Merewether units keeping pace with house price growth

According to CoreLogic statistics, house prices in the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie region have jumped 31.3 per cent in the year to October while units have added 17 per cent.

But growth across dwellings is much more comparable in Merewether, where the 12 months to August saw increases of 38.46 per cent for houses and 36.92 per cent for units.

In that period the median price of Merewether's houses jumped from $1.3 million to $1.8 million while units leapt from $555,000 to $759,000.

Merewether's units are also spending just 28 days on the market before selling, compared to 48 days in the previous 12 months, and the demand is showing no signs of cooling.

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Robinson Property's Mike Flook had two Merewether two-bedroomers sell over the guide at auction on the weekend.

An apartment with ocean views at 5/81 Frederick Street sold to Sydney investors for $1.16 million.

It had a guide of $1.1 million and last sold for $640,000 in December 2015.

A villa at 1/60 Mitchell Street meanwhile sold for $860,000, just above its $850,000 guide, having last sold for $340,000 exactly 10 years ago.

Mr Flook said both properties had attracted a wide range of potential buyers who all saw value in what is one of Newcastle's most highly sought-after suburbs.

"Mitchell Street for instance - it was almost like a small home, so there were people that were thinking 'here's an opportunity to get into Merewether where we can't buy a house as such'," Mr Flook said.

"We're certainly seeing that and probably the same with Frederick Street, it was an opportunity to acquire some magnificent ocean views around the corner from arguably one of Newcastle's most expensive streets in John Parade."

Australia saw one of its busiest weeks of the year for auctions last weekend amidst a backdrop of falling clearance rates.

Newcastle had 64 auctions planned for the week, with CoreLogic's preliminary results revealing an 83 per cent clearance rate, which was among the highest in the country.

"There's certainly been a quietening amongst the ranks out there, but there's also the possibility that there's a bit more stock on the market at the moment, it's the last hurrah and buyers are probably more evenly spread across that stock," Mr Flook said.

"You probably won't see a great deal of auction campaigns starting from hereon in because they physically run out of time with Christmas approaching.

"It might be that that last week was the busy period ... you'll certainly start to see it quieten down now stock-wise leading into Christmas."

Mr Flook also had 15 Rowlands Street, Merewether sell prior to auction for an undisclosed price.

It had been set to go under the hammer this Saturday with a guide of $2.5 million.

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