Canterbury house shatters reserve by $1.35 million at auction

107 Mont Albert Road, Canterbury

Sold $4 million Agent Jellis Craig Price range High $2 millions

A buyer has forked out $4 million for a 1930s knockdown mansion without heritage overlay.

The empty high-end rental in Canterbury shattered reserve on Saturday by $1.35 million, and will make way for a dream home.

Price expectations for the 1930s home on a coveted Golden Mile corner block were in the high $2 million range and it was on the market at $2.65 million.

The four-bedroom house, with a pool and on 883 square metres, was last traded 11 years ago for just over $1.1 million, Jellis Craig auctioneer Bruce Severns said.

Mr Severns started with a vendor bid of $2.5 million and four would-be buyers were quick to throw their hands up, putting the home on the market with just a bid from each.

At $3 million, Mr Severns said the property had “well and truly” passed reserve, and that sparked aggressive bidding.

The new owner trumped his main competition with a final $40,000 whack, securing the keys for $4 million. It’s understood he will demolish and rebuild.

Mr Severn said there were few homes along highly sought Mont Albert Road without heritage overlay, which increased the property’s appeal with the local and international market.

Scarcity of high-end listings, down as much as 30 per cent on previous years, was fuelling competition, he said.

Most prospective buyers had indicated they would rebuild if they won the keys, Mr Severns said. Emily Power 

116 Farrell Street, Port Melbourne

Sold $1.01 million Agent Woodards Price range $800,000-$850,000

A neighbour of a plain Port Melbourne property has paid more than $1 million and a suburb record sum to secure it from under nose of developers. 

The anonymous resident of Farrell Street was the winning bidder at the Saturday auction of No.116, an ugly duckling brick house, which last traded 50 years ago.

The hammer fell at $1.01 million after a competition between two contenders.

The corner property was not much to look at, but the winning bidder – using a buyer’s advocate – was willing to pay a pretty penny, setting a suburb square-metre record of $7163.

The previous postcode square-metre benchmark of $6700 was set with the land-only sale a fortnight ago of 186 Dow Street; a rare vacant block that was on the market for the first time in 112 years.

Farrell Street’s auctioneer Anthony Smith, of Woodards, said the buyer wanted to prevent a developer from knocking it down and building townhouses.

The inside had been freshened up and it had scope for first-homebuyers, investors and renovators, at an entry-level price for the blue-ribbon suburb, Mr Smith said.

An opening bid of $950,000 – from a buyer’s advocate in a suit, who looked like he meant business – put the two-bedroom property immediately on the market.

Another bidder threw his hand up but the suit had deeper pockets, and needed just four bids to follow Mr Smith inside and sign the contract. Emily Power 

78 Francis Street, Ascot Vale

Sold $1,135,000 Agent Brad Teal Price range $850,000-$920,000

Ascot Vale appears to be a pocket people never want to leave; the buyer and vendor are reshuffling from one home to another within the suburb. Before auctioneer Brad Airs even finished asking for an opening bid for this three-bedroom Edwardian, a young woman standing with her family called out $850,000. She said she was out after a couple offered $10,000 more, but an older woman standing next to her took over the bidding until the last minute. The property was declared on the market at $975,000 – with three parties in the race – and sold to the upsizing couple for $1,135,000. Christina Zhou

15 Howitt Street, Glen Iris

Sold $3.01 million Agent Kay & Burton Price range $2.6 million+

Auctioneer Scott Patterson dubbed this 1920s house a “walk in and enjoy” proposition and it’s easy to see why. Behind the classic California bungalow facade lies a smart extension providing indoor and outdoor entertainment spaces. The neighbours dominated the 80-strong crowd but four eager bidders were there, too. A $2.5 million vendor bid was needed to rev things up, although two women soon locked horns, pushing the price to $2.85 million. A man wearing jeans and runners then stepped into the ring. But it was the fourth bidder – a baby-boomer couple looking to downsize – who scooped up the keys for $3,010,000. The four-bedroom house was put on the market at $3,005,000. Chris Tolhurst

17 Goodman Street, Brunswick

Sold $916,000 Agent Nelson Alexander Price range $680,000-$740,000

There were no cars to interrupt the flow of this well-attended auction at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac near Brunswick’s Sydney Road shops. As such, the property reached its reserve of $740,000 after just five bids. A half dozen would-be buyers kept competing from there. Two new bidders joined the auction when the value surpassed $860,000. Before a crowd of about 60, auctioneer Mark Verrocchi sold the two-bedroom terrace to a couple for $916,000. Marc Pallisco 

​23 Howitt Street, Northcote

Sold $1.4 million Agent Collins Simms Price range $1.3 million+

This three-bedroom double-fronted house has, as advertised, a flexible layout.  The California bungalow also has timber floors and charm. Auctioneer Antony Woodley accepted an opening bid of $1.1 million and, in just a handful of bids, the property soon rocketed to $1.38 million. After trying to elicit more bids from the four who had already made them, Mr Woodley passed the property in. However, the crowd remained, and Mr Woodley returned and resubmitted the property. Two new bidders pushed the price to $1.4 million and it sold. Jayne D’Arcy 

14 Oakbank Street, Newport

Sold $896,000 Agent RT Edgar Price range $770,000+

Auctioneer Rashard Risilia launched the auction of this two-bedroom Victorian with a vendor bid of $770,000. The Victorian looks good, and is super close to the waters of Williamstown but, as Mr Risilia admitted in his spiel, “needs a bit of love”. Two people – a man and a woman – were willing to give it a shot, and very quickly a duel was on. While initial trump bids of $30,000 from both parties didn’t scare their opponent, heading down into $1000 rises did the trick for the woman who offered $896,000 to win. Mr Risilia had just announced it was on the market. Jayne D’Arcy