By Alexandra Middleton
A Brunswick house that last sold for $75,000 in 1979 has fetched $1,553,000 after a bidding war erupted at auction on Saturday.
A young family looking to upsize beat out four other bidders to secure 16 Canberra Street some $253,000 above its reserve.
It was one of 414 auctions scheduled in Melbourne on Saturday. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 55.9 per cent from 261 reported results, while 45 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
The auction began with an opening bid of $1.2 million. The price was slowly driven up in $20,000 increments before being declared on the market at $1.3 million.
From that point on, Ray White listing agent Aaron Hill said, “it all went pretty crazy” with five bidders, all families, actively vying for the four-bedroom property.
Bids became smaller as the price went up, with parties offering up increments of $5000, $3000 and eventually $1000.
16 Canberra St Brunswick sold for $1.553m at auction on Saturday.Credit: Penny Stephens
It came down to two bidders in the end, with a local family winning the keys to the home.
Hill said the ultimate buyers jumped up in the air and hugged each other when the hammer finally fell.
Hill said the vendors, who watched from the back of the crowd, were emotional about saying goodbye to the home, which had been in their family for 45 years, but were happy with the sale price.
The winning bidder when Ray White Brunswick auctioneer Jamil Allouche brought the hammer down.Credit: Penny Stephens
“The vendors were crying, it’s been in the family since day one, so they’re all pretty happy [with the result],” he said.
In Derrimut, another young family nabbed the keys to their dream home following a competitive auction.
More than 80 people turned out to watch five bidders fight it out for 112 Windsor Boulevard. The five-bedroom property sold under the hammer for $1.23 million.
Bidding opened at $950,000 and quickly climbed above $1,000,000.
Ray White Deer Park lead agent Leigh Grixti said there was instant rapid fire bidding, with all parties keen to get in on the action, including those bidding via phone and live-stream.
The young family, from Deer Park, ultimately outbid four other parties, paying $80,000 above the $1.15 million reserve to land the spacious home.
“The buyers were a beautiful local family, buying it for an upsize. They are incredibly happy, it’s their dream home.”
Grixti said Derrimut’s large properties, affordability and relative proximity to the city was a major drawcard for family buyers.
“[The bidders were] all families looking to upsize and purchase a dream home for them and their kids, that was the common theme,” he said.
Looking to bayside Melbourne, a downsizer bought a Black Rock home for $2.25 million, beating a young couple to the property that is walking distance to the beach.
The auction for the three-bedroom freestanding townhouse at 46A Iona Street kicked off with a vendor bid of $2 million before the two parties started trading bids of $25,000.
Both bidders pushed up the price in $10,000 and then $5000 increments on the 473-square-metre block. It sold for $2,255,000 – a figure $15,000 above the $2.24 million reserve.
Marshall White Bayside partner and listing agent Dahli Woosnam said the buyer, who is from the Black Rock area, was very excited to have secured the home, which is located just a few streets from the beach.
“They had their family members there with them, who were all very excited and happy,” Woosnam said.
She said the vendors, who are currently travelling overseas, were also thrilled with the result.
It was a good auction day for downsizers, with another couple looking for a smaller home landing the keys to a four-bedroom home on a tree-lined street in Ascot Vale.
Previously an investment property, 49 Kent Street sold for $1.44 million in post-auction negotiations.
Barry Plant Essendon auctioneer Anthony Molinaro said the couple placed a single bid of $1.35 million on the property before it passed in.
During the negotiations, they added an extra $90,000 to their auction offer to secure the home.
The renovated and extended Victorian home was listed with a price guide of between $1.3 million and $1.4 million.
Molinaro said the buyers, who recently sold in Brunswick, were elated and looking forward to moving to Ascot Vale.
“They really like Kent Street because it’s tree lined. They love that, just coming out of autumn, you’ve got all the beautiful colours through the trees,” he said.
Molinaro said the home was one of many former investment properties currently for sale.
“Probably about 80 per cent to 90 per cent of the stock we’re noticing coming to market is investment stock,” he said.
The home at 49 Kent St eventually sold for $1,440,000 after it was passed in at auction.Credit: Barry Plant
“Everyone got their land tax bill, saw that it doubled or tripled, and even more landlords just jumped in and said, ‘We want to sell, it doesn’t make sense any more’.”
Molinaro said there were many decent properties still getting decent results.