Melbourne auctions: Fitzroy North terrace sells $172,000 above its reserve price
He didn’t plan to bid, but a man looking for a home for his elderly mother has walked away with the keys to a Coburg home in a hotly contested auction.
The home at 68 Barrow Street went under the hammer on Saturday with five bidders taking part in the competition for the three-bedroom, aged brick house.
Most were young, but a local builder and one of the property’s neighbours were the last two standing after the home was announced on the market at the top of its quoted price range of $850,000 to $900,000.
The neighbour bought the home for $979,000, $79,000 more than reserve.
It was one of 345 auctions on Saturday, well down on last week because of the Labour Day long weekend. By 6pm, a clearance rate of 69 per cent was recorded from 237 reported results.
Brad Teal agent Jayden Manno said he was caught off guard with the strong Barrow Street auction.
“When you have properties with special interests it can be unpredictable,” he said. “The builder was looking to renovate it into a new family home.
“The neighbour bought it so he could bring his mother closer to him. He kept his cards close to his chest.
“He wasn’t intending on bidding but once the emotion of the auction took hold of him, he wanted to join in the fun.”
Mr Manno said young home buyers were driving the market in the northern suburbs.
“A lot of young families are trying to get into the inner north,” he said. “They’re trying to upgrade out of apartments, and Coburg is a good choice because you can get a bit of land for your money.”
In one of the inner north’s most highly prized suburbs, Fitzroy North, a three-bedroom terrace sold for $172,000 more than reserve in another tight auction.
The double-fronted Victorian at 220 Scotchmer Street had been recently renovated in a modern style, and had a courtyard toward the rear of the shallow block, which Nelson Alexander auctioneer Arch Staver said functioned as the “lungs of the house”.
Bidding opened at the bottom of the quoted price range of $1.45 million to $1.55 million, but three bidders quickly brought the price past the reserve of $1.55 million.
It sold to a woman who lived around the corner for $1,722,000.
Mr Staver said listing a stand-out property on a long weekend was a good tactic to a raise a seller’s chances of selling at auction.
“There’s less competition so it makes good sense for a vendor to really consider it,” he said.
While Mr Staver welcomed big results like this, he said he hoped the property market would cool and that prices should stay at current levels so affordability didn’t become an issue once again.
“That’s where it should remain,” he said. “I think as long as vendors remain realistic with their expectations we’ll continue to have high clearance rates. [Prices] can’t possibly continue to inflate at the rate they have in recent times.”
On the edge of Northcote, a two-bedroom terrace passed in without a bid.
Collings Real Estate director Christian Gravias was perplexed as to why gathered buyers didn’t put their hands up to bid for 50 St Georges Road. He said he was taking offers from two of the would-be bidders.
“Maybe they thought it would go for much more,” he said. “Our reserve was in the range and they might have thought it would go for much more over.”
The home had a quoted price range of $800,000 to $880,000 and its reserve was $869,000.
Mr Gravias has listed it for private sale with the reserve as its asking price.
He said despite the noise from the road, buyers liked the convenience and style the terrace offered.
“Its price point and location in Northcote, you can’t beat it,” he said. “You’ve got the tram right out front and the Merri train station just around the corner.
“The bathroom to me is a big highlight, because of its size and its quirkiness.The high ceilings are a standout too.”
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