Millionaire home buyers just can't wait, as Melbourne mansions sell before auction

Melbourne’s richest house buyers are brimming with as much confidence as they have cash, swooping on $5 milion-plus trophy homes well before auction.

The wealthy who want properties in the blue ribbon belt from Toorak to Malvern and Kew are boldly fighting for the keys – chequebooks drawn – prior to public competition on auction day.

Several luxury Toorak homes listed for auction in February and March have had so much interest from buyers with thick wallets, agents haven’t needed to dust off their hammers.

South Yarra-based agent Paul Castran, of Castran Gilbert, says the fight for premium properties is “brutal” among baby boomers and empty nesters.

No. 10 Vista Grove, which carried price expectations above $6 million, was snatched off the market by empty nesters, just 10 days after it was first advertised, through Castran.

The contemporary four-bedroom property was scheduled for a March 19 auction.

Vista’s buyers sold their own home in just 24 hours, off-market and also through Castran, in Malvern’s posh Haverbrack Avenue.

Haverbrack is considered one of the eastern suburbs’ best streets and tightly held – all five sales in the past two years have been for no less than $5.5 million.

A preferred address of the business elite, it was the home of  late prime minister Sir Robert Menzies, who lived at No.2 in his retirement.

The sale in Haverbrack was so swift, and interest so strong, the owners hadn’t planned on vacating.

“They said if you can get a buyer, we’ll sell it. I inspected it on the Monday and on the Tuesday I sold it,” Castran said.

“I had a contract for a 45-day settlement and the vendor said, ‘oh my goodness, we can’t sell it on that day – we have a dinner party’. So I extended the settlement, but the purchaser would have been happy to move in even before 45 days.

“The depth of the market of these buyers who are transacting in this league is extreme, because they are dealing in cash – they have no mortgage.

“They say to me, ‘I really want something that will give me a thrill’. They want something cutting-edge.”

Late last month, three Toorak homes – 1 Kinglsey Court, 22 Heyington Place and 3 Nola Court – all sold before auction.

Each were pencilled in for public auctions. However, with strong offers on the table in advance, the auctions were moved forward and instead conducted in privacy, among only the serious contenders.

Listing agent Marcus Chiminello, of Marshall White, told Domain he secured a Toorak per square metre record at 1 Kinglsey Court, which fetched in the mid-$5 million range, as did 22 Heyington Place.

A few doors up, a classic mansion at 57 Heyington Place sold prior to auction for $3.45 million, Domain Group data reveals. The listing agent was RT Edgar’s Jeremy Fox.

And in neighbouring Kew, a smart brick family home at 5 Tregarron Avenue achieved over $5 million, via Marshall White’s Antony Woodley, Domain figures show.