Melbourne online auctions: Balwyn North family home fetches $2,421,500 in marathon sale
Two bidders tussled over a renovated home in Balwyn North for more than an hour at a virtual auction on Saturday, sending the price about $200,000 above the reserve.
More than 100 bids were placed on the five-bedroom home at 9 Kawarren Street, which eventually sold for $2,421,500.
It was one of 1172 auctions scheduled in Melbourne on Saturday, although some were postponed due to lockdown.
By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 47.1 per cent from 699 reported results while 368 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
The marathon virtual auction went for 90 minutes, with Fletchers auctioneer Tim Heavyside conducting proceedings from the front room of his home, offering occasional commentary about a neighbour doing some whipper-snipping and his dog barking.
Bids of just $500 took up the final 30 minutes of the auction, with the underbidders twice conceding and congratulating the other party, only to jump back in with more offers.
The home sold for more than $200,000 over the reserve price – it was on the market at $2.2 million – which Mr Heavyside said was an example of how successful online auctions can be.
“Vendors can be hesitant around it because it’s the fear of the unknown, and a couple of years ago it wasn’t general practice, but it is now, and I’m not sure if it’s here to stay, but it’s a prolific way of selling,” he said.
There were only two inspections before Melbourne’s sixth lockdown was announced, which made vendor Nav Krishnan feel a little nervous. The auction was also held on a day when the Andrews Government announced further restrictions, including a lockdown for regional Victoria.
“It was really nerve-racking because of lockdown. We were like, ‘Are we going to auction or not?’,” Mr Krishnan said.
“But this result was super excellent even if we didn’t have a lockdown. One of the factors was there won’t be a lot of new homes on the market, at least, in the near future.”
The location of the house inside the coveted Balwyn High School zone was also a major drawcard.
Elsewhere, there was no shortage of bidders at the online auction of 6 Colonel Street, Clayton, which sold for $1.321 million – $290,000 over reserve – with only virtual inspections.
Fifteen bidders registered to try to secure the ageing three-bedroom weatherboard on 715 square metres of land, while 125 people watched the action online.
“I was literally shocked by how many people came out to watch this auction – it was crazy,” said Michael Renzella, Ray White Clayton principal.
There was a mix of family home buyers, and the rest were investors and developers.
“At one stage, there were $20 bids and a $1 bid as people were literally scraping the barrel,” he said.
“A lovely local family bought the house and plan to build their dream home on it.”
In Hawthorn, a tastefully renovated apartment at 2/146 Power Street sold to first-home buyers for $820,000. The sale price was $100,000 above the reserve, much to the delight of the vendor.
“The vendor was ecstatic when I told her on the phone, I’ve never heard anyone scream so loud,” said selling agent Luke Saville from The Agency.
“With all the announcements that have taken place in the past 48 hours, it probably would have been nerve-racking for her.”
First-home buyers also had a win at 3/11a Williams Road, Prahran, which they purchased for $990,000 – $85,000 above the reserve.
Belle Property Armadale agent James Annett said Melbourne’s ongoing lockdown would make selling online difficult because buyers were not physically inspecting properties.
“Without the opportunity to look at a property, most people are reluctant to buy,” he said.
“With today’s sale, people had seen it before lockdown. So, I don’t know how many we’ll be selling moving forward.”
More than 60 bids were made for 29 Barrani Street in Bentleigh East, recently rezoned to be part of the sought-after McKinnon Secondary College catchment area.
Beck and Small Property agent Elizabeth Lopez said the vendor was initially reluctant to auction the property online but was “over the moon” with the result. The property sold for an undisclosed amount, but Ms Lopez said it was more than $1.6 million.
“It was probably one of the most exciting auctions I’ve been involved in,” she said.
“You’d think you were going to knock it down, and then a bidder would add another one [thousand dollars] or another five [thousand dollars].”
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