The eventual buyers were the only ones to make an offer on the four-bedroom house at,making an opening bid of $2.1 million.
The rest of the crowd of about 40 people remained silent when Nelson Alexander Brunswick auctioneer Jonathan West asked for a rise of $20,000.
With no bids coming,West paused the auction to speak with the vendors. Within minutes,he returned to ask for bids,but there were none.
He passed in the home to negotiate with the buyers,a couple with two young children,who offered an extra $200,000 to seal the deal for the renovated California Bungalow. The home had a price guide of $2.1 million to $2.3 million.
The Brunswick home sold for $2.3 million in post-auction negotiations.Penny Stephens
“We were expecting another buyer in the crowd to bid,but they obviously had a change of heart,” West said after the auction.
He said the property had been used as part of a Bonds underwear advertisement,which starred Martin - a triple premiership player with Richmond.
In the ad,Martin chases after his dog who escapes the house,jumping the front fence to do so.
The Brunswick home was one of 281 auctions that were scheduled in Melbourne on Saturday. The low number of auctions was due to the Melbourne Cup long weekend.
A still from the Bonds TV commercial outside 22 Stanley Street,Brunswick.Supplied
By evening,Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 59.8 per cent from 189 reported results,while 26 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
While some vendors are reluctant to sell over the long weekend,agents said others thought it was a good tactic to go to market when there was less competition from other auctions.
“Not everyone goes away for the long weekend,” West said. “We’ve had good numbers through our open for inspections today.”
Jellis Craig Kensington’s John Morello,who sold a four-bedroom home at on Saturday Morning,agreed.
The property,which was not too far from Flemington Racecourse,was bought for $1.35 million,above the $1.1 million to $1.2 million guide,by a professional couple.
Though the couple were dressed casually,half of the crowd was dressed in their racing finery,as they were making a quick pit stop at the auction before heading to Derby Day,Morello said.
“The house was on Pascoe Vale Road which is a main road with trams,so it was just a short tram ride to the races,” he said.
Bidding for the property opened at $1.2 million,with three buyers competing for the keys.
In Oakleigh South,a four-bedroom home at sold for $1,232,500 to a young couple who plan to fully renovate it. The home had a price range of $1.15 million to $1,265,000.
Ray White Oakleigh’s Leigh Kelepouris said the auction was slow,but even so,four bidders competed.
“Auctions for houses like this that do require a bit of work have slowed,” Kelepouris said. “It’s really a tale of two markets with some doing really well,while others are struggling and are just selling.”
Meanwhile,in Cheltenham,two units in the same block sold under the hammer to two different first home buyers.
The first to sell was a three-bedroom unit at,which was purchased by a young couple for $700,000. They were the only bidders at the auction and the reserve was $650,000.
The unit at sold next,bought by a young man who was also the only bidder. It sold for $600,000,above the $525,000 reserve.
Ray White Cheltenham’s Kevin Chokshi said both of the units were part of a deceased estate,and were sold by the late owner’s family.
“The[family] who were selling the property were in Paris,and they tuned in to the live auctions from there - it was 2am,” Chokshi said.
In Keilor a four-bedroom family home at,built by the vendors in 2001,sold for $1,537,500 after four bidders competed.
Bidding opened at $1.4 million,below the $1.5 million to $1.6 million guide,and increases of $20,000 took the price to $1.52 million. Bids dropped to $10,000 increments and then to $2500 before the property sold.
A family moving from Craigieburn were the successful buyers,outbidding other families who were in the mix.
Main Road Real Estate’s Reece McKechnie said buyers were trying to get into the market,or upgrade,in time for Christmas.
“I think a lot of people are trying to secure something before Christmas,or to settle before Christmas,so they can have a fresh start for the new year,” McKechnie said.