Brighton sellers cop $1 million loss on $8.5 million auction sale
A stylish French Mediterranean villa-inspired residence in Brighton sold for $8.5 million after auction on Saturday, a loss of $1 million for its vendors.
The property at 36 Dawson Avenue, steps from the beach, passed in on the auction floor for $8.35 million.
It was one of 579 auctions scheduled in Melbourne for Saturday. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 67.7 per cent from 467 reported results across the week, while 43 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
The Brighton home is located on one of the suburb’s coveted Golden Mile streets, with panoramic views over Port Phillip Bay and the Melbourne skyline.
Last sold only a year ago, in February 2024, for $9.5 million, the luxury home was listed with a price guide of $8 million to $8.8 million.
While selling agent Andy Nasr from Marshall White declined to comment, buyer’s agent Matt Cleverdon of Morrell and Koren who was in attendance and negotiated the final sale for his client said the auction had two active bidders, both locals to the area.
“It opened with a bid of $8 million, with the second bidder taking a long time to come in,” he said.
After placing the second bid of $8.1 million, the two parties traded “pretty quick bids” of $50,000 increments, lowering to $25,000 until it reached $8.35 million, where it was passed in.
Upon a private negotiation with the vendors, Cleverdon successfully purchased the residence for his client for $8.5 million.
Although the property did not reach the top end of the price range, Cleverdon said the Brighton and Bayside markets have generally been holding up quite well.
“There have been a reasonable amount of transactions in the top half but still with opportunities to be had,” he said.
In Fitzroy North, a Victorian two-bedroom home sold for $991,000, well over the reserve of $850,000.
With a price guide of $800,000 to $850,000, 30 Coleman Street’s price point attracted five active bidders said Jellis Craig selling agent and auctioneer, Charles Atkins.
“It was an affordable property which allowed an entry point into the blue-chip location of Fitzroy North, which garnered a lot of interest,” he said.
The auction opened with a bid of $800,000 and was called on the market at $850,000.
“The bidders were a mix of young people, mature buyers and investors, with an investor looking to renovate and rent out the home ultimately securing it with a bid of $991,000,” Atkins said.
The result was a pleasant surprise for Atkins.
“I didn’t think it’d have the ability to achieve the price that it did,” he said.
“The amount of parties bidding for an unrenovated property shows a promising change in the market, perhaps a bit more urgency and confidence.”
National research manager from PRD, Diaswati Mardiasmo said that while it is not back to the Melbourne average, the clearance rate is tracking upwards.
“68 per cent is definitely better than before Christmas, with an increase in activity in auctions,” she said.
“People are ready to act when the cash rate drops, with those who can act now doing so to get ahead before the increase in demand and competition that will occur when it does.”
In Moonee Ponds, a two-bedroom single-level Victorian home sold under the hammer for $1,185,000, over its reserve of $1.15 million.
With a price guide of $1.02 million to $1.12 million, 71 Darling Street offered a great entry-level property opportunity in the “cream of Moonee Ponds”, said selling agent Simone Tramontana from McDonald Upton.
“It’s a nice and tidy, quaint two-bedroom home with a lot of opportunity,” she said.
Three active bidders contested the auction with a vendor bid of $990,000 kicking off proceedings.
“Ultimately, it came down to two bidders with bids going up in $5,000 and $10,000 increments at the end. It was a young couple buying their first home together that ultimately beat out a downsizer,” she said.
The couple who are seeking to move in and renovate the home had been looking for a property in the area for a while, Tramontana said. With no luck, they decided to change their strategy for this auction, a plan she said worked out well.
“They kept their cards pretty close to their chest by having someone bid on their behalf. I had no idea and wondered why they weren’t bidding, only to find out they were the successful bidders afterwards,” Tramontana said.
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