The sale price exceeded the vendor’s reserve by $795,000. Ray White Balwyn principal Helen Yan said the result at had “extremely surprised” its vendors.
Records show that the vendors paid $1.7 million for an original clinker brick house in 2018. Yan listed the house with a quoted price range of $3.5 million to $3.85 million.
A young family bought the keys to the new house over three other buyers. Yan said that two other interested parties did not have the opportunity to compete.
Bidding opened at $3.5 million and $100,000 increments were made until proceedings reached the reserve price at $3.8 million. After the reserve,$50,000 bids were made.
“In this type of market that bidding is very unusual,” she said.
The home had been rebuilt by its owners after it was purchased six years ago.Ray White
The house was designed by Stonehaven Homes and some original bricks were reused at the front. The north-facing house is in the Balwyn High School catchment zone.
“It does have a lot of features. Big windows and higher ceilings,it was very nice,” said Yan.
The Balwyn North sale was one of 1516 auctions scheduled in Melbourne on Saturday,considered a “super Saturday” because more than 1300 auctions were planned. By evening,Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 62 per cent from 1125 reported results,while 136 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
In Canterbury,a family bought a four-bedroom house with a pool at for $4,001,800. The winning bid was an $1800 increment.
Four buyers participated. A vendor bid of $3.4 million started the auction,before the first genuine bid at $3.45 million was made.
The house was listed with a quoted price range of $3.5 million to $3.85 million and the reserve set at $3.9 million. Jellis Craig Hawthorn auctioneer Peter Vigano accepted small bids such as $800 after the price passed $3.8 million.
“I had a fun time with my bidding sequence,” Vigano said. A crowd of 100 people watched the auction.
Vigano said that the house had been built 25 years ago and appealed to families. The vendors installed a pool after they had bought the house in 2012.
“It was just a good family home,in a good school setting as well,” he said.
Vigano also said that a house on Scotch Hill at was passed in after being auctioned on Saturday. Only a vendor bid of $3.45 million was made,as would-be buyers kept their hands in their pockets.
“It is a north-side,very good family home,but held back by land size of 584 square-metres,” said Vigano. The five-bedroom property has since been listed with an asking price of $3,588,000.
In St Kilda,two downsizers competed for a renovated Victorian at auction on Saturday. The four-bedroom house at was passed in,but the successful buyer negotiated a $2.72 million price for the property.
The house was listed with a quoted price range of $2.4 million to $2.6 million. The auction opened with a vendor bid at the bottom of the range. Marshall White Port Phillip director and auctioneer Oliver Bruce declined to reveal the reserve price. A crowd of 50 people attended the auction.
Bruce said a young family was also interested in the property but did not bid.
“The architectural nature of it was pretty cool,like[an] industrial style design. Good proportions and a good,quiet street,” said Bruce about the house.
AMP chief economist Dr Shane Oliver said that buyer buyer demand had been unable to keep up with supply in the Melbourne property market since the start of the year. This weekend was the highest number of auctions scheduled on a Saturday in 2024.
“I suspect that’s because of the higher level of interest rates in the Victorian economy,” Oliver said.
“But the Reserve Bank continues to remain cautious on interest rates,leading to speculation that rate cuts might be delayed.”
“We’re going into a quieter period,demand and supply normally quieten after Easter,” Oliver said.