A CROWD of 60 or so buyers, onlookers and Elders representatives congregated at the Jerdacuttup Community Hall on Wednesday, September 21, for the auction of 'Brays'.
The vendors of the property entrusted Elders Real Estate and rural sales specialist Rob Johnstone with marketing the farm, which he said had attracted very strong interest since coming onto the market and generating over 10 registered bidders on auction day.
Elders Real Estate senior rural real estate executive and auctioneer Simon Cheetham commenced proceedings, calling for opening bids and after only a brief silence, received an opening bid of $3 million.
The heated competition saw steady bidding in $100,000 and $50,000 increments between three main players until the farm was knocked down to a local farming family at a price of $6.4m.
Considered to have smashed any previous records for the Jerdacuttup area, the 928 hectare farm had about 658 arable hectares, equating to a sale price of about $9726 per arable hectare.
"Auction remains a highly effective and transparent method of sale in the current market," Mr Cheetham said.
"I am pleased such a strong result was able to be achieved for the Bray family and I wish the buyers all the best with their new acquisition."
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With limited recent sales in the immediate area, many of the auction attendees were eager to get a better understanding on the state of the property market, many of whom indicated the eventual sale price far exceeded their expectations.
The auction also provided an excellent opportunity for the Jerdacuttup community to come together socially and acknowledge the contribution of the Bray family to the district.
Mr Cheetham agreed it was a very strong result.
He also acknowledged that prior to this sale, Jerdacuttup had possibly been undervalued when compared to some other regions with comparable rainfall and production potential.
Mr Johnstone thanked the Elders Esperance team for its support on the day.
"The Esperance Port zone is again enjoying a very kind season with all areas looking to be in good shape, which is pushing demand for agricultural land to new levels," Mr Johnstone said.
"This unrelenting energy in the property market shows no sign of abating."
The property is on the corner of Fence Road and Jerdacuttup Road and has been used primarily for grazing, running up to 300 breeders.
From the outset of the marketing campaign it was thought the successful buyer would likely have a greater focus on cropping than grazing.
Mr Cheetham was clearly impressed by the clover and serradella over the property, mentioning it as a key selling point during proceedings.
Marketing material described the property as reasonably elevated, providing adequate drainage over the bulk of the farm and reducing its frost susceptibility.
The farm has an average annual rainfall of about 450 millimetres and is only 25 kilometres from the coast as the crow flies.
