By Sarah Webb
A rare, old two-bedroom beach cottage in Williamstown sold for a reserve-smashing $3.9 million at auction to a local family planning to build their dream home.
It was one of the most hotly contested auctions held across Melbourne on Saturday, with a total of 715 auctions scheduled. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 58.6 per cent from 519 reported results, while 65 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
In front of a large crowd despite the bitterly cold rain, four bidders battled it out for the little old Williamstown beach abode at 203 Osborne Street, with 92 rapid-fire bids thrown down – all by owner occupiers.
The home, which had a guide of $3 million to $3.25 million, was built 60 years ago by a local builder and had never before changed hands. Perched two streets back from the shore, it was pitched as one of the market’s most sensational openings.
Despite the rarity, listing agent Sam Wilson of Jellis Craig, said the result was more than $650,000 above the $3.25 million reserve and obliterated their expectations.
“This was a difficult one to price because there was really nothing else comparable on the market. It was a 1950s brick home, but it’s a huge block and in one of the most desirable parts of Williamstown,” Wilson said.
Jellis Craig auctioneer Greg Cusack takes bids at 203 Osborne Street, Williamstown on Saturday.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
“And it was a family home. The vendors were two siblings selling on behalf of their dad who was a local builder who built that house for their grandparents. And growing up they used to run between that house and theirs, just a couple of streets over.
“For them, this sale was really emotional, and they were so happy with the result but also so happy that it went to such a lovely family.”
Wilson said the auction, which opened at $3 million, was a roller coaster featuring bids of $50,000 and even $1000, and that at one point the successful buyers dropped out before re-entering the auction towards the end.
“It started to rain too and the texta I was using to write down the bids stopped working, and I had to run and get a pen. Right at the end it came down to just two of the bidders, and the underbidder was also a family who were going through an advocate,” she said.
In Cheltenham, another large crowd ignored the grim weather to watch 15 Elliott Street, a house with no garage or car port, sell for $1,505,000 to a suburban couple.
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom home, guided at $1.26 million to $1.38 million, sits in the suburb’s “golden triangle” and is a stone’s throw from a park and within a five-kilometre radius of more than 20 schools. Despite not having a garage, the home’s features and location secured the reserve-busting result, said selling agent Trevor Bowen, of Ray White Cheltenham.
“The reserve was $1.38 million, and we had seven registered bidders with six making bids,” he said.
“It was a fierce and fast auction with 36 bids in total. We had to hold the auction inside because of the weather. But considering how bad the weather was the crowd was just massive.”
Bidding kicked off at $1.26 million and quickly increased in varying increments until two bidders battled it out for the keys.
“The ultimate buyers felt a bit bad that they were then bidding against a pregnant lady, but all is fair in love and war,” Bowen said.
“This was ultimately a family home that presented well … while the market is flat, well priced and presented homes are getting great results and poorly priced are paying the penalty.”
In Melbourne’s north-east, a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 40 Rockliffe Street, Eltham sold for $1.57 million after three local families threw up their hands.
The home, on 693 square metres, had minimal buyer interest in the lead-up to the auction, which prompted agent Tom Kurtschenko, of Jellis Craig, to advertise the home’s $1.5 million reserve beforehand. It was a move, he said, that paid off.
“We were really just hoping to bring the auction to a head … and in the end I think buyers really appreciated that transparency,” Kurtschenko said.
“We ended up with five registered bidders and three put up their hands. It sold to a young local family who just loved the location and loved the street.”
One of the bidding families made an opening bid of $1.2 million, and a vendor bid took the home to $1.4 million.
From there, the auction increased in bids of $20,000 until it reached the reserve. Two parties then traded bids of $10,000 and $5000 until the home went under the hammer.
The home last sold for $960,000 in 2014, records show.