Melbourne auctions: Late bidder pushes Parkdale home $100k above reserve
Two sisters have watched as their Parkdale home sold $100k over reserve after a slow starting auction.
A couple who up and moved to Melbourne during Sydney’s coronavirus lockdown are here to stay after snapping up a Parkdale home within walking distance of the beach at auction on Saturday.
Hitesh Ghelani and wife Pooja Popat fought off two other bidders to secure the 21 Rosella Road property, placing a winning bid of $1.324m for the three-bedroom home.
About 40 people turned out to watch the sale, which started slow before a late bidder pushed the price tag about $100,000 over reserve.
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The new owners — who only decided to move states at the end of 2020 — said the result felt like a dream.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Ms Popat said on Saturday.
“We’ve only actively been looking for about two months … we came on a trial and we were living in Brighton and after going up and down the bayside, I said (our house) needs to be somewhere along here, along the water.”
Ms Popat said the pair wanted a lifestyle change and working from home had allowed them to keep their jobs despite their new base.
“It’s called the most liveable city in the world for a reason — let’s see why!” Ms Popat said
Vendors and sisters Alex and Stephanie Ford-Webb, who bought the property with money left to them when their mother passed away, said they were over the moon with the sale — albeit bittersweet.
The property, where Stephanie and her fiance had been living, had been the site of many family events and memories over the years, they said.
“At Christmas we would always walk down to the beach and play basketball with the hoop in the driveway,” Alex said.
“The family dinners — my dad has been cooking for five girls his whole life, so we’ll miss that extravaganza.”
She added that while a “chapter” of their lives had closed it felt like the right time to sell.
“My sister (Stephanie) is getting married this year and she and her soon to be husband were keen to look for a bigger place,” she said.
“We also thought it was a good time as me and husband want to (put the money towards) something that’s a bit more long term.”
The sisters said they were planning to celebrate the sale, and their mum’s life, at dinner on Saturday.
“She wanted this for us,” Alex said.
Ray White Cheltenham agent Alex Pearsons said the home was in one of the “most desirable pockets of Parkdale” and was close to schools, public transport and the beach.
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Originally published as Melbourne auctions: Late bidder pushes Parkdale home $100k above reserve
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