By Jim Malo
A Fairfield family home sold well above its reserve at auction on Saturday, despite a mix-up on the final price jeopardising the sale.
The four-bedroom house at 21 Darling Street looked set to sell for $2.7 million, but the would-be buyer backed out after the fall of the hammer, realising they had mistakenly bid more than they intended to.
They were among four bidders who competed for the recently renovated home, which had a price guide of $2 million to $2.2 million.
Bidding for the property started at $1.9 million, and jumped in $100,000 increments to $2.3 million, as two buyers traded bids, then rose in $50,000 jumps to $2.5 million, when two more buyers joined the contest — the last with a $1000 increase.
Jellis Craig auctioneer Sam Rigopoulos soon steered bidders towards $10,000 increments, and the price quickly soared to $2.7 million, $500,000 more than the vendor’s reserve price.
It was the final bidder to enter the auction who placed the winning bid and later told Rigopoulos they weren’t aware of how high the price had reached.
Jellis Craig auctioneer Sam Rigopoulos brought the gavel down at $2.7 million, but the winning bidders backed out.Credit: Eddie Jim
“Bizarrely, the person who bought it probably didn’t quite understand how much they had just bid,” he said. “They were bidding quite aggressively. Their hand was out every bid.
“It was sold to them at $2.7 million, but they didn’t realise they’d paid that much.”
They refused to buy at that price, leaving co-listing agent Stefan Di Loreto running down the street after the underbidders to see if they were still interested.
The opening bidder had stuck around, and was invited inside with the underbidder to negotiate.
Di Loreto (foreground right) sprinted after the underbidders. Credit: Eddie Jim
Victorian auction rules state that in the event of a disputed bid, an auctioneer can restart an auction or restart bidding at the last undisputed bid. The rules do not say what to do if the auction has already ended and the sale price is disputed; however, a property is not sold until the contract of sale has been signed by all parties.
Rigopoulos said he offered to restart the auction, but the three present bidders had agreed to negotiate, and the home sold to the underbidder for $2.6 million.
The winning bidder had refused to pay more than about $2.5 million, while the third party was not interested in purchasing at that price.
“They came back inside and basically agreed to a fair price at which the other buyers would have tapped out,” he said. “Anyway, the vendor was still very happy, it’s well above the reserve.
“It’s a weird ending to a great campaign.”
The Californian bungalow, which last sold for $1,175,000 in 2019, attracted a lot of attention throughout the campaign, Rigopoulos said.
It was one of 513 auctions scheduled in Melbourne on Saturday. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 62.9 per cent from 369 reported results, while 33 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
Earlier in East Melbourne, a rundown one-bedroom art deco apartment sold in another competitive auction.
Five bidders vied for 5/14 Garden Avenue, despite its poor condition.
“You name it, it needed it new,” Caine listing agent Peter Hannon said. “But it had all the right fundamentals, lovely living areas, lovely views.”
The auction opened with a bid of $500,000, the bottom of the quoted price range. Hannon said the next bid was for $512,000.
“It was an interesting auction, there was some strategic bidding,” he said. “It was energetic. It didn’t take long for people to get involved, so there were bids flying from every direction.
“For a property that needed as much renovation as this one I think people were surprised by how quickly it went up in price.”
Bids went down to $1000 by the end of the auction, but the winning bidder clinched the sale when she lifted the price from $737,000 to $740,000.
Hannon said she was a fan of art deco architecture and had experience renovating similar properties.
“The bidder that ended up purchasing was just a lover of art deco,” he said. “When we got inside she said she was going to buy it whatever happened.”
Hannon did not disclose the reserve price.
In Footscray, a free-standing Victorian sold after passing in to the auction’s only bidder.
The two-bedroom house at 167 Gordon Street was recently renovated, and featured exposed brick and a clean, modern style.
Hockingstuart listing agent and auctioneer Leo Dardha began the auction with a vendor bid of $830,000, at the bottom of the quoted price range. The lone buyer then placed a $850,000 bid, but increased their offer to $870,000 in post-auction negotiations. The top of the range was $870,000.
Dardha was surprised only one buyer turned up, given strong interest throughout the campaign, and felt the lack of bidders indicated the market was starting to slow.
“I think it’s a combination of the interest rate hikes and the uncertainty in the market,” he said. “It’s a combination of those factors building up now that we’re in a position where buyers are a little nervous and a little edgy, they’re thinking they should bid, but they are probably just holding off.
“An auction like this where we expected to have three bidders [and one turned up] probably tells the perfect story of where we sit.
“[But still] the ultimate outcome was achieved, we’ve got the top end of our range which we’re excited about.”
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