-aged couple won the competitive auction for 1 Nayook Lane, Biggin & Scott Maribyrnong’s Quentin Hinrichs said, beating three other parties.

It had a fluctuating reserve, but the vendors were hoping for about $1 million, he said.

“[The market is] certainly down from, way down from, where it was not long ago, price wise,” he said.

Not all homes sold under the hammer. A Brighton block with water views passed in on a vendor bid of $5 million.

The weatherboard house at 50 Esplanade was marketed as an opportunity for the buyer to build a dream home on the 903-square-meter parcel.

Kay & Burton Bayside Brighton’s Will Maxted said he was in negotiations with some parties post-auction, and his phone had not stopped pinging since, with potential buyers wanting to talk.

“They are just a bit gun shy to put their hands up, they want to negotiate afterwards,” he said.

A more affordable four-bedroom house in Frankston North soared above its reserve price, trading for $712,000 in front of a crowd of more than 90 onlookers.

An investor outbid another investor and two owner-occupiers for 5 Blackbutt Court, surpassing the reserve of $500,000 and price guide of $500,000 to $550,000.

Bidding began at the bottom of the price guide and went up in $10,000 increments, and cut back to $500 bids towards the end, OBrien Real Estate Frankston’s Mark Burke said.

He said it was on a large block of 837 square meters but not all homes could command a similar result in this market.

“I’m a bit more picky about what I auction but if you get the right property you can auction it,” he said.

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“Buyers are looking for better value for money and better bang for their buck – it certainly has an effect on prices.”

In Glen Waverley, a three-bedroom villa unit at 1/743 High Street Road sold for $836,000.

An investor beat three other parties, pushing the price above the $800,000 reserve.

“It was not a bad auction, there was quite a few people here which was a bit of a surprise for us for a main road property,” Barry Plant Monash’s Tony Ievoli said.

“At some of the other properties we have auctioned in recent times, there are much fewer buyers and much less activity.“

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“We’ve never ever queried about rental increases, and we’ve understood,” he said. “[But] it’s quite tough at the moment.”

Zahos acknowledged that the committee didn’t put his rent up during the 2020 and 2021 COVID-19 lockdowns and that he expected an increase this year.

However, he said after revenue loss due to the pandemic and increases in costs due to inflation, the suggested amount was extraordinary. He also declined to make the amount public.

Fresh produce stalls remained open during the lockdowns, while other stalls were forced to close.

The other stallholders who spoke to The Sunday Age did so on the condition of anonymity, out of concern it could affect negotiations.

One woman, whose rent could increase by about 30 per cent, accused the committee of being bullies.

“They are essentially going to send our businesses bust … during a recession, during a pandemic,” she said.

The woman said she felt pressured to provide her financial records.

“It’s outrageous, disgusting behaviour. We’re being treated like kids,” she said.

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Another stallholder, whose rent could increase by about 40 per cent, called the move a “shake down”.

“They’re trying to draw blood from a stone,” he said.

“Before you know it, the face of the market will change forever to a glorified food court because takeaway food or big chains will be the only thing that can survive.”

A fourth stallholder said prices could soon be as high as at the Stonnington Council-run Prahran Market, while another said the process had caused him extreme stress. “It’s been hell,” he said.

Port Phillip Council owns and operates the South Melbourne Market. The land it is on was made available under a crown grant for a general market in 1867.

Mayor Marcus Pearl said the council provided $1,193,725 in rental support to stallholders impacted by the COVID-19 lockdowns and that the rent increases were the first in three years.

“The reality is that it’s expensive to run and maintain a market of this size and complexity,” he said. “This means we have to increase rents to meet our obligation to ratepayers to keep the market financially sustainable.”

Pearl said the council aimed to keep rents as affordable as possible for traders and that most would face a 3.5 per cent rise.

He said the committee took into consideration the public benefit of the market and that financial records were requested to ensure the stalls could remain viable.

The committee’s charter calls the market one of the council’s “prime infrastructure assets” and notes its intention to develop it as a “premier shopping destination”.

“The market is an integral part of [the] council’s long term financial sustainability and, as such, must continue to operate profitably and competitively,” it says.

On Saturday, the market was bustling with people, some there to do their weekly shop, others to browse or meet friends.

Terry Lees, who has been shopping at the market for 30 years and now visits three times a week, said if prices increased he would shop at other markets more often, including the Queen Victoria Market.

“Este [market] would be less competitive with Vic Market,” the local South Melbourne said. “It’s going to force some people out because they don’t want to put the prices up and [make the market] more expensive.”

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Keren Amore said she did her main shop at Preston Market, which had lower prices, and that she came to South Melbourne for a few select specialty goods. The local Northcote said she would still visit if prices increased.

Regular Linda Pankhurst, who lives on St Kilda Road, said she too would still shop at the market, but that she worried about people on lower incomes and for the stallholders.

“A lot of these guys have really struggled, especially over the last couple of years,” she said.

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