Melbourne auctions: Owner-occupier forks out $1,006,000 for two-bedroom St Kilda West unit
A two-bedroom art-deco apartment had a big result at auction on Saturday, selling for more than $1 million with dozens of bids flying back and forth on a St Kilda West street.
The unit at 3/75 Park Street had been popular ahead of auction, but Buxton Port Phillip managing director and auctioneer Arthur Apostoleros was still surprised by its strong result.
“I’m not surprised by the level of attention but the end result was certainly not what we expected,” he said following the short but tense auction. “Comparable sales certainly couldn’t indicate this.”
Bidding opened at the top of the $800,000 to $850,000 quoted price range, which was also the reserve price.
Though five bidders took a tilt at the home, two dominated the second half of the auction, trading rapid-fire bids until the price cracked $1 million.
The unit sold for $1,006,000, $156,000 more than its reserve.
The winning bidder and the underbidder were both owner-occupiers and had taken the price too high for investors to see value, Mr Apostoleros said.
“[Investors weren’t interested] at this level. When you work out rental return compared to the end result it’s probably not [ideal], but we’ve had quite a few investors in that crowd looking to buy it today,” he said.
Mr Apostoleros said the sale was an indication of how well the property market had bounced back from a weak start to the year.
“This just shows the market strength at the moment; just the lack of supply is really what it is, absolutely,” he said. “There’s barely been an art deco in St Kilda West this year, there might have been two or three.”
He said there had “probably been about 10 two-bedroom apartments on the market in St Kilda West this year, but none as good as this”.
It was one of 1,129 auctions held in Melbourne on Saturday.
By evening, Domain Group had recorded a 72.8 per cent clearance rate from 814 reported results.
Earlier in South Yarra, another two-bedroom unit saw bidding open at the top of its price range of $650,000 to $700,000, beating the reserve on the first bid.
The park-facing apartment at 18/38A Kensington Road drew five bidders, with a young owner occupier who had previously missed out on another apartment in the block winning the keys, Hocking Stuart South Yarra director and auctioneer Nick Gatacre said.
“They loved that being on the ground floor with the courtyard [in the unit they missed out on] but they prefer this apartment,” he said. “Whilst it’s got a slightly smaller floor plan, they prefer the elevation because you’re looking into the park and you get more natural light.”
After a quick auction with five bidders, the property sold for $820,000.
Mr Gatacre said buyers were keen to live in South Yarra for its liveability and access to the city, parks and lifestyle locations.
“Without a doubt,” he said. “It’s one of the most searched and looked-for property places and suburbs in the state.”
The Domain Liveable Melbourne study by Deloitte Access Economics and Tract Consultants recently crowned South Yarra the most liveable suburb in the city, scoring well in a range of factors including cafe culture, retail options, tree cover and walkability.
The unit was a deceased estate and only ever had one resident since it was built in the 1960s, Mr Gatacre said. The deceased resident had initially been renting, but went on to buy the home from her landlord.
Later in Mont Albert, an unliveable two-bedroom villa unit attracted a huge crowd and soared past its reserve by nearly $200,000.
The Property Bureau director Kristy Caskey said the auction for 2/3 Rowland Street was particularly busy.
“I couldn’t count the number of bidders amongst the 200 strong crowd, I’d take a guess of 15,” she said. “Bidders were a mix of investors, first-home buying couples and downsizers.”
Ms Caskey said she was surprised by the state of the home.
“Internally the property is literally unliveable – a full renovation is required,” she said. “One of the worst presented properties I’ve encountered in my 10 years as a buyer’s advocate.”
The unit had a price guide of $520,000 to $560,000, updated from an initial range of $490,000 to $530,000.
The unit last sold in 2004 for $305,000.
Fletchers Canterbury auctioneer and agent David Taylor said he set the quote with the home’s need for renovation in mind.
“It had created a lot of interest because it needed a full renovation and was in a reasonable price range,” he added.
It sold for $725,500. Mr Taylor did not disclose the reserve, but it was announced on the market at $530,000. The sale price would have been at least $195,500 more than the reserve.
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