Melbourne auctions: Bidders for Brighton East house, undeterred by online switch, pay $560,000 above reserve
Melbourne home buyers, now accustomed to virtual auctions, were undeterred by this week’s ban on in-person sales, with bidders fighting it out for a spacious bayside house ideal for lockdown life, and clearance rates reaching more than 70 percent despite the ban.
The five-bedroom Brighton East abode sold for $3.06 million – some $560,000 above the reserve – at online auction, with bidders even more determined to stretch themselves after a sudden return to homeschooling.
Before Thursday’s announcement that Victoria would enter a seven-day lockdown from midnight, Melbourne real estate agents were preparing for their second-biggest auction weekend of the year, with a massive 1269 properties scheduled to go under the hammer.
Some were rushed forward to Thursday evening, others were postponed for two weeks, and many agents and vendors kept to their Saturday auction plans and switched to an online format.
By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 71.4 per cent from 878 reported results. 207 auctions were withdrawn, a slightly higher number than normal, due to the public auction ban. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
Although the clearance rate was slightly lower than last weekend’s preliminary result of 74 per cent, it remained high, showing the market is now taking online auctions in its stride.
Marshall White Brighton agent Barb Gregory was among dozens of agents who decided to go ahead with an online auction on Saturday, knowing she had at least six parties interested in purchasing the spacious, five-bedroom, three-bathroom home in Brighton East.
The free-standing Californian bungalow at 9 Stone Street, with a reserve of $2.5 million, is set on 760 square metres, with multiple living spaces and enough room to add a swimming pool.
Bidding for the sprawling, two-storey property, sold by a family who had raised four boys in the home, opened with a vendor bid of $2.35 million.
More than 30 people joined the online auction and some fast-paced bidding, initially by three parties, saw the price quickly soar past the reserve.
A further three bidders then joined in, pushing the final selling price to $3.06 million – a massive $560,000 above the reserve.
Ms Gregory said she believed the state’s current lockdown contributed to the auction “really flying like it did”.
“The feedback I had from the buyers who participated in the auction was that this latest lockdown and a return to homeschooling again had pushed them even more to buy the property,” she said.
“It was a reminder of the need for a more spacious home with zoned living areas and I think that really pushed some buyers to bid beyond what they normally would have paid.”
In nearby St Kilda, three first-home buyers battled it out online for the keys to a two-bedroom apartment at 3/78 Barkly Street.
Bidding for the apartment, listed by investors with a price guide of $500,000 to $525,000, opened right on $500,000.
Bidding initially went up in $10,000 increments, before slowing to $5000 bids, then in the final stages to $2000 and $1000 bids.
A final bid of $556,000 by a young first-home buyer, bidding at her first-ever auction, secured her the elevated apartment in the heart of St Kilda.
Listing agent Besim Kanacevic from Belle Property South Melbourne said he decided to proceed with the auction online after consulting the interested buyers.
“I called all three interested parties on Thursday and asked them if they were comfortable taking part in the auction on Zoom and they all said yes,” he said.
“So my advice to the vendors was that if you have the interest there and the technology there it makes sense to simply transition to online.
“It turned out to be the right decision and everyone who we anticipated would be there, was there and everyone is happy with the result.”
Ray White Victoria and Tasmania chief executive Stephen Dullens said the group expected to call just over 100 online auctions around the state on Saturday.
“The volume of auctions was down a little bit because a whole lot were brought forward and called on Thursday night and we had some sales wrapped up on Thursday ahead of the seven-day lockdown,” he said.
At about 3pm, with several more auctions still to be called, Mr Dullens said he expected the group’s preliminary clearance rate to be “well into the 80 per cents”.
“So far, we’ve seen some really strong results and the move to online hasn’t deterred buyers at all. We’re seeing up to seven bidders at some of our online auctions,” he said.
“I think the main thing we’re seeing in Melbourne is that the market this week has acted very similarly to other weeks, except that it’s online.”
In Armadale, a large two-bedroom art deco apartment at 2/6 Denbigh Road, with a price guide of $1 million to $1.1 million, attracted competitive bidding from five interested parties via Zoom.
The auction got underway with an opening bid of $1.1 million, which quickly increased in $10,000 increments until it reached $1.2 million.
At that point, auctioneer Gerald Delaney from Kay & Burton South Yarra checked in with listing agent Nicole Gleeson to confirm the much sought-after ground-floor apartment with a private courtyard and car park, was in fact on the market.
“We’re on the market for an unreserved sale,” came the reply.
From there, the bidding increased in $5000 increments, all the way to $1.3 million, before slowing to $1000, $3000 and $4000 bids, up to $1.365 million.
But it didn’t end there, with two final bidders raising their hands with $5000 offers, until it was finally sold under the virtual hammer for $1.385 million.
Meanwhile, in outer-eastern Bayswater, in Melbourne’s outer east and on the doorstep of the Dandenong Ranges, three bidders eager to make a stylishly renovated two-bedroom brick villa their own, joined the online auction for 6/99 Scoresby Road.
Bidding for the home, with a price guide of $480,000 to $528,000, got under way well below the price guide, with an opening offer of $450,000.
But the fast-paced auction saw three active bidders quickly push the final selling price to $600,000 – $72,000 above the reserve.
Public records show the property last sold in 2009 for $240,000.
Listing agent Ben Thomas from Ray White Ferntree Gully said the new owners were a young family from Burwood East and first-home buyers.
While he had sold four properties via online auctions on Saturday and another two prior, the Ferntree Gully office had hosted more than 20 online auctions throughout the day.
“We had a couple of vendors who wanted to sell before the lockdown,” he said.
“But we’ve had a really big day on the back of a record month, for May,” he said. “We’ve sold more than 80 properties for the month out here.”
Mr Thomas said Melbourne home buyers were increasingly attracted to the area, since Melbourne’s extended lockdowns last year, because you can buy more space than in many other areas of the city.
“People are still finding very good value out here compared to even some of the other nearby municipalities, such as Monash and Whitehorse,” he said. “And that’s what’s drawing people out here.”
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