Herald Sun Real Estate auction blog: Livestreams and rolling updates from the auction market
A classic Brunswick house has sold $253,000 above its reserve as Melbourne auction sales surge into the long weekend. Find out where sellers have come up trumps and buyers are in control.
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Melbourne homes have surged past expectations with buyers paying six-figure premiums as the King’s Birthday long weekend precipitated a temporary reduction in auction numbers.
A Brunswick classic has shot $250,000 past expectations, while an Ascot Vale townhouse soared $116,000 beyond its price guide.
The strong results follow a Friday pre-auction sale for an ex-Airbnb rental with a mirrored ceiling and a “Scarface bathroom” that is the latest in a new trend of short-stay owners selling up rather than deal with rising tax and interest rate bills.
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And the short-stay listings are helping to boost auction numbers as Melbourne kicks off an unusually busy start to the winter market.
PropTrack data shows about 500 homes were headed under the hammer in the lead up to the King’s Birthday public holiday, a softer figure than recent weeks. But there are more than 2000 slated for the coming fortnight.
Tune into live streams here courtesy of Gavl, or read auction updates from across Melbourne below.
Prominent buyer’s advocate Cate Bakos said homes going under the hammer across the city at the moment have been doing well enough, but noted with a long weekend many owners, buyers and agents had been willing to negotiate ahead of sale day during the week.
AUCTION REPLAYS AND RESULTS
But with more than 500 scheduled for the week, despite the King’s Birthday on Monday, Ms Bakos said the big numbers meant there would still be some big winners ahead this weekend.
“There are some good homes out there and the buying conditions right now are better than I have experienced in years,” Ms Bakos said.
3 CASSELS RD, BRUNSWICK
A strikingly renovated Brunswick two-bedder has passed in as a pair of prospective buyers opted to keep their hands in their pockets today.
Jellis Craig’s Elizabeth Kelly said the 3 Cassels Rd home had solid interest in the lead up to auction, with good numbers through inspections.
A renovation added to the appeal, with an ultra-modern interior providing a bit of a surprise package to contrast with the home’s more classic facade.
The property went under the hammer with a $1.05m-$1.15m asking price, and is now still seeking offers around $1.149m.
4 FREDERICK ST, FAWKNER
A Fawkner classic has also sold well above expectations this morning.
The three-bedroom house at 4 Frederick St had just as many bidders pursuing it when the auction kicked off at 10.30am this morning.
It had been listed by Ray White’s Raphael Calik-Houston with a $750,000-$800,000 asking price and sold under the hammer for $830,000.
Mr Calik-Houston said a first-home buyer couple bought the home.
2/105 ST LEONARDS RD, ASCOT VALE
The three-bedroom home at 2/105 St Leonards Rd, Ascot Vale, was listed with $750,000-$800,000 hopes as it went under the hammer at 11am.
But with strong interest in the lead up to its auction the home sold for $916,000.
Nelson Alexander’s Mereoni Robbins handled the listing, which had appealed to a number of young couples and first-home buyers as they sought a well-located residence.
The home was one of four in the block and spread its floorplan over two levels.
16 CANBERRA ST, BRUNSWICK
There were five bidders on hand for the sale of 16 Canberra St, Brunswick, enough to drive the price $250,000 past its reserve price.
The four-bedroom house had a $1.25m-$1.34m asking price, but climbed from a $1.2m opening offer to a $1.553m result.
Ray White‘s Aaron Hill handled the listing and said the buyers had been a young couple with kids, as had all of the underbidders.
“It’s probably in one of the best pockets of Brunswick which made it very popular,” Mr Hill added.
“The vendors were the first people to live in the house so there has only been one family living there.”
12 LACHLAN ST, MENTONE
Ray White master auctioneer Greg Brydon didn’t need much help getting things going for this charming four-bedroom house in Mentone.
The retro residence on a 565sq m block at 12 Lachlan St had a $1.2m-$1.3m asking price.
The opening bidder had it in the range with a $1.23m offer, and another quickly followed with a $20,000 rise.
While the margins fell to $10,000 increments and then $5000 lifts, the bids kept coming until the home hit $1.355m.
Mr Brydon took a moment to speak with the vendor, and during that process a further offer of $1.37m was made.
The auctioneer confirmed the bid upon his return and the home was instantly on the market.
But that was it, with the remaining bidders seemingly scared off by the $15,000 hike.
BIDDING, BUT NOT ENOUGH
Some homes are passing in this morning, despite buyers making offers under the hammer.
In Melbourne’s west, a four-bedroom Truganina house had a few bidders in the mix as the auction kicked off with a $600,000 first bid.
But it was well below the 7 Hanish St home’s $640,000-$680,000 price guide.
A few more bids brought things up to $630,000, at which point Bal Real Estate’s Sonu Bal had a word with the vendor.
By the time he returned, the buyers still wouldn’t budge and the home passed in a short time later without any further offers.
A three-bedroom townhouse at 1/3 Hovea Court in Mt Waverley had hopes of $900,000-$990,000 during its sales campaign.
And things initially looked good for the 376sq m home being sold by The One Real Estate’s Tony Kwan, as a $900,000 opening offer was followed by a $905,000 rise. But the bidders stopped at that point and even a $920,000 vendor bid to try and pressure them onwards wasn’t enough to elicit further rises.
The home passed in.
2/2 WOIWURUNG CRES, COBURG
In the heart of the Pentridge prison redevelopment, this two-bedroom unit opposite Brosnan Community Park had the eye of two bidders as it went under the hammer.
The 2/2 Woiwurung Cres property also had open-plan living zone and a courtyard going for it, helping to spark a $600,000 opening bid shortly after Barry Plant’s Jarrod Couch called for offers.
The home had a $600,000-$660,000 asking price and after a short break at $650,000 it was called on the market.
Bidding eventually topped out at $665,000.
While still operational Pentridge Prison hosted the likes of Mark “Chopper” Read and was also where the last Australian to receive the death penalty, Ronald Ryan, met his end.
AIRBNBS JOINING THE AUCTION ACTION
A a striking Upwey house with a mirrored ceiling in the living room that was described by buyers as “the party house with a Scarface bathroom” sold for $1.12m yesterday ahead of its scheduled auction today.
The 50 Morris Rd property had been listed with a $1m-$1.1m asking price.
Ray White’s Rene Mawad said he’d had multiple buyers show interest in the home, many commenting on the unusual overhead feature and the bathroom that looked like something out of an Al Pacino movie, but it was one of a growing number being listed for sale instead of as a holiday lease.
“It was an ex-Airbnb home and we are getting a lot of them at the moment,” Mr Mawad said.
“A lot of people bought them around Covid thinking it was the next travel destination, and when the world was opened up and with the taxes and the hikes in interest rates, they are struggling to make them stack up.”
Ms Bakos said she too was hearing from agents across the city and state who were listing getaway rentals which were “not as exciting as they used to be”.
“We had optimal conditions during lockdowns, but we are past that now,” Ms Bakos said.
Daylesford based McQueen Real Estate boss Kim McQueen said she had definitely seen a trend of the area’s holiday lease homes coming up for sale as occupancy was down over the past 12 months, though she noted some properties in the area continued to be in demand with Melburnians looking for an escape.
And on the Mornington Peninsula, Buyer X buyer’s advocate Michael Sier said he too had seen a rise in ex-Airbnb’s hitting the market, many of them that had been allowing holiday home owners to hang onto the property amid rising interest rates.
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Originally published as Herald Sun Real Estate auction blog: Livestreams and rolling updates from the auction market
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