Hawthorn resident's Scotch Hill home of 85 years passes in at auction

John Keith has spent 85 years in his family home in Hawthorn and he’s seen a lot of change in the leafy suburb.

The street was once filled with rows of houses just like his but has given way to progress as the 1930s homes have been knocked down and replaced with more modern structures.

“Those were the days when we knew everyone in the street,” Mr Keith said of his earliest memories of 76 Illawarra Road, a home he moved into aged two.

“Our house was one of the last to be built in that street but we knew all the neighbours and they met in each other’s houses and the kids played together.”

Mr Keith needn’t have worried about saying goodbye to his old family home just yet. On Saturday the property passed in at auction.

Auctioneer Anton Zhouk placed a vendor bid of $2.1 million to start the auction, and after competing against one buyer with vendor bids, the house passed in at $2.25 million.

That bidder was looking to send his kids to Scotch College.

“We’ve got someone interested, he wants to buy purely because of schools,” Mr Zhouk said. “I believe he wants to rebuild a brand new home.”

After brief negotiations, Mr Zhouk decided to list the home for private sale, with an asking price of $2,495,000.

The three-bedroom property’s cracked walls and peeling paint showed its age, and Mr Keith said he was prepared for the eventuality that the buyer would tear down the house and build something that resembled the other modern homes in the street.

“I do look at the old house and think of how proud my mother and father would have been to move into it,” he said. “[But] I’m quite reconciled. It’s obviously of its age. It’ll be up to the new owner.

“If they build something new, it’ll be nice for them to have.”

Now 87, Mr Keith has recently moved for the first time since arriving at the home with his parents as a toddler. While he’s sad to have left the property, he’s excited for the next chapter in his life.

“All these memories come into the fore but you have to be realistic about these things. It was getting too big for me and I haven’t been using it to its potential.

“I’m beginning to get used to [my new home] but nothing’s in the right place.

“I just hope I haven’t left it too late. If I die next year, I’ll regret it for ever!” he said, laughing.

By evening, Domain Group had recorded a 52.7 per cent clearance rate from 617 reported results.

Down the road in Berkeley Street, a sprawling four-bedroom mansion went to auction to a lacklustre response from bidders.

The two-lot complex at 64-66 Berkeley Street, Hawthorn, had a price guide of $8.7 million to $9.5 million and passed in on a vendor bid of $8.3 million, with no buyers putting their hands up.

A 10-car garage, Calacatta marble kitchen and a media room dominated the lower two levels of the home, which was well suited for entertaining.

Several buyers approached Marshall White agents following the auction to enquire.

Agent Nikki Van Guilick told Domain the vendor opted for a public auction to attract interest from more reclusive buyers.

“Auctions still make people make decisions and we still have buyers to negotiate with,” she said.

Earlier in Hawthorn East, an art deco apartment sold for at least $42,000 more than the reserve price.

The ground-floor unit at 2/1 Linton Court had a price range of $650,000 to $700,000 and saw two buyers vie for the keys, despite the baking sun.

“It was fantastic. Apart from being very hot in a suit, the competition was quite hot as well,” Noel Jones agent William van den Dungen said.

Bidding opened at $620,000. Buyers pitched in $10,000 at a time until it was announced on the market at $700,000. It sold to an elderly downsizer for $742,000.

“That’s when you get a fair price, when two people are neck-and-neck and both really want it,” Mr van den Dungen said. “Hopefully it’s a sign of good things to come.”

Not long after the hammer fell, another hopeful buyer arrived after missing out on another apartment down the road.

Mr van den Dungen said the Hawthorn area’s older, more classic apartments had hard-to-find features and were very popular with buyers.

“It does have a lock-up garage, it’s got soaring high ceilings. Those are things you can’t renovate in and they’re remnants of a bygone era.”

In Clyde North a new home was auctioned off with no reserve to raise money for football great Neale Daniher’s FightMND, a charity he started after his diagnosis with Motor Neurone Disease in 2013. All the proceeds of the sale went to the charity.

The four-bedroom home at 106 Newgrange Boulevard was built with donated materials, labour and land.

“The bidding started at $560,000. It was quite low but it was a bit of a fight like any auction to get the buyers up. When someone bid people cheered and clapped for them,” Harcourts’ Brad Ryan said.

“I would have loved $100,000 more for FightMND. But at the end of the day, $700,000 is great.

“To see Neale’s face at the end of the auction made it all worth it.”

Mr Daniher was thrilled with the sale. “What a fantastic day and a great result for FightMND.  It would not have been possible without Henley Properties, Brown Property Group and the volunteer tradies and suppliers for donating so generously. Knowing that more funds are heading our way for vital research is simply marvellous!”

Buyer Roger Leopold also received a donated furniture package and Toyota Corolla with the purchase.