By Elizabeth Redman
An owner-occupier paid $790,000 for a charming art deco apartment in Windsor at auction on Saturday, seizing the opportunity afforded by Melbourne’s quiet long weekend.
The two-bedroom home at 3/7 Lewisham Road was set in a boutique block of only seven and listed with a price guide of $750,000 to $800,000.
It was one of 495 auctions scheduled in Melbourne this week, less than usual due to the long weekend with a Labor Day public holiday on Monday. By Saturday evening, Domain Group had recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 65.5 per cent from 345 reported results throughout the week, while 37 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
The spacious ground-floor apartment with its own courtyard was close to Chapel Street. It had been the vendor’s first home, then she had rented it out.
No one wanted to make the first bid, and Biggin & Scott Stonnington auctioneer Simon Dale placed a vendor bid of $750,000.
A woman offered $760,000, but nobody countered, and Dale conferred with the vendor.
The art deco apartment sold after a quick negotiation.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
He made a final vendor bid of $770,000, the sole bidder offered $780,000 and the home passed in.
It sold after a quick negotiation for $790,000.
“We had someone committed that wasn’t mucking around and she bid and she bought it which was great,” Dale said after the auction.
Asked for the reserve, Dale said: “We were hopeful to get a bit more, but $790,000 – that’s where it was at the end.”
Biggin & Scott auctioneer Simon Dale began with a vendor bid.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
He said the market has improved from late last year when buyers were uncertain about interest rates, but is patchy.
“Now I think there’s more people out and about buying and there’s a bit more positivity out there but it’s still tough,” he said, adding few investors were buying due to the land tax.
“Sales are still happening but it’s somewhat measured compared to around COVID where prices were just going bananas. It’s come into more of a realistic price point for these properties,” he added.
“In other markets that are stronger these apartments have been surpassing $800,000 ... so I think it’s more of a measured market.
“The market’s not off around here but we’re getting prices that are more realistic, as opposed to ‘Oh my God, that’s a ridiculous figure.’”
In Brunswick, an entry-level apartment priced for first home buyers is still available after it attracted 15 groups to auction but nobody made a bid.
The two-bedroom home at 7/174-176 Victoria Street was listed with a price guide of $410,000 to $450,000.
A vendor bid of $450,000 was not enough to encourage attendees to make an offer and the property passed in.
The vendor’s reserve is at $475,000.
“Fifteen groups there and they all stood there with their hands in their pockets,” Geoff Nixon Real Estate selling agent Paul Ross said.
“There was a lot of mums and dads there with them.”
He received two offers after the auction that were not high enough for the seller, and had another two inspections booked, but thought a deal would be reached soon.
Some wanted to buy the home subject to finance rather than at auction, he said.
“I guess that is the segment of the market, first home buyers that are probably more nervous about banks and making sure they get their finance in place,” he said.
But not all entry-level properties were in the same boat. He sold an unrenovated one-bedder in Caulfield two weeks ago for $292,000 that was on the market at $235,000, after three parties bid of whom two “went hammer and tongs”.
A couple renting locally paid $940,000 for a stylish apartment in a North Melbourne warehouse conversion at auction on Saturday.
Two parties, both owner occupiers, competed for the three-bedroom home at 201/18 Cobden Street.
The double-storey unit in the Mercatore building came with two bathrooms and two balconies and was listed with a price guide of $850,000 to $900,000.
Bidding began at the bottom of the price range and rose fast, mostly in increments of $5000 and $10,000, Nelson Alexander Carlton selling agent Carl Sacco said.
It soon passed the reserve, set at the top of the quoted range.
Sacco said the winners were renting nearby in Parkville and had owned property in the past.
He thought buyers were generally more confident in the wake of last month’s interest rate cut, but said they were still price conscious and the market was property-specific.
“It’s a mixed bag. We are seeing some that are priced well that are being really competitive but it is a price-sensitive market,” he said.
“There is some confidence we have seen the bottom of the market.”
Elsewhere, a family paid $720,000 for a Cheltenham villa unit in a hot auction.
Four parties, mostly first home buyers, competed for the three-bedroom home at 1/29 Churchill Avenue, listed with a price guide of $650,000 to $700,000.
But the winners were a young family from the area who are renovating their own home, and plan to move into the villa in the meantime, while also making some upgrades to it.
Ray White The Bayside Group selling agent Kevin Chokshi said the auction began at the bottom of the price guide and rose fast until about $680,000 in increments of $10,000 and $5000. It slowed a little from there, but two fresh bidders jumped in at the $700,000 mark before the hammer fell at $720,000. He said the price was $20,000 above the vendor’s reserve.
“The market is good, strong,” Chokshi said. “I have more people asking me about offers prior to auction in the last month than last year.”
He said over the last couple of weeks buyers had been talking about the rate cut, and thought there would be a rush of sellers wanting to list properties between now and Easter.