First-home buyer elbowed out by investor for St Albans house

    Jennifer Pham, like a growing number of savvy young buyers, decided to become an investor first, but that did not mean the path to home ownership would be any easier.

On Saturday, the 27-year-old was trumped at auction for the third time, this time by an investor for an original house at 20 Watford Road, St Albans.

With her partner and uncle by her side, Ms Pham put up a good fight and outgunned four other would-be buyers; both investors and second-home buyers.

20 Watford Road, St Albans Photo: Ray White

But it was not her day. A late entrant blew the remaining competition out of the water with a knock-out bid of $630,000.

Ray White St Albans auctioneer Manny Zennelli managed to coax another bid before the property sold for $632,000 to an investor.

The four-bedroom house on about 544-square metres was declared on the market at $575,000.

Photo: Ray White

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Ms Pham, a bank employee, wanted to buy an investment first because she was still living at home and thought, “why not take the benefits?”

“Everywhere else is a bit expensive now and St Albans is still [relatively] cheap,” said Ms Pham, who had looked at properties every Saturday for two months.

“If you buy an investment property you can borrow more from the bank.”

Nathan Huynh and his family, who bought Watford Road as an investment, lives in Sunshine – like Ms Pham.

He said his own suburb was now too expensive to invest in.

Ray White St Albans director Shaun Marijanovic believed the property could have sold for more if it was not positioned at the end of a T-intersection.

Headlights would be an issue, he said, and buyers could be “afraid a car is going to run in, there is a cultural issue as well”. For many Asian buyers, homes on T-intersections represent bad feng shui.

Watford Road was one of about 270 auctions on Saturday; quieter than usual because many buyers and sellers were away for the Queen’s Birthday holiday weekend.

Mr Marijanovic said auctioning on a day with fewer properties listed meant there was potential for more buyers to attend.

25 Cliff Street, South Yarra Photo: Marshall White

In South Yarra, Marshall White auctioneer Fraser Cahill said the same strategy was used by the vendors at 25 Cliff Street.

Three hopeful buyers made offers for the three-bedroom Edwardian house, which sold for $1.75 million after a pass-in.

All eyes were on the final bidder to enter the race, as he studied the property brochure carefully before making one last bid of $1,725,000.

Mr Cahill believed the investor had a project in mind for the property. 

According to the listing, the house was a “perfect candidate” for a renovation or extension, or as a new home or development site.