Real Estate auction blog: Livestreams and rolling updates from Melbourne’s auction market
A Craigieburn auctioneer who dressed for hot conditions wound up being compared to Marilyn Monroe as high winds joined high temperatures. But she still got a deal done above expectations.
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Homes have sold well beyond reserve prices as Victoria tackled its quietest week of auction action since January.
But a Wheelers Hill home that had been the hottest property going to auction in the country this weekend has fallen short of a result under the hammer.
PropTrack figures show just 532 homes were slated to go under the hammer, and early results are promising for sellers with a two-bedroom unit among those to top its advertised price guide by six figures.
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While numbers are lower than recent weeks, it’s an increase on the same time in 2023.
A number of strong initial results are also good news for sellers treating this weekend as a barometer for a busy fortnight ahead, with close to 3500 homes scheduled for auction before the market pauses for the Easter long weekend.
PropTrack economist Angus Moore said the 40 per cent rise in homes testing the market under the hammer in the week leading up to the public holiday reflected a shift in confidence resulting from the Reserve Bank keeping rates on hold since November last year.
AUCTION REPLAYS AND RESULTS
“With the RBA’s rapid increase in interest rates in 2022 and in to 2023, spring 2022 and early 2023 were relatively quiet in comparison to the numbers we’re seeing this year,” Mr Moore said.
14 CREEKBRIDGE RD, CRAIGIEBURN
Ray White auctioneer Trish Orrico had her hands full during the auction of 14 Creekbridge St, Craigieburn, this afternoon.
The 1pm sale kicked off with a $610,000 opening offer before three other bidders drove it to a $705,000 final result.
The figure was well above the home’s $640,000-$670,000 price guide, but it wasn’t the offers being made that kept her on her toes.
A crowd of 40 turned up and while most of them were able to hide in the shade of a loan tree in the nature strip, Ms Orrico was left in the sun — and strong winds.
“One of the buyer’s yelled out that I nearly did a Marilyn Monroe,” she said.
Ms Orrico persevered and was able to conclude the sale, her second success from three auctions today.
133 WHITES LANE, WHEELERS HILL
It might have been the hottest listing to go under the hammer in the country this week, but a Wheelers Hill home has passed in despite more people viewing it in the lead up to its auction than any other home in the country over the past week.
Buxton Wheelers Hill director Bruce Liu is still negotiating with prospective buyers on the four-bedroom house at 133 Whites Lane that went to the market with a $1.2m-$1.3m asking price.
Before the auction Mr Liu said a key factor in high interest for the home was likely to be its location walking distance to Wheelers Hill Primary School – which topped NAPLAN rankings in Victoria for public primary schools last year.
Mr Liu added that the family-sized four-bedroom address with a pool out the back had appealed to buyers with a relaxed ambience and meticulous presentation that highlighted its key features.
6 WATERSIDE CIRCUIT, SANDHURST
Moment Group sales director Dimitris Koptis had 30 groups through 6 Waterside Circuit, Sandhurst, in the lead up to its auction.
But even that wasn’t enough to get the family-friendly listing sold under the hammer.
On the market with a $1.595m-$1.75m asking price, the property backs onto a man-made lake and with a corner block has water views on two sides and only one neighbour.
“And that makes it even more valuable,” Mr Koptis said.
The four-bedroom house went to auction at 11.30am, but was still in negotiation an hour later after live bidding wasn’t quite enough to secure a sale.
25 CABINDA DRIVE, KEYSBOROUGH
Multiple bidders were waiting for Ray White auctioneer Robert Cincotta has he put 25 Cabinda Drive, Keysborough, under the hammer.
Bidding started low at $1.2m and took another four offers to get to the $1.35m bottom of the home’s price range.
There were just three more needed to reach $1.5m and to top the price guide.
But it wasn’t until $1.601m that the flow of the auction slowed and the home was called on the market.
And that was where it sold, a hefty $116,000 above the top of its advertised range.
6/7 SCHOFIELD ST, ESSENDON
A two-bedroom townhouse in walking distance to some of Essendon’s most popular shopping destinations had the eye of two bidders as it went under the hammer.
The first offer came in at $620,000, the bottom of the 6/7 Schofield St home’s pre-auction price guide.
Five bids later it had topped the $680,000 upper end of expectations and the two-horse race continued.
Barry Plant auctioneer Jarrod Couch called the home on the market at $715,000, but it still took another $20,000 in bids to sort out a winner and the home sold for $735,000.
1 BINGLEY AVE, NOTTING HILL
A three-bedroom house with a $950,000-$1.045m asking price has sold about $50,000 above expectations.
Ray White chief auctioneer Jeremy Tyrell handled the call which opened with a $900,000 bid below the range.
The next offer for 1 Bingley Ave, Notting Hill, brought the figure to the base of the price guide, and by the time bidding had reached $1.005m an agent had been sent inside to confer with the vendors while the auction continued outside.
A short time later the house was called on the market at $1.04m, but bidding didn’t stop.
Two buyers fought it out for another $52,000 to get the property to a $1.092m final offer before the hammer came down.
3/3 PETER ST BOX HILL NORTH
Jellis Craig auctioneer John Stack had this one off to a quick start. In a matter of minutes the home had surpassed its $720,000-$790,000 asking price and was on the market.
Bids continued to jump in sizeable increments from $870,000 to beyond $900,000, but slowed to $1000-$2000 offers fro there.
The two-bedroom unit at 3/3 Peter St, Box Hill North, sold for $906,000.
Impressively, the figure was $116,000 above expectations.
On 242sq m of land, it had one bathroom, two carparks and benefited from its proximity to Belmore Rd shops, local parks and shopping centres including Westfield’s Doncaster Shopping Centre and Box Hill Central.
BIDDING BEFORE PASSING IN
In a positive sign for home sellers who aren’t getting a deal done under the hammer, a number of homes have attracted bids before passing in.
In Truganina, a three-bedroom house at 8 Andrew Rd listed by BAL Real Estate with a $600,000-$650,000 asking price came agonisingly close.
A $600,000 opening bid was quickly topped with a $5000 advance, and the price rose to $638,000 before the auctioneer declared a break.
When they resumed a $645,000 vendor bid set the expectations towards the top of the range, but there were no further offers and the home passed in.
On the other side of Melbourne, 20 Mindah Court, Vermont South, attracted a cheeky $1.5m low-ball bid despite a $1.8m-$1.95m asking price.
The Docking Real Estate auctioneer laboured at the crowd for a while, but eventually had to pass the well-maintained four-bedroom home on a 603sq m allotment in on a $1.8m vendor bid.
6 BERRY ST, COBURG
A two-bedroom Coburg townhouse has sold $80,000 above expectations in a 10am two-bidder battle.
The home at 6 Berry St had been advertised at $700,000-$770,000 by Barry Plant’s Jarrod Couch prior to going under the hammer.
Bidding for the red-brick home opened at $790,000 and rose in $10,000 increments until it was called on the market at $840,000.
The sale appeared to be done and a third call had been made before a $2,000 rise added some life to the auction.
Two bids later it sold for $850,000 to the buyer who had made the last-second offer at $842,000.
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Originally published as Real Estate auction blog: Livestreams and rolling updates from Melbourne’s auction market
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