Melbourne auctions: Tiny terrace in Princes Hill sells to an investor for $1m
Buyers are back out at auctions in Melbourne but some are skittish, only just meeting sellers’ expectations or letting properties pass in.
In the small and exclusive pocket of Princes Hill in the inner north, three bidders went toe to toe to secure a two-bedroom terrace on a small 95-square-metre block of land on Saturday.
It was one of 165 auctions scheduled in Melbourne on the day.
By evening, Domain Group had recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 64.8 per cent from 110 reported results.
Auctioneer and listing agent James Pilliner said the buyers were looking to buy 20 Paterson Street for a foothold into the suburb, or a safe space to park their cash.
“Horses for courses, there’s a buyer for everything,” he said. “[Investors] need somewhere to put their money and property’s a bit of a safe haven.”
The auction began toward the bottom of the quoted price range at $960,000.
Bidding was slow going but the price reached the reserve of $995,000 with fewer than a dozen bids and sold to an investor for $1 million soon after.
Mr Pilliner said he had it listed for private sale, but decided to list it for auction after getting low-ball offers.
“We converted it from a private sale, listed at $1,025,000,” he said. “They could have made an offer at [the sale] price and bought it, but the auction system worked.
“It flushed out the bidders and they performed like we thought they would.”
Mr Pilliner said some buyers were looking to snag a bargain in the COVID-19 market, but competition was crowding them out.
“A small percentage of buyers are looking for a bargain but most are realistic about what they can find and what they need to pay, especially in an area like Carlton North which is so tightly held,” he said. “They’re willing to pay it if they need to and the competition helps with that.”
It would still be some time before normal numbers of properties were up for sale, Mr Pilliner said.
“There’s probably 50 per cent of what we’re used to seeing coming back online,” he said.
Earlier in Brunswick, another two-bedroom terrace passed in with no bids after a strong pre-auction marketing campaign.
Nelson Alexander agent Carl Sacco said 12 Thomas Street, listed for sale with a price guide of $880,000 to $950,000, had attracted the attention of young and less experienced buyers.
“There were three registered bidders here but they may have been a bit nervous so we’ll see how we go once we put a price on it,” he said. “Young couples, first home buyers and they’re nervous in this current market.”
Mr Sacco has since listed the home for sale with a price of $890,000, which he felt was good value.
“It’s got two bedrooms, it’s refurbished all the way through, it’s [on] 170 square metres of land right in the heart of Brunswick,” he said. “It’s got some improvement to go but it represents a terrific buying opportunity.”
Later in Rye, another two-bedroom home sold in a hotly contested auction.
The brick home at 33 Mernda Street had 27 bidders register, and the sellers were overjoyed, Ray White’s Prue Jones said.
“It was a very good result, and the home’s been owned by the family for 40 years so it was emotional for them,” she said. “The bidding was spirited.”
The home was listed for sale with a quoted price range of $540,000 to $590,000, and bidding hit the top of the range quickly.
It sold for $631,000 to buyers from Melbourne, who would use it as a holiday home for the time being, Ms Jones said.
“The little cottage is only two streets back from the beach here in Rye,” she said. “People want to be able to walk to get a paper and a coffee and walk to the water in their bathers.”
Ms Jones said COVID-19 had made more Melburnians consider a sea-change.
“This virus has galvanised people,” she said. “It’s going to make people look at each other and say you know what? We’ve been thinking about moving and we’re going to do it.”
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