Humble homestead rockets $1 million above reserve and sets record

This Mornington Peninsula home isn’t in blue-ribbon Portsea or Sorrento, but bidders were willing to splash a record price and $1 million over reserve for the keys on Saturday.

A basic sunroom at the front of the homestead in McCrae captures water views and while it’s far from a Portsea clifftop manor, it was enough to spur six wealthy bidders to fight hard and dig very deep into their wallets.

The property at 5-7 Coburn Avenue was sold under the hammer for $2.9 million, against a reserve of $1.9 million, and set a new suburb price record.

The previous highest price paid for a home in McCrae was $2.5 million by private treaty for a grand, renovated house at 10-12 View Point Road, according to results reported to the Domain Group.

Built in 1927, the Coburn Avenue property had been in the Coburn family for generations and Saturday’s auction was the first time it had been offered to the market in 120 years.

The four-bedroom house was a decor time capsule, with sash windows, fireplaces, cornices and leadlight doors, and a plum position 200 metres from the foreshore, with vistas of the bay that cannot be built out.

Hocking Stuart agent and auctioneer Grant McConnell said a Brighton family were the winning bidders.

They plan to live in the home, but Mr McConnell said it’s not known if they will renovate or build their dream home on the 2942 square-metre block.

Mr McConnell took an opening bid of $1.5 million, and from there, the price soared.

He went inside to take instructions from his vendors at $2.25 million and was told it was on the market.

“It was an emotional day for our three vendors, to whom the home had been left,” Mr McConnell said.

“When push came to shove, they probably would have put it on the market at under $1.9 million, but the response just defied expectation.

“They would have even loved $2.1 million.

“It is on three-quarters of an acre and 200m from the best beach on the peninsula – there just isn’t anything like it.”