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A three-bedroom Edwardian in Coburg North, owned by the same family since 1972, sold for $905,000 at auction on Saturday, in a fast-paced battle between three young couples.
Sitting on a large, heritage overlay block next to Merlynston train station, 1 Bain Avenue had been well maintained and sparingly updated since the family – first grandparents, then an aunty, and now two nephews acting on behalf of her estate – acquired it.
It had a guide of $750,000 to $820,000, and a reserve of $830,000. There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.
Nelson Alexander agent and auctioneer Mark Verrocchi opened with a $735,000 bid from the underbidders, quickly countered with a vendor bid of $750,000.
From there, all three couples bidding ramped up the price, which rocketed past the reserve in $10,000 increments before hitting $880,000, where it slowed to $5000 bids, and the property was sold in under five minutes.
“None of them mucked around – they took our advice and bid aggressively,” Verrocchi said of the bidders.
The winners said it was their first auction, and they had been able to bid because they were on the help to buy scheme, which allows first home buyers with a minimum 2 per cent deposit to access contributions of 40 per cent of the purchase price for new builds, and 30 per cent for established homes.
“We couldn’t have done it without it,” they said. “We weren’t even looking until we got it.”
The property was one of 877 scheduled to go to auction in Melbourne this week.
In Newport, a two-bedroom unit sold to a downsizer for $703,000 under the hammer, more than $50,000 above the top of the guide.
1/30 Bradley Street, one of three large units, has street frontage and opens onto a combined living, dining and kitchen area, with a courtyard and alfresco.
It had a guide of $590,000 to $649,000, and a reserve of $630,000.
Ray White Williamstown auctioneer and agent Joanne Royston said bidding was opened by a buyer’s advocate at $590,000, going up in $10,000 increments before clearing the reserve. There was then a run of $5000 and $1000 bids from three bidders, until the downsizer won the day.
Royston said the buyer’s daughters bid for her, after her home in Sydenham had become too much to manage.
Royston thought the home did well because it appealed to both downsizers and first home buyers.
“Anything sub-$1 million is going better than anything else,” she said.
A two-bedroom villa in Kingsville, in Melbourne’s inner west, sold at auction for $625,000, with an investor paying $60,000 over reserve to beat two first home buyer couples.
Part of a block of nine villas just off Geelong Road, the 1/11 Bishop Street property features Tasmanian hardwood floors, a lock-up garage and a private deck and courtyard at the rear, complete with artificial grass.
Buxton Inner West agent and auctioneer Matthew John said he had opened the auction with a vendor bid of $525,000, at the bottom of the guide (between $525,000 and $575,000).
After a genuine bid of $535,000, bids went up in increments of $10,000, before hitting the $565,000 reserve. The auction continued in $5000, $3000 and $2000 bids, until a last $5000 bid from the investor knocked out the other bidders.
The property had been the vendors’ first home, and John said they were now upsizing to a three-bedroom home nearby as their family expanded.
Although the buyer was an investor, John said first home buyers were getting increasingly confident as conditions in the market were in their favour.
“[It’s] still a little bit patchy,” he said. “But I feel like we’re starting to see a bit more confidence come back.”
In Caroline Springs, a four-bedroom house failed to sell at auction and passed in at $770,000, but is currently the subject of negotiations.
Close to Kororoit Creek, the 34 Blakeville Drive house had a price guide of $790,000 to $830,000 and a reserve of $790,000.
Harcourts Rata & Co agent and auctioneer Nathan Hunt said bidding opened at $750,000, with two first home buyers trading $10,000 increments to $770,000, when the auction stalled.
Hunt said he’d had a lot of interest from first home buyers, who were attracted to the property’s proximity to schools, lakes and shops, and the fact it was close to Ballarat Road and the Caroline Springs railway station.
The vendor is an investor, and Hunt said there was still that potential given the amenities.
“It’s just a bit short from our desired result there at the moment,” he said.
