By Jim Malo
David Rizkalla could barely contain his joy after winning the auction for a Bentleigh East family home, throwing one of his daughters into the air in excitement after his $1,585,000 bid went unchallenged and the hammer fell.
Rizkalla’s cool and detached bidding persona immediately fell away post-auction. “I feel like the endorphins are rushing, the adrenaline’s kicking in. I’m very excited and very happy,” he said.
He was one of three bidders fighting over the four-bedroom house at 131 Brady Road. It was a much-loved family home of more than 65 years, and belonged to former VFL umpire Peter Sheales, who left the home to go into aged care with his wife.
The house was an old brick build, had a large backyard and shed, and was mostly original apart from some minor renovations over the years.
Woodards Bentleigh listing agent and auctioneer Ben Quigley listed the home for sale with a quoted price range of $1.35 million and $1.45 million.
Rizkalla opened the bidding at $1.36 million, and quickly and confidently answered each competitors’ bid. He said the agent who sold his previous home coached him on bidding tactics.
Rizkalla celebrates his auction win with his daughter. Credit: Luis Ascui
“We were looking for a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home that we can renovate, and it was very much about the location for our kids,” he said. “We know we want to send our kids to school around here.”
Quigley said the vendors had set a soft reserve of around the top of the range. He announced it was on the market at $1.51 million.
“So I’ve only been at another auction, but I’ve seen other auctions, and they all go $200,000 over,” Rizkalla said. “So we always budgeted $200,000 over for any auction.”
Quigley said the home had been popular with families. “These are the hottest ticket in town, good houses on full blocks. You’ve got your run of townhouses and things, but these are what I call collectors’ items. They just don’t make them any more.”
Rizkalla said he was excited to have won the second auction he’d contested. Credit: Luis Ascui
It was one of 1293 auctions scheduled for Saturday. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 62 per cent from 933 reported results, while 120 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
In North Melbourne, another four-bedroom house at 52 Molesworth Street sold for $2,185,000.
Jellis Craig partner Trevor Gange listed the property with a quoted price range of $1.9 million to $2 million. He said the reserve was the top of the range.
Gange said the auction began with a genuine bid at the bottom of the range. “It was $20,000 bids up to about $2.04 million, then there were $10,000 bids, then from $2.15 million it was in $5000s,” he said.
Gange fielded bids from just two parties, but said three others had shown interest. He said it had mostly been popular with families.
“A young couple bought it,” Gange said. “Being across the road from a primary school for them was key. As the years go by I’m assuming they’d start a family down the track.
“They love the area and they’ve been living in it for a while, so they were delighted to secure a nice big home.”
In Richmond, A polychrome brick terrace sold for $1,005,000, after the winning bidder swooped in at the last moment to place their only bid.
The two-bedroom home at 106 Lennox Street had been held by one family for about 30 years and had been lightly updated for the sale with a fresh coat of paint and carpets.
Biggin & Scott Richmond director Edward Hobbs had the sale and listed the property with a quoted price range of $900,000 to $990,000. He said four bidders took part in the auction, and had liked the home’s classic feel.
“The floor plan was well-organised, and had a central bathroom,” Hobbs said. “It had a rear lane that you could put car access in. It’s in a nice consistent row of terraces.”
The home had been lightly updated for the sale. Credit: Biggin & Scott
Bidding began at the bottom of the range, and Hobbs said the first three bidders rapidly raised the price.
After the price stalled at $995,000 and the home was announced as on the market, the winning bidder swooped in with a single $5000 bid at $1.05 million.
“[There was] then another bid at $1 million, and then a fresh buyer jumped in for $1.05 million and bought it with the one bid,” Hobbs said.
He said most of the interested buyers had been owner-occupiers.
In Moorabbin, a three-bedroom house sold under the hammer for $1.07 million after a short and sharp auction.
Ray White Cheltenham director Kevin Chokshi had the listing for 44A Worthing Street. He priced it at $900,000 to $990,000. He kicked the auction off with a vendor bid at the bottom of the range.
Two bidders traded bids until the price reached $1.01 million, when Chokshi took a break to talk with the vendors and bidders.
The highest bidder increased their bid to $1.07 million after negotiations and Chokshi announced the home was on the market. It sold to those bidders, a couple with a young child in tow.
Chokshi said the reserve was the top end of the range.
“When it stopped [at $1.01 million], we were fairly close to the reserve at that point in time. But I just wanted to get instructions to double confirm with the seller as to what they would like me to do,” he said. “In that moment, I just decided to walk up to the highest bidder and speak to them to see if we can work with them.
“Their settlement terms are obviously quite suitable for the seller. So I just negotiated with the highest bidder on the street.”
The home featured well-kept gardens and a large attic storage space, accessed through a ladder in the living area.