By Sarah Webb
Sometimes a free latte is all it takes to brew up a bidding war.
Revved up by a free coffee ahead of the auction, four bidders battled it out for 42 Challis Street in Newport on Saturday, with a downsizing Queensland couple snagging the keys for $1.49 million.
The renovated three-bedroom, two-bathroom, character home had a price guide of $1.3 million to $1.45 million, with a reserve of $1.45 million.
To break the ice, Jellis Craig’s Anthony Christakakis treated the crowd to a complimentary brew and said the caffeine helped curate the perfect auction vibe.
“It seemed to take away the nerves of the bidders. The vendors would have sold it for a bit less too as they’d already bought a property nearby. So, for them to get $40,000 above what they’d hoped for was fantastic,” Christakakis said.
“If I’d have known a free coffee was all it took, I would have done it more often.”
He added that a five-week auction campaign strategy sealed the deal.
Bidding opened at $1.35 million, rising in $25,000 increments before slowing to $10,000 jumps, with the Queenslanders edging out local families so they could nab a property close to their daughter.
“Buying and selling in a difficult market can be tricky … we don’t usually run five-week campaigns, but when we need to find extra bidders it can make all the difference,” he said.
“The underbidder only saw the home for the first time last week so they wouldn’t have been there if it was a four-week campaign and who knows what would have happened. Maybe we wouldn’t have gotten the price we did.”
The Newport home was one of 1,782 scheduled auctions in Melbourne on Saturday. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 62.6 per cent from 1272 reported results, while 150 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
In Mordialloc, former Australian cricketer turned builder James Pattinson offloaded his three-bedroom townhouse for $890,000 to a first home buyer.
The home at 45a McKay Street had a price guide of $850,000 to $900,000 and a reserve of $900,000.
Selling agent Chris Hassall of Buxton Real Estate said the compact but quirky home was cleverly designed and squeezed onto a pint-sized lot close to the shoreline.
Bidding opened at $800,000 with two buyers duelling it out in largely $10,000 increments until $865,000 when it was passed in. A first home buyer claimed the keys from a young woman bidding on behalf of her mum – a downsizer.
Hassall said the market was tough, with many homes passing in and selling afterwards.
“It feels like there’s one buyer for every property so there’s not much depth. We are still getting the results but we’re having to work a lot harder for them,” he said.
In Yallambie, a first-home buyer dropped $920,000 on a three-bedroom property, paying $140,000 above the reserve. The house, at 6 Corandirk Place, occupies a 540-square-metre block at the end of a cul-de-sac and had a price guide of $750,000 to $800,000. The reserve was $780,000.
Selling agent Peter Scott of Miles Real Estate credited the standout result to its entry-level price point and location in one of Yallambie’s underrated pockets.
“A lot of people looking to buy in Viewbank are realising they can get more bang for their buck here,” he said.
Three bidders, including two first-home buyers and a young family, went head to head. The auction kicked off at $750,000, quickly surpassing the reserve and leaving Scott scrambling to call it on the market at $800,000.
”The buyer was a young woman who did extremely well. She’d been the bridesmaid at several other auctions.”
In Reservoir, a one-bedroom unit captured hearts, with the entire $452,000 sale price donated to the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Centre.
The unit, at 4/115 Rathcown Road, had a price guide of $395,000 to $434,500, attracting two bidders. It was a first home buyer who won.
Selling agent Matthew Marotta of Ray White Preston said the vendor, a longtime client, wanted to commemorate his wife’s legacy by donating the sale proceeds on the 10th anniversary of her passing.
LJ Hooker head of research and economics Matthew Tiller said Melbourne’s high listing levels were “thinning out buyers” and keeping prices relatively soft, but the weekend’s results showed buyer interest was solid.
“While Melbourne has been a lot softer in terms of price growth, it’s starting to draw attention from interstate buyers... It’s still Australia’s second-biggest city, and the long-term prospects for housing remain solid,” he said.
Tiller added that affordability had made Melbourne’s market more appealing. “Across most of the market, there’s a bit more positivity, especially from an affordability standpoint … and with higher listings, buyers have more choice.”