Melbourne auctions: Ascot Vale apartment passes in with no bids taken, but sells later

First-home buyers hesitated to put up their hands at the auction of an Ascot Vale apartment, which passed in after no genuine bids were taken.

Despite the affordable price point and talk of a recent pick-up in property market sentiment, the home attracted less enthusiasm than expected.

The two-bedroom unit at 3/100 Union Road sold after auction at the bottom end of its price guide.

It was one of 173 auctions held in Melbourne over the long weekend.

By evening, Domain Group had recorded a 60.3 per cent clearance rate from 125 reported results.

“There were a few people who’d been to the property on more than one occasion and done their research,” Jellis Craig auctioneer and agent Brad Airs said. “We were expecting a few more people to take part in the auction, to be honest. The property passed in on a vendor bid.”

Mr Airs placed a vendor bid at $420,000, below the oversized apartment’s quoted price guide of $440,000 to $480,000. He refused a $5000 rise from the eventual buyers, instead opting to go into open negotiations.

He sold the home soon after for $440,000, to the parents of an absent first-home buyer.

“The vendors were very realistic in their expectations so we were able to get a deal together today,” Mr Airs said. “I think it’s a solid outcome.”

Sellers with realistic price expectations were having the best luck at present, he said.

“It’s not always the case but at the moment I feel there’s a lot more alignment between buyers and sellers, so deals are coming together,” he said. “Vendors aligning with the market and listening to market feedback are an important feature for getting a property sold.”

Earlier in Hampton, a three-bedroom villa went under the hammer, with a similar reception.

Buxton auctioneer and agent Matthew Gray took just one bid of $800,000 for 1a Brand Street, before passing the home in to a buyer’s advocate.

The home’s quoted price guide was $790,000 to $850,000. Mr Gray sold it to the advocate’s client for $840,000.

He said he had expected more action on auction day. “I thought there would be two or three buyers,” he said. “[Some buyers were] subject to finance, which eliminated a few people from being able to bid.”

The still-tough finance conditions were preventing the market from taking off this winter, even though there was low stock availability and pent-up buyer demand.

“There’s not a whole lot of stock available. It’s a unique sort of time,” Mr Gray said. “We have buyers, not enough stock but the buyers are subject to finance.”

He added the market should improve soon, if it becomes easier to get mortgages from the banks.

“I think the window of it being a buyer’s market is rapidly shutting,” he said. “We’re seeing good outcomes.”

Later in Port Melbourne, a historic “bank house” passed in after a brief auction.

The home at 65 Edwards Avenue was part of Victoria’s first low-cost housing estate, and was in need of some renovation.

The Bank House estate was created by the State Bank of Victoria between the 1920s to 1940s for working class families and includes 322 identical semi-detached homes designed in an English style.

Frank Gordon agent Stephen Yue said it was on a rare, large 322 square metre block of land as well as being a rare style of house.

“Only a quarter of the bank houses are north facing,” he said. “This is a fantastic opportunity given the land size and because it’s three kilometres from the city.

“You can never over capitalise. The highest sale of a bank house is over $3 million.”

During the auction two genuine bids were place by one bidder, taking the price from $1.3 million to $1.36 million.

The bidder made an offer of $1,425,000 after the auction, but was knocked back. The reserve is set at $1.5 million.

“We’ve taken three groups through after auction and issued three contracts after auction,” Mr Yue said. “They’re just running the numbers now.”

Another apartment fared better earlier on Saturday in Northcote, attracting spirited bidding from two buyers and selling $50,000 above reserve.

Jellis Craig agent Hamish Adam said there had been another strong auction in the unit block at 136 High Street a fortnight ago.

“That block’s on fire. It’s the hottest block in Northcote, two huge results,” he said. “It’s boutique and quality.

“If you walk in there’s beautiful timber in the common areas and when the design was done it was done thoughtfully.”

The two-bedroom unit at number 6 sold to owner-occupiers for $750,000. Mr Adam said investors had not been interested in the home.