Melbourne auctions: One-bedroom East Melbourne dump soars $292,000 over reserve
A derelict one-bedroom apartment in East Melbourne with knockout views over the city smashed its reserve by $292,000 at a hot auction on Saturday.
Five bidders unafraid of a major renovation fought it out for the deceased estate in front of a crowd of 180 who braved the chilly morning.
Despite its ageing kitchen and bathroom, the home’s top position on a quiet street steps from the MCG and city centre sparked a bidding war that sent its price soaring to $942,000, well above its price guide of $630,000 to $690,000.
It was one of 319 auctions scheduled in Melbourne on Saturday. By 6pm, Domain had recorded a clearance rate of 69.3 per cent from 207 reported results.
Agents across the city welcomed a pick-up in buyer activity in the wake of two successive interest rate cuts, the May federal election and the bank regulator’s move to allow buyers to borrow more, but some warned of a continued caution about paying too much.
Bidding for the East Melbourne unit at 10/9-15 Palmer Street kicked off at $650,000, the reserve price set that morning by the State Trustees.
A spate of quick $10,000 bids continued until a third party entered the fray at $830,000.
Although the stride shortened, more parties jumped in and made a series of $1000 offers. It narrowed to a two-person race before the hammer fell at $942,000.
“I am just regarding it like a forever home,” the winning bidder, who declined to give his name, told Domain.
“I am really excited. I like the period features, the view, the aspect.”
Auctioneer and selling agent Andrew Crotty, of Biggin & Scott, said the bidders were mostly owner-occupiers looking for a city pad, and put the strong result down to market forces.
“If they paid more than they need to today, it is a good investment in their future,” he said.
“The market could have changed a bit in the last month.”
Earlier, in Armadale, a two-bedroom cottage fetched $165,000 more than its reserve after three owner-occupiers vied for the property.
The Edwardian villa at 15 Ashleigh Road came with a heritage overlay, fresh paint and scope to upgrade the back of the house with a more modern extension.
Bidding began at $1 million, below the quoted price guide of $1,150,000 to $1,250,000.
It was a slow start, with two vendor bids, before a second party jumped in and pushed the price to $1,220,000.
A third party joined the action, ultimately winning the day with an offer of $1,315,000.
“It was a very conservative reserve,” selling agent Shawn White of Little Real Estate Victoria said, adding that the vendor was “rapt”.
“There are not a lot of properties on the market at the moment so that may have contributed to the response to it.”
In Box Hill North, a traditional four-bedroom brick house on a 575 square metre block drew five bidders.
The property at 14 Woodhouse Grove sold for $1,090,000, above a reserve set in the mid-$900,000s range, Ray White Forest Hill’s Steven Yuen said.
“We have just started to see – in the last three or four weeks – a lot more buyer action, particularly at auction,” Mr Yuen said.
“After the election and interest rate drops, [there is] a lot more competition.”
Further afield, a two-bedroom villa unit in Dandenong fetched $283,800 after cautious bidding.
Four parties competed for the freshly painted single-level home at 4/97 McCrae Street, listed with a guide of $260,000 to $286,000.
But the buyers soon broke the bidding down to $1000 offers, then $500, followed by modest $50 and $100 increases, selling agent Geraint Gardner of OBrien Real Estate Wantirna said.
“Buyers are still a little bit cautious on how much to pay,” Mr Gardner said.
But he also hailed a recent pick-up in the market, saying: “Once the election got out of the way and now that banks have freed up some cash our open [for inspection] numbers have improved.”
In the northern suburbs, a five-bedroom family home in Dallas was snapped up for $455,000.
Six bidders pushed the price for 29 Drouin Street $105,000 above its reserve, selling agent Adam Jurdi of Raine & Horne Roxburgh Park said.
“That was a ridiculous result,” Mr Jurdi said.
The buyers, a mature couple, are downsizing and plan to renovate the property.
Another hot auction was held in leafy Malvern East, where a four-bedroom California bungalow sold to an owner-occupier for $1,925,000 after being on the market from $1.7 million.
“It had five bidders and obliterated the reserve,” Ray White Carnegie’s Tom Grieve said of 11 Sycamore Street.
“There is [almost] nothing else for sale in Malvern East at the moment.”
Since the interest rate cuts and slight loosening of lending criteria, buyer interest in listings and competition at auction have jumped, he said.
“It feels like 2017 again. The prices are not quite what they were but the activity is every bit where it was,” he said.
An owner-occupier also snapped up the renovated one-bedroom unit at 3/48 Tennyson Street, Elwood, beating two other owner-occupiers.
The art deco pad sold for $565,000, Marshall White One’s Bradley Steinbach said, after being listed with a price guide of $480,000 to $520,000.
“We were the only auction in Elwood at any price point today,” he said. “There is a significant amount of demand and not quite enough supply.”
In Maidstone, a three-bedroom house on a large 860 square metre block sold for $842,000 despite an easement running through the property.
Two owner-occupiers and two investors competed for 5 Coleman Court, Biggin & Scott Maribyrnong’s Quentin Hinrichs said.
“I don’t think I have had an investor bid at an auction for seven months,” he said, noting a lift in market sentiment.
“It is a combination of prices having dropped and interest rates having dropped and the banks are lending again.”
Even so, Nelson Alexander’s Steven Shaw noted a two-speed market emerging.
His listing at 210 Clauscen Street Fitzroy North smashed its reserve by $205,000 to sell for $1,555,000.
A young couple recently returned from living overseas beat out three other bidders for the home in a fast-past auction, he said.
But at a more affordable price point and further from the CBD, a Pascoe Vale South listing passed in and went into negotiations after two parties were unable to organise finance in time, he said.
“Some of the buyers coming through Clauscen Street, they are getting conscious they are going to miss out. They are getting a bit anxious to get in and buy something,” he said.
“[Some] first-home buyers are missing out because they can’t get finance approved.”
Elsewhere, a three-bedroom Coburg house with modernised interiors sold for $980,000.
A family beat out a young professional underbidder and an investor for the keys to 41 Lascelles Street, Jellis Craig Kensington’s John Morello said.
“It was a very confident auction from the outset,” he said. “The opening bidder ended up buying.”
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