By Sarah Webb
A bit of superstition turned into a winning strategy for a couple in Essendon on Saturday, helping them outbid four other parties to secure a three-bedroom brick cottage for $1.86 million at auction.
Following a string of missed opportunities, one half of the duo had declared herself bad luck and decided to sit out the auction, leaving her husband and his father to battle it out for almost an hour before securing the keys.
The renovated Edwardian cottage, at 10 Kilmartin Street, sits on a 317-square metre block that’s mere metres from Windy Hill while close to schools and transport. It had a price guide of $1.6 million to $1.8 million and a “fluid” reserve of $1.75 million.
Selling agent Joe Zucco, of McDonald Upton, said during the campaign the chic home attracted the full gamut of buyers, with an investor, a downsizer and three young couples throwing up their hands.
Bidding started at $1.5 million and rose in quick $20,000 increments to $1.7 million. At $1.77 million the home was called on the market. A final $4,000 bid brought the young couple’s long home hunt to an end.
“From the start we thought it was going to go well but we didn’t know it would go this well,” said Zucco.
“We had a fluid reserve because for us it was a case of letting it play out until half time.
“But we thought it would maybe go for somewhere in the low $1.7 million range … so this just shows the premium properties are the ones that are well renovated.”
It was one of 949 auctions scheduled for Saturday.
By Saturday evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 65.1 per cent from 668 reported results, while 76 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said the clearance rates spelled a solid start to the spring selling season for Melbourne, but added the market remained better for buyers.
“Last month was a bit weak for Melbourne so perhaps the potential for interest rate cuts is helping and even the better weather,” she said.
“We have definitely seen a pickup in auction listings and it’s good news that they’re clearing because we have found a bit of reduction in active bidding as well.”
Conisbee added while the predicted rate drop at the end of the year would strengthen the market, the number of listings, the level of tax for investors and the general sentiment of Melbourne property punters were the main headwinds that could nevertheless strike before summer.
Over in St Kilda, the five-bedroom home of comedian, radio host and TV presenter Kate Langbroek was passed in at $2.5 million – a figure that fell $200,000 short of the reserve.
The home had been listed with price hopes of $2.5 million to $2.7 million.
Selling agent John Manning, of Belle Property, said the quaint 1850s home, at 7 Burnett Street, would now convert to a private sale with price tag of $2.7 million. An open home will be held tonight (9 September) at 5.30pm.
“We were mainly dealing with one buyer, a local St Kilda family, and they put in an offer of $2,525,000 after auction and that’s where it is currently sitting,” he said.
The renovated home features a high-end kitchen and gas-log fireplace and was most recently tenanted.
At 12 Irving Avenue, Prahan, three different groups at three different stages of the buying life cycle battled it out for a chic ground-floor brick apartment with rare front and rear courtyards. The two-bedder sold to a young couple for $1.26 million – well above the $1.05 million reserve.
Bidding opened with a vendor bid of $960,000 with a first home buyer, an upsizer (the ultimate buyer) and a downsizer each throwing down a flurry of bids in $10,000 increments that slowed to $1,000 rises before the hammer came down.
The home had a price guide of $960,000 to $1.05 million and was being sold for the first time in 20 years.
Selling agent Alex Condon, of Kay and Burton, declined to comment on the price but said the home was one of a kind.
“It was an energetic auction to start spring … I think we got such a good result because of how rare it was. To have front and rear courtyards on a title is unheard of,” he said.
Despite the result Condon said it was a slower start to spring than expected.