A “knockout” bid of $40,000 ended the auction of a Collingwood house that sold for $1.65 million on Saturday.
The three-bedroom property at 29 Forest Street, with a rooftop terrace, garden decks and hydronic floor heating, was initially listed at $1,450,000 to $1,550,000, but was updated on Friday afternoon to $1,520,000 to $1,580,000 following multiple offers.
“We updated the guide to reflect the new interest,” said Michael Amarant, auctioneer and lead agent of Jellis Craig Fitzroy. A large crowd watched as three young couples competed for the home.
Bidding opened at $1.5 million and rose predominantly in $10,000 bids until $1.61 million. A young couple, who were renting, placed a knockout bid of $40,000 to secure the home.
A knockout bid sealed the auction for a young couple in Collingwood. Credit: Eddie Jim
Amarant said the house was a “rarity” in the suburb, where houses tend to be smaller or big and unaffordable, and had attracted mainly young local couples who wanted to upsize.
“It’s just terribly challenging to buy a good-sized house in the area. It’s a nice intermediary size, not a small single fronted house, but not the expansive double fronted house which is unaffordable for many people,” he said.
The property was one of 889 scheduled for auction in Melbourne in the past week. By Saturday evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 74.7 per cent from 656 reported results throughout the week, while 70 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
In Preston, a young couple celebrated as a five-bedroom, three-bathroom period house in Preston became their first home purchase for $1.54 million.
The fully renovated, architecturally designed house at 40 Penola Street, featuring a pool, a rainwater tank and solar panels, had a guide price of $1.4 million to $1.5 million, with a reserve price of $1.5 million.
Jellis Craig Reservoir’s Laura Mancin said the buyers were drawn to the renovation – which includes an extension – and the location.
“The architect who designed it was Ben Callery, and they loved the style,” she said. The underbidders were a young family who were looking to upsize from Thornbury.
Mancin said while the market is still a “bit patchy”, more people have been looking at turnkey homes that have quality renovations, and steering away from homes that require work.
“They’re willing to pay a bit more for something that is ready to live in and attractive,” she said.
In Sunshine, two adjacent properties with the same owner went to auction, both selling at a loss.
The house at 21 Anderson Road sold for $635,000 which was $45,000 less than the previous sale price of $680,000 in 2017.
Next door, 23 Anderson Road sold for $591,000, $116,000 less than the vendor paid eight years ago.
The properties were initially earmarked for demolition after their owner decided it was too expensive to build a new home on the combined land, measuring 1150 square metres.
The houses, with price guides of $560,000 to $580,000 and $540,000 to $560,000, respectively, were listed as a “compelling opportunity for renovators, investors and developers alike ... whether through a comprehensive renovation or a complete redevelopment”.
The vendor’s intention was always to demolish the houses and build a new home on the combined land, Village Real Estate agent Joseph Luppino said, but a rise in construction costs curtailed their dream.
“They’d done zero maintenance on the homes since buying them because they always planned to destroy them, and as a result, 23 sold at a loss,” Luppino said.
Three bidders vied for number 23 after an opening vendor bid of $540,000, which was also the reserve. A man in his 40s placed the winning bid of $591,000.
The house at 23 Anderson Road in Sunshine sold for a loss at Saturday auctions. Credit: Domain
“The buyers [of 21 Anderson Road] were a youngish couple looking for an investment and saw the growth potential for the area,” Luppino said.
“They were also tempted to buy number 23 – they were on the phone trying to speak to family and some friends, trying to scrounge additional funds before the auction.”
The reserve of 21 Anderson Road was $560,000.
In Windsor, investors and upsizers traded bids for a three-bedroom, double-fronted house, which sold for $1,545,000 at auction.
The house at 4 Stewart Street had a guide price of $1,350,000 to $1,425,000. Jellis Craig Stonnington’s David Sciola said while the bidding was slow to start at $1.3 million, it soon heated up, leaving an investor and a young Elwood family going “toe-to-toe”.
The family placed the winning bid of $1,545,000. The reserve was $1,425,000, Sciola said.
“They’re a nice young family with two kids who wanted to upgrade to a house, and had been looking for a while,” he said.
Sciola added the market was “really picking up steam”, with some houses selling for $100,000 more than 12 months ago.
The house in Windsor sold to a young family looking to upsize. Credit: Domain
“The market bottomed out around November last year, and it’s been improving ever since. In the last three months, the $1 million to $2 million market has seen a jump.”
correction
An earlier version of this story said 4 Stewart Street is in Prahran. In fact, it is in Windsor.