By Jean Bell and Melissa Heagney-Bayliss
A local couple paid $2.38 million to snap up a stylish single-level townhouse in Armadale, following a fierce bidding battle against another prospective buyer at an auction on Saturday.
Touted as being located in one of Armadale’s most prestigious tree-lined boulevards, the three-bedroom townhouse at 5/29 Huntingtower Road was listed with a guide of $1.9 million to $2.09 million.
Kay and Burton Stonnington director Nicole Gleeson said two bidders fiercely competed for the home, which featured large windows throughout to lap up the sunlight.
The auction opened on a buyer bid of $1.89 million and the property was called on the market at $2.3 million.
“The bidding wiped out a couple of bidders who were probably wanting to get involved,” Gleeson said.
The auction was one of 761 scheduled across Melbourne on Saturday. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 74.3 per cent from 445 reported results, while 56 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
The buyers of the Armadale home were a local couple who bought the townhouse as an investment property, which they intend for their children to live in one day.
“The location was the X-factor for most people. There’s not much on Huntingtower Road for that price, in addition to the home being on a single-level,” Gleeson said.
In Cheltenham, a family paid $1,743,000 for a sprawling family home, just hours after selling their own property.
The five-bedroom home at 57 Devon Street was about six years old and located in what real estate agents called the “golden triangle” of Cheltenham.
Set over two levels, the home was on a north-facing allotment of about 646 square metres and featured multiple living areas and a sheltered alfresco deck.
Bidding started at $1.62 million and climbed in increments, mostly of $10,000, as three bidders – the family, a local investor and a renter from Hampton East – traded offers.
Ray White Cheltenham’s Trevor Bowen declined to reveal the reserve price, but said it was within the guide range of $1.6 million to $1.72 million.
He said the family who purchased the property had rescheduled the auction of their own home to take place a few hours earlier, to ensure they could bid confidently.
“The winning bidder’s house was going to auction next week, but he liked 57 Devon Street so much he brought his auction forward. He knew that if his [home] sold, then he could bid freely and higher than he would have otherwise,” said Bowen.
“He sold his home at auction then came and bid at the other auction, all on the same day.”
The vendors were a doctor and a primary school teacher who had relocated to Queensland for work.
In Oakleigh, a fully renovated 1920s California bungalow sold for $2.04 million to a family who had moved to Melbourne from Scotland.
The four-bedroom house at 44 Golf Links Avenue was set on a 801-square-metre block, close to cafes, public transport, and high schools.
The family relocated to Melbourne last year and was among six bidders to compete, pushing the sale price well above the guide of $1,675000 to $1.75 million.
Bidding on the property opened at the bottom of the guide at $1,675,000, and mostly increased in $10,000 jumps. There were only two bidders left by the time the price reached $2 million.
Ray White Carnegie’s Jin Ling said the buyers had been looking for their dream home for six months, and made a final $10,000 offer to knock out their competition.
“Aspects of the home reminded them of their home in Scotland, with the period styling and the floors,” Ling said.
“It’s really ‘peace of mind’ for them buying this home because they know they won’t have to do anything to it for years.”
The vendors, who owned the property for 27 years, were thrilled with the result and had spent many years renovating the period home, Ling said.
Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said the preliminary clearance rate of 74.3 percent showed the property market was proving surprisingly strong, despite 11 consecutive cash rate hikes by the Reserve Bank.
The low number of homes going to auction and on the market in general had helped support the clearance rate, Conisbee said, as it was driving up competition for available properties.
While homeowners had been feeling interest-rate pain, mortgage-distress sales had been limited, Conisbee said. She warned buyers not to count on prices coming back down, as she expected Melbourne’s house prices would continue to rise.