Melbourne auction market heats up with second Super Saturday of sales

Homes originally listed during COVID-19 lockdowns in Melbourne last year were sold under the hammer at the weekend, during the second Super Saturday of 2021.

These included the three-bedroom townhouse at 11b Asling Street, Brighton, in Melbourne’s prestigious bayside.

The property, which had been listed last year, was relisted a month ago after not garnering much interest in a private-sale campaign as Melburnians were kept at home during strict lockdowns aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19.

On Saturday, however, it sold under the hammer for $2.22 million — $270,000 above the $1.95 million reserve. 

Hodges Real Estate Bentleigh director Campbell Cooney said the townhouse had been designed and built by architecture firm Ewert Leaf, and had five active bidders fight it out for the keys. 

In the end, a gentleman buyer snapped it up, Mr Cooney said.

“There are a lot of agents [and vendors] with smiles on their faces at the moment,” he said. 

But he warned those thinking they would get huge profits on their homes, that they needed to continue to be realistic.

“When asking prices go up that’s when quite a few will pass in,” he said.

There was no sign of this kind of weakness at the weekend, with Melbourne’s preliminary auction clearance rate sitting at 78.5 per cent on Saturday night. 

This was after 1211 auctions were scheduled and 889 results were reported. There were 46 properties withdrawn from auction that were counted as not being sold as part of the clearance rate.

More than 1000 auctions on a weekend are referred to as a Super Saturday, with Melbourne recording its second in two weeks. 

On February 20, a rush of last-minute auctions after coronavirus-related restrictions were lifted, also saw more than 1000 auctions being held. 

In Kew, in Melbourne’s inner east, another home which had been listed for sale in March last year, sold after being relisted in January.

The three-bedroom home at 98 Edgevale Road sold under the hammer for $1,635,000, above the $1,485,000 reserve.

SOLD - $1,635,000

98 Edgevale Road, Kew VIC 3101

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Nelson Alexander Kew’s Helen O’Grady said the vendors decided to wait to relist until after the worst of COVID-19 and Melbourne’s strict lockdowns, which saw in-person auctions and inspections banned.

“A young couple bought the property and they had been interested in it since it was first listed in March last year,” Ms O’Grady said.

One of the biggest sales at the weekend was also in Melbourne’s east, with a five-bedroom home at 7 Suffolk Road, Surrey Hills, selling under the hammer for $3.43 million, just above the $3.425 million reserve.

SOLD - $3,430,000

7 Suffolk Road, Surrey Hills VIC 3127

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Marshall White Stonnington director John Bongiorno said the buyers were a family looking to upgrade to the area.

“It was a huge day,” Mr Bongiorno said. “The thing that we’ve really been seeing over the past couple of weeks, is that buyers are trying to jump on homes for sale quite quickly and buy prior to auction.

“There’s such a depth and strength to the market at the moment,” he said.

A little farther east, a five-bedroom home that had been owned by the same family for the past 40 years sold under the hammer for $3,003,500 — $303,500 above the reserve.

The original family home at 20 Sylvander Street, Balwyn North, had been torn down by the vendor. A few walls were saved as part of the new home which took inspiration from properties on TV show Grand Designs, Nelson Alexander Kew’s Chris Ewart said.

SOLD - $3,003,500

20 Sylvander Street, Balwyn North VIC 3104

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Many of the people inspecting the home were gaining inspiration for their own renovations, Mr Ewart said.

At the auction, three bidders competed for the home, with a young family with a child the winning bidders.

“They’ll have to grow into the home,” Mr Ewart said.

South-east of the CBD in Ashburton, a four-bedroom home that was part of a deceased estate at 63 Ashburn Grove sold under the hammer for $2.4 million.

Barry Plant Manningham’s Mark Di Giulio said the property value was mainly related to the land.

SOLD - $2,400,000

63 Ashburn Grove, Ashburton VIC 3147

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There were four bidders — two looking to renovate the home and the other two wanting to tear down and rebuild on the 1127-square-metre block.

The winning bidder was one of those looking to tear down the home, with plans to build three separate homes — one for themselves, one for their children and one to sell to cover the costs of their project, he said.

The home sold above the $2,050,000 reserve.

In Balaclava, in Melbourne’s inner south, a very excited family pup named Dash, who also featured in the home’s marketing photos, was even more excited when his former home sold for $1,355,000.

The two-bedroom home at 30 Nightingale Street was snapped up by an investor, who competed against two other bidders.

Buxton St Kilda’s Arthur Apostoleros said the result was surprising given another home in the same street sold last weekend for $1,272,000.

“We haven’t seen investors fight it out for a while, we were just genuinely surprised,” Mr Apostoleros said.

Dash will now be moving with his family to a new and bigger home, he said.