Dannii Minogue’s Hawthorn East home sells post-auction for $2.56 million
Australian pop princess Dannii Minogue’s Hawthorn East pad sold in post-auction negotiations on Saturday for $2.56 million after drawing only one bid.
The star’s former home at 466 Tooronga Road attracted a large crowd, but it didn’t translate into buyer interest, with the vendor eventually accepting a discount to the price guide.
Jellis Craig Hawthorn director Campbell Ward said buyers weren’t influenced by the star power.
“More so the crowd here today was a result of [Dannii’s fame] but to be frank with you, no. There were genuine reasons as to why they were interested in the house,” he said.
The four-bedroom home was listed with a single price guide of $2.6 million. Auctioneer Peter Batrouney, also of Jellis Craig, placed a vendor bid of $2.5 million, and the sole bidder upped it to $2,525,000. It passed in with no further bids but sold after to the party who made the only bid.
He said buyers were often still shy, despite talk of a bottoming market.
“The market, as you know, is a bit fickle now and again even though it’s on the move again. But we got a genuine bid which is the main thing,” Mr Batrouney said. “We were hopeful of another bidder bidding but that didn’t transpire.”
According to Mr Batrouney, Dannii had enjoyed living in the area, but was going to live elsewhere for the time being.
“It fascinates me this famous business. I mean she’s a person like anybody else. She’s brought up her son here, walked her son to school, enjoyed friendships with neighbours, she’s not a recluse in any way,” he said. “It’s a ‘famous’ tag that makes her be private. But she’s certainly very much a community-minded person.”
The singer, known for pop hits This is it and All I wanna do, moved into the residence when she was dating English model Kris Smith but the couple split in 2012.
She made some cosmetic changes to the home such as painting and wallpaper in some rooms.
It was one of 572 auctions held in Melbourne on Saturday.
By evening, Domain Group had recorded a 69.2 per cent clearance rate from 431 reported results.
Earlier in Fitzroy, a three-bedroom unit in a converted warehouse that used to house the MacRoberton’s Chocolate Factory sold to a couple of investors, who had a family connection to the building.
Apartment 40 at 183 Kerr Street had a large balcony with city views, and high ceilings in the bedrooms on its lower floor.
The top-floor units in the conversion were tightly held, with Jellis Craig auctioneer Simon Shrimpton saying only two units had come up for sale in the past six years.
Three buyers contested the auction, and bidding opened at $1.15 million. The quoted price guide was $1.2 million to $1.25 million.
It sold for $1.26 million to investors Rosemary and Doug, who didn’t want their last name published.
The pair beat two-owner occupiers. Their son-in-law, who declined to be named, bid on their behalf and said they felt comfortable making an investment because he believed the market was turning.
“It looks like the property market is going to turn and the lowering interest rates, there’s going to be an increased interest in property,” he said.
“This is the best time to buy,” Rosemary added. “And it’s a good property,” Doug concluded.
Doug, 80, said his mother had once worked in the office of the factory, back in its heyday.
Selling agent Mr Shrimpton said the market for unique properties was strong.
“I appreciate there’s a lot of negative talk about the marketplace but the demand for property like this has been unprecedented for the year,” he said. “We have noticed that in the last few weeks we’ve had a lot more multiple bidder situations at our auctions.”
Meanwhile in Prahran, another three-bedroom unit sold to owner-occupiers after a strong auction.
McGrath’s Jesse Jones said 48/30 Porter Street attracted plenty of interest for its high ceilings and large, arched windows.
Bidding started at $775,000, and it was on the market at $880,000. It sold after a back-and-forth for $921,000.
Mr Jones said the buyer beat two investors.
“I’m starting to see a bit more investors. They’re starting to come back in with the potential changes where the lending cap could be reduced,” he said. “It’s a property that rents well and it was convenient that the vendors decided to put it on the market with a lease in place.
“Due to the property not having a lot of turnover and the quality of the building, there was interest from investors and there were also some long-term downsizers who were going to move into it down the track.”
In Collingwood, a former pub traded in post-auction negotiations.
The Carters Arms pub, now better known as 31 Gold Street, was transformed into a three-bedroom home with an off-street car park and a terrace.
It was recently renovated by Workshop Architecture, something Nelson Alexander agent Alexander Hill said both bidders appreciated.
The auction opened at $2 million, but passed in after a short-back-and-forth. “We had good competitive bidding and ended up passing it in to one of the parties but it was still a very strong result which was good,” Mr Hill said.
It sold to a local family of five for $2.12 million. Mr Hill said buyers are becoming more active.
“We’re seeing a bit more confidence in the market from buyers,” he said. “It’s the past month we’ve been seeing that which is a big advantage to the vendors on the market.”
A large two-bedroom unit in a five-apartment block in South Yarra achieved a strong sale price, beating its reserve by $70,000.
Two farming families from country Victoria were the strongest contenders for 4/27 Bromby Street. Jellis Craig’s Nathan Waterson said they were looking for a crash pad in the city.
“They were one of the groups we pinpointed,” he said. “The other two were both investors.”
After knocking out the two investors, the farmers went head-to-head, bringing the value to $950,000.
Mr Waterson said the high price was because of the scarcity of that type of apartment.
“[The buyer] said as she was signing the contract nothing comes up in small blocks in that location.”
He agreed the market was beginning to show signs of new life.
“People are starting to think the market is at the bottom of the cycle,” Mr Waterson said. “In the last month we had four separate auctions that had four or more bidders.
“The market is more positive than it has been in recent months.”
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