Melbourne auctions: Young couple drops $1.655m on three-bedroom Burnley house
Three couples looking to secure a family home in a quiet pocket of Burnley pushed the price of a double-fronted house to $1.655 million – $155,000 above the reserve – at auction on Saturday.
The pretty, free-standing Edwardian home at 203 Stawell Street, just five kilometres east of Melbourne’s CBD, offered three bedrooms and a more spacious block than many homes nearby.
It was one of 930 auctions scheduled across Melbourne on Saturday.
By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 79.8 per cent from 756 reported results.
Auctioneer Russell Cambridge, a director at Biggin & Scott Richmond, said “the best feature of the home, besides being in Burnley, is the 270 square metres of land”, which is considered generous in a neighbourhood dominated by single-fronted cottages, townhouses and apartments.
The auction opened with a vendor bid of $1.5 million, which was also the reserve price, before three parties battled it out for the keys.
The competing parties raised their hands in $10,000 increments, pushing the price quickly to $1.64 million, before the two remaining bidders then slowed down the pace of the auction with a $5000 bid, then a $1000 bid.
It was a further offer of $4000, which brought the price to $1.655 million, that secured the home for the young couple.
Mr Cambridge said while he was “very happy” with the result he was not surprised by the competitive nature of the bidding or the strong sale price.
“I feel like we’ve seen a rise of 10 per cent in prices over the last four to six weeks in the area. And I’m speaking about houses. Apartments are holding firm,” he said.
He said while investors were scarce, owner-occupiers, including first-home buyers, were driving demand and putting upward pressure on prices.
“It’s definitely owner-occupiers and cheap finance that’s driving it,” he said, adding that low levels of stock were also pushing up prices.
“And if I were to look into my crystal ball to Easter and a bit beyond I can’t see much more stock coming on.
“It’s not dire but it’s only just steady and there are so many buyers keen to get in.”
In Elsternwick, three parties keen to secure their inner-city dream home – a bright, breezy, beautifully renovated Victorian – at 186 Hotham Street, sent the price soaring well above the guide of $1.8 million to $1.98 million to sell for $2.195 million.
The home, which was bought by the vendors in 2017 to “renovate to sell”, went to auction with a reserve of $2.135 million, after the vendors transformed the home into a modern, light-filled show-stopper.
The successful bidders were a Burwood couple who had been looking to move closer to family in the area.
“The vendors do these types of renovations as a second job and so they always intended to renovate this to sell and we are now trying to find them another one so they can do it all again,” said agent Justin Reed from The Agency.
In South Yarra, three first-home buyers keen to take advantage of government incentives for first-home buyers, fought it out for an older-style but updated two-bedroom apartment at 17/57 Darling Street.
Listing agent Mark Konishi from Belle Property South Yarra said he had shown 94 parties through the ground floor apartment during the course of the four-week campaign, with three of those parties actively bidding on Saturday morning.
“Anything sub-$750,000 (the cut-off to receive the first-home stamp duty concession) is attracting a lot of interest,” he said. “And interestingly, a lot of the apartments I am selling at the moment in that price range are investors selling to first-home buyers.”
He originally sold the apartment in Darling Street to the vendor, who initially lived in it, as a first-home buyer, then held it as an investment property.
“That was back in about 2013 and it’s served its purpose and now it’s going to some first-home buyers who are very happy to be getting into the market,” he said.
The successful bidders, a young professional couple, paid $654,000 for the apartment, which had a price guide of $590,000 to $640,000 after outbidding the two other parties.
Mr Konishi said the vendor hadn’t set a concrete reserve but was hoping for something closer to the upper end of the price guide.
“The successful bidders have got a dog and because this has got a bit more space with the courtyard area, it really appealed to them,” he said.
Mr Konishi said first-home buyers and parents “trying to set kids up” with their first property were far outweighing investors when it came to interest in South Yarra’s apartment market.
“Investors are holding off a little bit because of the uncertainty around the rental market and they want to make sure they can get the returns. But they are staying fairly savvy, so if they can get something at the right price, they will,” he said.
In Greensborough in Melbourne’s north-east, a local family outbid two other families to secure a spacious four-bedroom, three-bathroom home at 261 Elder Street for $1.075 million – $75,000 above the $1 million reserve.
Listing agent Walter Ortner from Barry Plant Bundoora said an increasing demand for bigger homes and not enough supply was driving competition and pushing up prices for larger homes in the area.
“We are definitely seeing this phenomenon of people looking for bigger homes as more and more people work from home,” he said.
“All the families bidding today were looking for more space because they are working from home some or all of the time.
“And we just don’t have enough stock to match the demand that is out there.”
Mr Ortner said despite the confidence that has returned to the market on the back of soaring house prices, some sellers were still nervous about more lockdowns impacting their ability to either sell their home once they list it, or to find a new home.
“We have quite a few clients who are still a little bit nervous about putting their house on the market in case there is another lockdown. They’re concerned about selling their house and not being able to find another one or there being another lockdown while their house is on the market,” he said.
“So some of them are telling me they just might put it off for another 12 months. The thing is the market is red-hot and some aren’t reacting quickly enough. I’m telling them now is a great time to sell.”
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