Owning your own home has been ‘the Australian dream’ for many Australians. Unfortunately, with property prices rising, it is a dream that is becoming increasingly out of reach. It also takes a long time to save a 20% deposit towards your own home, with the goal posts often moving as property prices rise. In their desperation to buy their own home, people can often buy cheap but inferior properties that do not fit their long-term needs. As a result, they may sell too soon to move to a home that better suits them.

In response to these problems, government initiatives are available to help people buy their own home. These include government guarantees that allow people to buy their own home without paying lender’s mortgage insurance (LMI), and government equity schemes where people get a smaller home loan in exchange for the government owning part of their home. People who take advantage of these initiatives, though, can often buy homes too soon when they are not financially ready. Consequently, they may sell their home too soon as they do not have enough money to keep up with home loan repayments or respond to financial emergencies. 

For me, I initially saved for a 20% deposit so that I have more options of what property I could buy. At the same time, I took advantage of a government equity scheme to buy a home that would suit me for a longer period of time. In this blog post, I will explain why I chose to participate in a government equity scheme and how I took advantage of being in the scheme without getting into financial trouble.

What is a government equity scheme? 

The government equity scheme I used to buy my first home was the Victorian Homebuyer Fund. Under the initiative, the Victorian government contributed up to 25% of the property price in exchange for owning 25% of the property. This allowed a prospective home owner to only put in a 5% deposit without paying LMI and to secure a smaller home loan from the bank (up to 70% of the property price). The home owner eventually pays off the government’s share of the property upon selling the property, paying part of the government’s share or refinancing the home loan. What is good about the scheme is that a home buyer is not restricted to one type of property; they can purchase any new or existing property (but not off-the-plan properties) within Victoria, subject to price caps in metropolitan Melbourne ($950,000) and regional Victoria ($700,000).

To get into the scheme, prospective home owners needed to satisfy a few criteria. Besides having enough money to cover a 5% deposit, applicants also needed to:

1. Earn under a certain threshold ($135,155 for individuals, $216,245 for couples and single parents);
2. Live in the property;
3. Never owned land or property before entering the scheme; and
4. Cover all other costs associated with purchasing a home such as:
   • Stamp duty: A state tax on the transfer of property or land.
   • Bank fees: To establish the home loan and pay associated fees such as application fees, property valuation etc.
   • Conveyancing fees: For the conveyancer to do the searches and work on the legal aspects of buying the property.
   • Building and pest inspection fees: To see if there are any major defects on the property.

There were also ongoing obligations that needed to be satisfied to stay in the scheme. These included:

1. Completing annual reviews on their eligibility to stay in the scheme;
2. Having insurance on the property;
3. Making payments on time, including home loan repayments, council rates, utilities and body corporate fees;
4. Keeping the property in good order and fixing any defects; and
5. Seeking approvals for renovations that cost more than $10,000, involve structural changes or require authorisation such as council approval.

Nevertheless, it is good to go into a government equity scheme to buy property. As the government provides money on top of the money the home owner and their bank contribute, the home owner’s borrowing capacity increases. This allows them to buy a more expensive home that will fit their needs for a longer period of time. Furthermore, the home loan is smaller, leading to smaller repayments. Combined with the fact that less money needs to be spent to cover a home deposit, this frees up some money to do some renovations or build some emergency savings.

As good as the scheme is in buying a well-suited home, there are a number of conditions that need to be met to stay in the scheme. Also, you will need to eventually pay the government back so that they do not have any ownership over your property. Hence, it is important to read and be familiar with how the government equity scheme works before entering into such a scheme.

How I got into the government equity scheme

I initially aimed to save a 20% deposit towards my first home. In working towards that goal, I learnt from doing some calculations and talking to a mortgage broker that my borrowing capacity was not high enough to buy a home in the suburb I wanted to live in. While researching on some government grants, I came across the Victorian Homebuyer Fund. This initiative appealed to me as the government’s contribution to the home would increase my borrowing capacity, allowing me to buy a property in the suburb I wanted to live in.

I tried to apply for the scheme through a mortgage broker. Unfortunately, this was not possible, with the mortgage broker saying I needed to apply directly with the bank. With the bank, it took me around two months to get into the scheme as I had to go through both the bank’s pre-approval process (to determine whether I would be able to make repayments on time and how much I could borrow) and the Victorian Government’s provisional approval process (to see whether I am eligible for the Victorian Homebuyer Fund). Along the way, I had to communicate regularly with the bank and send a lot of documents. It took so much time to get my application processed that I missed out on a few properties I would have bought.

Eventually, I received both pre-approval from the bank and provisional approval from the Victorian Government to get in the Victorian Homebuyer Fund. And thankfully, I had two properties come up which potentially suited me. With the government equity scheme, I was not only able to purchase one of those properties, but I was also able to pay a smaller deposit, saving me a lot of money that I could use to renovate my home and build some emergency savings.

How to take advantage of government equity schemes without getting into financial trouble

The one thing I will say about government equity schemes is that you should not use them to buy a property as soon as you have a 5% deposit. Otherwise, you will be financially stressed as you cannot keep up with home loan repayments and increased expenses. Instead, save as much money as possible towards the deposit of your first home (preferably 20%), and use a government equity scheme as a step-up to buy a home that suits you for a longer period of time. Saving as much money as possible also gives you a fallback plan should you not get into the scheme. If you are in the scheme, you will have more room to either do some renovations or start building some savings to cover any financial emergencies. For more information on how to save for a 20% deposit, see this blog post on the Fast and Slow System. You can also use the First Home Super Saver Scheme to save money towards your first home. More information about the scheme can be found in this blog post.

Financial stability is also important when entering into government equity schemes. I made sure that I was in a stable, full-time job before I started getting a home loan and applying for the Victorian Homebuyer Fund. This helps maintain a stable income that will cover my home loan repayments. I also revised my cash flows to make sure I had enough money to cover my home loan repayments and bills, build some savings and cover my daily needs and fun stuff. Entering into a government equity scheme without considering whether your job is stable or having insufficient savings will cause financial stress which may force you to sell your home too soon.

Lastly, make sure that you are ready to move into your own place and stay there for a few years. Government equity schemes are designed for people to live in their property until they have paid off the government’s share of the property. Hence, doing some research on different suburbs, and thinking about what property you would like to buy, are very important. I spent a lot of time doing some research before getting into the scheme. I walked around some suburbs to see what they were like and how far they were to shops and amenities. I also looked at some recently sold properties to see what the properties were like and decide what properties were ideal to me. This gave me an excellent background that I used to find unique properties that I could buy and live in for a long time 

Conclusion

Government equity schemes are a great way for home buyers to buy a home. Being in such a scheme allowed me to buy a more expensive home that would suit my needs for a longer period of time, and to save money to do some renovations and build some savings. If you are considering applying for a government equity scheme, just make sure to use it as an addition to your saving goals towards your home deposit. Also, make sure that you are financially stable so that you can keep up with your home loan repayments. Lastly, do as much research as possible so that you know whether a government equity scheme is right for you and you know where you want to live. Follow these steps, and you can take advantage of government equity schemes without getting into financial trouble.

PS: The Victorian Homebuyer Fund ended on 30^th June 2025, to be replaced with the federal government’s Help to Buy Scheme. This scheme is similar to the Victorian Homebuyer Fund, with slight variations in eligibility, price caps and conditions. Nevertheless, my tips of taking advantage of government equity schemes without being financially stressed stay the same: just make sure to use government equity schemes as an addition to your home deposit rather than a crutch, be financially stable, and do some research on the scheme and the property you want to buy.

Financial disclaimer

Anything that is posted on The Active Evaluator blog is for general informational purposes only. You should not interpret this information as formal financial advice. If you would like advice tailored to your personal situation, please seek an accredited professional. I am not responsible for any subsequent actions you take by reading my blog as well as any expenses, costs, losses, damages and injuries you or another person may incur in the process. 

In the “My First Home Buyer Journey” blog series, I wrote a series of blog posts explaining how I bought my first home. Along the way, I completed the “Your First Home Buyer Guide” course from Home Buyer Academy which describes a 10-step process for buying your first home with confidence. That course has been invaluable in structuring my property search. After buying my first home, I had the honour of being interviewed by Veronica and Meighan, the creators of the course, to talk about my journey of buying my first home and explain the process of saving for my first home, doing some research and successfully buying my first home via auction. That interview is now up as an episode of the “Your First Home Buyer Guide” podcast.

In this blog post, I will provide some details that I did not touch on in the podcast episode so that listeners can better understand my first home buyer journey. 

The benefits of doing the “Your First Home Buyer Guide” course (12:00 of the podcast)

As someone who likes following a structure, the “Your First Home Buyer Guide” course taught me the structure that I needed to buy my first home with confidence. I first heard about the course in mid-2023 while listening to one of Digital Finance Analytics’ livestreams where Martin North was talking to Veronica about the property market at the time. After doing some research, including doing a few free courses from Home Buyer Academy, I decided to pay the $990 to do the course.

The “Your First Home Buyer Guide” course gives you a 10-step process for buying your first home (or your subsequent home). Each step consists of three lessons that cover different aspects. Each lesson contains a video by Veronica and Meighan, some notes summarising the video and a number of documents and checklists to download. For instance, the second module on money focuses on how much you need to save towards your first home, government incentives and grants and how to budget and determine your borrowing capacity.

I took notes of each video, creating my own course notes that I referred to while navigating my first home buyer journey. I also downloaded the documents and checklists that I adapted to collect more information on the properties I was looking at. Together, the course helped me identify what I needed to consider when looking at and purchasing property, ensuring I was buying something that would be suitable for me in the long term.

In addition to lifetime access to the course, the course also includes:

1. A copy of Veronica’s book “Auction Ready” which complements what was taught in the course, plus a few useful tips on how to prepare for auctions. 
2. A 2-hour tutorial which teaches you how to decide where and what to buy given your budget.
3. Access to the Question board and live Q&A sessions (known as campfires) where Veronica and Meighan can answer students’ questions about the home buying process or evaluate the properties students were thinking of buying.

The third point in particular was invaluable in that I got feedback from Veronica and Meighan about the properties I was interested in and how to prepare for auctions. It was also a great opportunity to read or hear what other students were going through in their home buying journey. This exposed me to property markets in other parts of Australia and how other students were faring in their property search, particularly in how they were interacting with real estate agents. In return, I shared information on the properties I was looking at and how I was going in my home buying journey. These interactions helped teach me what I needed to consider when looking at property or dealing with agents. 

Overall, it was well worth paying the $990 to participate in the course. Not only have I bought my first home that I am very happy with, but I also have the foundations to confidently purchase future properties.

How I saved money towards my first home (5:57 of podcast)

Full disclosure: I saved enough money to cover a 20% deposit for my first home. However, via the Victorian Homebuyer Fund where the Victorian Government covered 25% of the purchase price, I was able to put in a 10% deposit for my home, leaving the bank to loan 65% of the purchase price. I also used the First Home Super Saver Scheme, saving money towards my first home through super. I neither had any credit cards or debts before and while looking for my first home, nor did my parents contribute money towards my first home.

Something I forgot to mention in the podcast is to recommend Max Phelps’ “Spending Fast and Slow” book. This is an excellent book that describes how people behave around money, and introduces the Fast and Slow system to control spending, allowing me to save towards my first home and other long-term goals. I explain this system in great detail in a previous blog post, but in summary I have a number of bank accounts spread over two banks (UBank and ING). UBank has all of my long-term savings accounts, including my home deposit, while ING has bank accounts for my daily expenses and fun stuff.

Using this system, I distribute my fortnightly salary according to the following proportions in UBank:

1. 50% towards my home deposit (as I was living with my parents, reducing my rent).
2. 10% towards my investments.
3. 10% towards my holidays.
4. 8% to cover my living expenses while staying with my parents (such as food, electricity and water).

To my ING accounts, I sent:

1. 5% per week to cover my daily expenses (such as groceries, medicines and eating out).
2. 7% to purchase fun things such as merchandise and tech, as well as attend fun events.

Importantly, I only have access to my ING bank accounts in my phone. This prevents me from quickly accessing money in my long-term savings accounts to fuel my impulse purchases. By only having access to money in my ING app, I can reduce my weekly spending while still having some money on the side to have some fun without feeling guilty about it.

After buying my first home, I retain a similar bank account structure, with some slight variations. Although I am still setting aside 50% of my salary towards the home loan, 40% goes to meeting the minimum repayments while 10% goes to building a financial buffer for myself (to cover any emergencies). Furthermore, I have moved all of my long-term saving accounts to offset accounts in another bank to reduce the amount of interest that I need to pay.

A stable income is also an important consideration when deciding whether to take out a home loan. As I alluded to in 13:18 of the podcast, at one stage I had to put my home buying journey on hold as I would not have enough money to cover my home loan repayments. Furthermore, I had to change jobs which resulted in income instability. Only after working full-time did I decide to start looking for homes again. 

The property research process (13:14 of podcast)

Even though I had to put my home buying process on hold in the middle of the year, I was still doing research on the suburbs I wanted to live in. I did a lot of walking around potential suburbs and streets I wanted to live in. I focused on places where I could easily access public transport, shops and restaurants, and streets that are wide, tree-lined and quiet. 

Once I decided which suburbs I wanted to live in, I conducted some property research by using realestate.com.au to look at recently sold listings. I looked at around 1,000 listings of 1- and 2-bedroom apartments and units, recording on a spreadsheet whether I would have bought the property and the reasons behind my decision. Doing this built a database that helped me set some criteria on properties that would be ideal to me (such as big living rooms and bedrooms and walking distance to public transport and shops) and ones to avoid (such as on main roads and high-rise apartments). This gave me an excellent starting point that I could adjust as I attended inspections and auctions, and helped rule out a lot of properties, leaving me with fewer properties to look at.

Inspecting different properties in-person also allowed me to refine the criteria for the property I wanted to buy. While I was at inspections, I took photos and video recordings which gave me an excellent reference for learning what was ideal or not ideal to me, and to later decide whether to buy the property or not. I also not only watched auctions to see how they were run, but I also kept track of auctions in the area to gauge how active the property market was. I have written a blog post describing how I kept track of auctions. 

Additional notes on the properties discussed in the podcast (18:01 of podcast)

I previously wrote a blog post where I described and compared the two properties I was looking at in my property search. The Hawthorn East property was advertised first, with the inspection happening a week later. Then the Ormond property was advertised only one day before the first inspection. The Ormond property piqued my interest as it was near a recently sold property that I would have bought. The Ormond property stood out as it had a big backyard where I could build a garden and deck. The trade-off was that the rooms were small, so I would quickly outgrow the property. Given it was under a private sale where the property could be sold at any time, I put most of my efforts over the week towards that property. I went to as many inspections of the property as possible, did some research on the property and the surrounding area and sought legal advice from the conveyancer. In contrast, as the Hawthorn East property was sold under auction, I took my time with due diligence. I inspected the property twice and slowly conducted my research and got the contract reviewed by a different conveyancer.

It was tricky deciding between the two properties, but in the end I decided to go for the Hawthorn East property. The deciding factor for me was something I learned from the course which was the future demand from buyers and renters. The Ormond property had small rooms which not only meant I would outgrow it quickly but it would be less attractive to future buyers and renters, making it harder to sell or rent the property. In contrast, the Hawthorn East property ticked a lot of boxes for me and future buyers and renters. Not only was it in a quiet street near the train station and shops, but it was located in a low-rise apartment building that will become rarer as more high-rise buildings are being built. This would attract plenty of demand from future buyers and renters, making it easier for me to sell or rent the property. 

Hence, I put all of my focus on preparing for the auction of the Hawthorn East property, thinking about what I was willing to pay. Thanks to the course and my efforts, the auction was a success, and so I was able to purchase the property.

Conclusion

I had a lot of fun talking about my home buying journey with Veronica and Meighan, summing up what I had experienced and how I used the 10-step process to structure my property research, select the properties that I wanted to inspect myself and end up with the property that I am living in right now.

Some people might find it hard to justify the $990 to purchase the “Your First Home Buyer Guide” course and associated resources. As I mentioned in 33:49 of the podcast, if you are unsure about whether to purchase the course, I would consider doing some research about the 10-step process, the course and how it is being delivered:

1. First, do the free mini-course “Become Educated & Buy Your First Home With The Right Amount Of Debt”. This course goes through the rationale behind the 10-step process and outlines the 10-step process. This course is great for gaining familiarity with the process and assessing whether the process is something that you would like to learn.
2. Second, do another free course “How to price a property” which goes through a process of accurately estimating a property’s price based on recent sales. This is not only a valuable skill that will help you in your home buying journey, but you can also look at their teaching style and see whether they are engaging to you.
3. If you want, listen to their podcast episodes where they touch on different aspects of the property market and see whether they are engaging to you.

Based on what you think about the courses and podcast, you can then decide whether to pay for the “Your First Home Buyer Guide” course. In my experience, doing the course was well worth the $990 that I paid. I not only purchased a first home that I am happy to live in for a long time, but also gave me an excellent framework to purchase future properties. It is something that I can recommend to someone who wants to buy their first home the correct way.

Financial disclosure

Anything that is posted on The Active Evaluator blog is for general informational purposes only. You should not interpret this information as formal financial advice. If you would like advice tailored to your personal situation, please seek an accredited professional. I am not responsible for any subsequent actions you take by reading my blog as well as any expenses, costs, losses, damages and injuries you or another person may incur in the process. 

It has been just over two months since my last blog post on the First Home Buyer Journey series. I thought I might give an update on what has happened in the past two months.

I have started to pay off my home loan from when my home was settled in late January 2025. I have decided to split my home loan between variable and fixed rates at a 60:40 ratio. This was because, at the time I got pre-approval, the 2-year fixed rate was lower than the variable rate. I did not fix all of my loan, though, because I anticipated that interest rates might fall as the Australian economy eased up. Interest rates did fall in mid-February 2025 which meant a slightly smaller repayment for my variable loan. However, with the global economy becoming more unpredictable due to Trump’s actions, there is no knowing what will happen to the Australian economy, let alone interest rates. Nevertheless, I am glad that I have decided to split my loan into a fixed and variable rate. While I will take falling interest rates and repayments as a bonus, I can also feel comfortable about my fixed loan keeping repayments relatively steady should interest rates rise.

With the home loan now active, I have mapped out how I will be spending my money moving forward. I have dedicated half of my salary to keep up with repayments and build some emergency funds that I can use should the need arise. I am still dedicating a portion of my salary towards holidays and investing with index funds, as well as bills, daily necessities and fun stuff. I am still paying myself weekly at a slightly higher amount to cover my daily necessities, but with more things that I need to pay for myself it will take some time to spend within my weekly limit. It does not help that I need to spend some of my daily necessities to buy stuff for my home, including additional kitchen utensils, batteries and the like. Hopefully as the months pass there won’t be many additional expenses that I need to cover, allowing me to save more of my weekly pay to fun things.

Over the past two months, I have also been getting renovations done on my apartment before I moved in. These include:

• Replacing the carpet and old floorboards with new laminate floorboards which are lighter in colour, giving the illusion of expanded space;
• Replacing the wall heater with a split system air conditioner that can both cool and heat the living room; and
• Upgrading the switchboard which now has safety switches to instantly cut off electricity upon detecting an electric shock.

I had to organise contractors to get these renovations done before I moved in. Despite moving in, some of the timber windows still need to be replaced, and the fly screens still need to be installed. That is not an issue at the moment as not many insects have entered the house, but it would be good to keep them out with the fly screens once they are installed.

While the renovations were being done, my parents and I slowly moved my clothes and books into the apartment and built some small furniture. The bulky furniture was moved in late-March 2025 which involved the whole family. After that period, I am proud to say that I have started to live in the apartment by myself. Overall, the apartment has been fantastic. There is a lot of room for me to live by myself, and it has everything I need to have fun by myself without anyone else distracting me. The apartment is pretty quiet as well, so I feel at ease. Apart from going to my parents’ place every now and again, I will be spending most of my time in the apartment that I have bought for myself.

With the moving in done, this will be the last of my daily updates on my First Home Buyer Journey. I may publish a few informative articles on the series to give some tips on how one can purchase their first home. These may come out in the future when I feel the need to write them.

Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, is known as Australia’s auction capital, hosting 38% of Australia’s auctions in 2024. With a lot of properties in Melbourne going to auction, when and how much properties are sold via auction can be indicators of how well the property market is faring. To collect auction data from a particular suburb, I developed an Excel spreadsheet that allows me to record what properties are going on sale via auction, as well as when and how much they were sold for. I can use this data to gauge how well the property market in a particular suburb is faring, as well as how much properties of a particular type typically go for. 

In this blog post, I will go through the Excel spreadsheet, showing you the data that I collect and how I collected it. I will then go through how I used the data to track what is happening in the property market of a particular suburb and property type. 

Going through the Excel spreadsheet

The Excel spreadsheet is a place where I can record auction data for different properties. It has a number of columns where I can record different types of data. For each property, I record the following:

• Date added: The date that the property was added to the spreadsheet. 
• Link: The link to the property advertisement (typically realestate.com.au). I can use the link to quickly access the specific property to see what it looks like, as well as when and how much it was sold for.
• Address: The address of the property being sold via auction.
• Type: The type of property being sold. The spreadsheet defines the following property types: 
  • House: A single residential building placed on a discrete piece of land.
  • Apartment: A self-contained home that is part of a multi-level residential building.
  • Unit/villa: A ground-level home that shares land with other units and/or a wall with a neighbouring unit(s)
  • Townhouse: A tall, narrow house that is typically attached to other townhouses.
• # bedrooms and # bathrooms: The number of bedrooms and bathrooms in the property respectively.
• Auction date: The date that the auction was held.
• Lower range and upper range: The estimated lower and upper price ranges from the price guide (a document indicating how much the property may sell for, along with a list of similar properties that were recently sold).
• Asking price: The lowest price that the seller is prepared to accept. This typically appears when a property was not sold on auction day (i.e., it is passed in).
• Sold at: How the property was sold, consisting of the following categories:
  • Auction: The property was sold on auction day, either in front of other bidders or behind closed doors.
  • Passed in: The property was not sold on auction day, either in front of other bidders or behind closed doors.
  • Post-auction: The property was sold within three business days after auction.
  • Pre-auction: The property was sold before auction day.
  • Private sale: The property was sold more than three business days after auction.
  • Too late: The property was still not sold more than three weeks after auction day.
  • Under offer: The seller is considering a buyer’s offer to purchase the property at an undisclosed price.
  • Withdrawn: The property could not be found on realestate.com.au, either because there was currently no demand for the property or it was sold off market.
• Sold date: The date the property was sold.
• Actual price: How much the property was sold for. 

The following columns are calculated for each property:

• Comparison: How the actual price compares to the upper price range.
  • Lower: The property was sold under the upper range.
  • Middle: The property was sold at the upper range. 
  • Higher: The property was sold over the price range.
• Money gap: The difference between the actual price and the upper price range. A positive number indicates the property was sold at a higher price than the range, while a negative number indicates the property was sold at a lower price.
• Days gap: Number of days between the sold date and the auction date.

As some property advertisements were regularly updated, I added these columns to the spreadsheet:

• Old auction date: The previous date that the auction was scheduled to be held. This is useful for tracking whether an auction was delayed or a property that was previously withdrawn is being sold via auction again.
• Old min and old max: The old lower and upper price ranges for the property. These are typically recorded whenever an agent is updating the price guide due to a lack of interest in the property or an offer was rejected. 

Each spreadsheet compiles auction data for one suburb. Multiple spreadsheets can be set up in one Excel workbook to collect and track auction data across multiple suburbs.

How I collected the data

Every Sunday morning (the day after most auctions are run), I follow these steps to collect auction data from realestate.com.au:

1. I enter the suburb that I want to look at auction listings, and set search parameters to look for specific properties in a particular suburb going on sale via auction.
   • 
2. While I was looking for my first home, I set the following search parameters to look for specific property types being sold via auction:
   • Property type: Townhouse, apartment & unit and villa
   • 
   • Sale method: Auction
   • 
3. Once I have set my search parameters and run the search, I copy and paste the URL to a comment in cell A1 (‘Date added’). In future weeks, I can click on the URL to quickly access the list of properties going on sale via auction with specific search parameters.
   • 
4. I order the auction listings by ‘next auction’, going from the earliest auction to the latest auction. 
   • 
5. I go through the list of auctions in order, checking off the properties by shading the address in green:
   • For auctions that have already been recorded on the spreadsheet, I check to make sure that the auction date and price range have not changed. If they have changed, I move the old date and price range to ‘old auction date’ and ‘old min’/‘old max’ respectively and record the new price range and/or dates. 
   • 
   • For auctions that have not appeared on the spreadsheet, I add the details onto the spreadsheet.
6. Going to the spreadsheet, I go through auctions that have run in the past week and record whether the property has been sold or it is passed in, along with the sale method, the date that it was sold and the actual price (if it appears on the listing).
   • In some cases, a sold price might not be quoted, instead saying ‘Contact agent’.
   • 
   • That sold price may appear a few weeks later, either on realestate.com.au or on CoreLogic’s list of recent sales over the past three months (check https://www.corelogic.com.au/our-data/recent-sales?postcode=[insert postcode] – you will get a list of properties that were recently sold over 90 days).
   • 
7. Afterwards, I go through the properties that are passed in or under offer and see whether the property was sold.
   • If a ‘passed in’ or ‘under offer’ property has been sold, I record the sale results.
   • If the property has not been sold more than 3 weeks after auction, I record ‘too late’ under the ‘sold at’ column and shade the URL in red. This tells me to stop updating details on the property as it would have been sold via private sale (unless it goes on sale via auction again).
   • 
8. In a separate spreadsheet, I count the number of properties that have been sold under a particular category. I use the data to calculate the clearance rate, the proportion of properties going on sale via auction that have been sold at auction. 
   • Individual states have different rules for auctions and cooling-off periods (the period of time where you can cancel the sale if you have changed your mind). In Victoria, properties that are sold via auction, or 3 business days before or after an auction, do not get a cooling off period. This means the person purchases the property without any conditions.
   • I use this definition to define the clearance rate as ‘the proportion of properties that have been sold during or around auction day’. I calculate this by adding the proportions of properties that have been sold pre-auction, auction or post-auction.
   • I use the clearance rate to see how well the market is faring for a particular property type and suburb. According to Veronica Morgan’s Auction Ready book, in Melbourne:
     • A clearance rate below 60% is a slow market – demand is low as there are not many buyers for a lot of properties. Consequently, property prices are likely to remain stagnant or even fall.
     • A clearance rate between 60% and 70% is a balanced market – demand is reasonable as there is a balance between buyers and properties on sale. Property prices are likely to remain stable.
     • A clearance rate above 70% is a rising market: Demand is high due to a lot of buyers competing for the few properties that are on sale. Due to the strong demand, property prices are likely to rise.

Results from my auction data

I was collecting auction data for different suburbs over August to December 2024 before I bought my first home. In this section, I wanted to present data of auctions that were held from 1^st September to 30^th November 2024 for Hawthorn, an inner city suburb 6km east of Melbourne. As I was only interested on strata properties such as apartments, units, townhouses and villas for my first home, I only collected auction data from these property types. I did not collect auction data from houses as they are a separate property market altogether. Also, I excluded five properties that were categorised under “Withdrawn” as it was unclear whether they were sold off market or were taken off the market.

Category	Number	Percentage
Pre-auction	19	27
Auction	30	42
Post-auction	1	1
Too late	3	4
Private sale	18	25
Passed in	0	0
TOTAL	71	~100

Out of the 71 properties on realestate.com.au that went on sale via auction during the period, 42% of them were sold via auction, with another 27% selling before auction. Combined with the one property that was sold during the post-auction period, the clearance rate of strata properties in Hawthorn during the period was 70%. That clearance rate was high, indicating that it was a rising market. This is because property sales tend to peak in spring when a lot of properties go on sale and many buyers are on the market searching for property. 

Plotting the number of days between the auction and sold dates, all properties sold via auction have a day gap of 0 days (as the property was sold on the same day as the auction). There was a sizable number of properties that were sold before auction, particularly within the 3 days before auction. Beyond the auction period, properties that were sold via private sale had day gaps that varied from 6 to 62 days after auction.

Conclusion

Creating this Excel spreadsheet and establishing a routine to check the status of auctions weekly have helped me stay up-to-date with how the property market is faring in a particular suburb. This allows me to gauge how competitive the property market might be for a specific property type in a particular suburb. It also allows me to set realistic price expectations for properties that I am looking to buy so that I can succeed in buying the property at auction without paying too much. This was how I managed to buy my first home via auction. 

You can use the spreadsheet attached to this blog post to keep track of auctions in the suburb(s) you want to live in, as well as a sample auction spreadsheet. This will definitely help you in your research to see how competitive auctions are in the suburb(s) of interest and what properties might go to auction. Happy collecting!

Disclaimer

Anything that is posted on The Active Evaluator blog is for general informational purposes only. You should not interpret this information as formal financial advice. If you would like advice tailored to your personal situation, please seek an accredited professional. I am not responsible for any subsequent actions you take by reading my blog as well as any expenses, costs, losses, damages and injuries you or another person may incur in the process. 

Since my last blog post on 7th December 2024, I have been preparing for settlement day on 29th January 2025 (the same day as Chinese New Year day). For most of the period, I was waiting for my home loan to be formally approved by both the bank and the Victorian State Revenue Office (who provides the funds from the Victorian Homebuyer Fund). I received formal approval from the Victorian State Revenue Office during the New Year break and from the bank last week. I visited the bank to sign the home loan documents and set up my bank accounts to pay the loan. While I have received formal approval for my home loan, the money from the bank, the Victorian State Revenue Office and my initial deposit is not enough to fully cover the purchase price. This resulted in a shortfall of a few ten-thousand dollars that I needed to cover. Luckily, I have enough money to cover the shortfall plus establish a buffer to pay off the home loan in case I cannot work for a period of time. This was all thanks to my diligent saving over the past few years that I am able to raise enough money to buy my first home. Even though there are government schemes where one can buy a home with just a 5% deposit, saving as much money as possible gives me more options as to the property I purchase, as well as favourable home loan terms.

I am also working to get quotes for renovations that I would like to complete before I move into the apartment. Even though the renovations are minor, I would like to replace the existing carpet and wooden floors with new laminate floorboards. Last weekend, I visited a few floor shops to look at some samples and speak to a few people to get a feel of price. Apparently, laminate (printed) and hybrid (textured vinyl) floorboards are cheaper to purchase and install compared to timber floorboards while being more water and scratch resistant. I have received some quotes that fall within the budget of replacing the floors. Additionally, replacing the floors would only take about 2 days, meaning if everything goes well I will have new floors when I move in. I would also like to replace the electric wall heater with a split system air conditioner (which would providing both cooling and heating), repair the wooden windows and install fly screens. I am getting quotes to get these jobs done before I move into the apartment.

Lastly, I am starting to do some research on the electricity, gas and internet providers I will use, with the aim to minimise costs. I have found an electricity provider that seems cheap on the surface, but is not a well-known brand. I will need to do some research on them. I also found a few internet providers that are cheap for the speeds they are offering. However, as I do not know what their reputation is like, I will need to do some research as well. Water is not a worry for me at the moment as I just need to pay the water rates upon settlement, so the water will be connected by the time I move in.

Overall, things are going well at the moment as I am busily getting everything ready for settlement and moving into the apartment.