By Sarah Webb
A pair of brick homes on a single block in Toorak’s priciest street fetched $8.9 million on Saturday in a gruelling auction that stretched the final $1 million out in $1000 bids.
Two punters duelled it out for almost an hour until a professional bidder, acting on behalf of an anonymous buyer, snatched the keys – paying more than $1 million over the $7.66 million reserve, industry sources say.
The six-bedroom property at 32-32A St Georges Road, known as Melbourne’s best street, sits in elite company. Records show that more than a dozen homes have sold for more than $10 million on the coveted street.
Some 200 metres away is Melbourne’s most expensive house, owned by Ed Craven. The Millennial crypto mogul snapped up the mansion in 2022 for a record-breaking $80 million and plans to transform it into a $150 million estate.
For a chance to live in the suburb, 12 buyers registered to bid on the private auction, which had a guide of $6.6 million to $7.2 million.
But just four raised their hands for the attached pair of maisonette houses that sit on a 617-square-metre block, each featuring three-bedroom floor plans and one having a swimming pool.
A local family threw down a $6.6 million bid to kickstart the auction, sparking a series of $100,000 increments. At $7.66 million, the property was called on the market, leaving just two bidders in the mix.
Jellis Craig Stonnington’s Michael Armstrong said it was then that the auction took a jaw-dropping turn.
“Most of the final $1 million was done in $1000 increments. At one point, the remaining two parties were just looking at each other and raising $1000, so it was long and it was exhausting,” Armstrong said.
“But when you get two people wanting a home like this and understanding the scarcity of it, you get this kind of auction.
“Toorak has outperformed the rest of Melbourne’s market and in St George, the incredible homes and the incredible sales we’ve had there are carrying those values. You’re in rarefied air here, and people want to be among that.”
Armstrong said the homes had been rented out for the past five years.
The Toorak property’s sale was one of 700 reported auctions in Melbourne on Saturday, with 437 sold and a preliminary clearance rate of 62.4 per cent.
AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver said Melbourne’s market remained subdued, with the clearance rate significantly below the year-on-year average.
“In August last year, it was at 68 per cent. But while it’s still fairly soft, that clearance rate hasn’t fallen any further [over the past few weeks], so it’s stabilising,” he said. “The good news is the market is not collapsing. It’s hanging in there. But the high interest rates have worn down the market.”
Oliver said a minor uptick in listings could indicate distressed sales.
In South Melbourne, a three-bedroom Victorian terrace at 204 Park Street, near Albert Park Lake, sold for $1.89 million in post-auction negotiations.
Two bidders raised their hand for the home, and a young professional couple muscled out a family for the keys. The house had a price guide of $1.7 million to $1.8 million and a reserve of $1.9 million.
Belle Property Albert Park’s David Wood said bidding started at $1.75 million and climbed to just $1.78 million before the home was passed in, then promptly sold.
“This home fitted that wedge between being unrenovated and completely renovated, so buyers knew they could just move in and without spending much money,” he said.
Over at Knoxfield, a pair of downsizers relocating back to Melbourne after a stint in Sydney snapped up a three-bedroom house at 2a Kent Street for $965,000 after a rapid-fire bidding war.
A total of 10 bidders, of which five were active, raised their hands for the keys.
Ray White Ferntree Gully’s Matthew George said bidding kicked off at $750,000 with a flurry of bids streaming in so thick and fast that they reached the $880,000 reserve before he could get a chance to announce the home on the market.
George said a final $6000 bid sealed the deal, with the home’s lack of body corporate, two separate living areas and budget-friendly price range fuelling strong interest.
“We had between 15 to 20 [people] per inspection at each open and about 80 people came through this one; in fact, it was the most popular property we have had [in a while],” he said.
“The price range indicated where the market was, because only three people bid above the $900,000 mark.”
George said the sellers bought the property in 1987 and subdivided their backyard to build the unit. The sellers live in the original home next door.