Victorian auctions: First-home buyer snaps up Geelong family home for $912,500

A local first-home buyer snapped up a renovated Geelong house for $912,500 at auction on Saturday as regional Victorian auctions pushed ahead in person.

Two bidders went head-to-head for the four-bedroom home at 8 Downshire Road, Belmont.

SOLD - $912,500

8 Downshire Road, Belmont VIC 3216

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It was one of 40 auctions scheduled in Victoria on Saturday, of which 31 were in Melbourne.

By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 25 per cent from 28 reported results, while 17 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.

Many sellers had planned for a return to in-person auctions in the Victorian capital by late September, only for the restrictions on real estate to be extended in a bid to quash the tail of the COVID-19 pandemic’s second wave.

But with regional Victorians allowed 10 attendees at auction, plenty of bids were offered for the stylish Geelong house.

Proceedings started at $800,000, below the price guide of $880,000 to $950,000, McGrath Geelong selling agent David Cortous said.

It sold under the hammer for $912,500, which Mr Cortous said was the reserve price.

“The market has been extremely buoyant in Geelong,” he said. “We are selling property to Melbourne people.

“People are buying down here while they’re in lockdown.”

He said Melbourne-based buyers had realised they were unlikely to be working from an office full-time in the future and were drawn to the lifestyle offered by the regional city.

In Melbourne, there were two virtual auctions of properties that had been listed during the strict stage four lockdown, meaning bidders had not visited the homes.

SOLD - $684,500

5/24 Grant Street, Oakleigh VIC 3166

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A two-bedroom Oakleigh villa unit passed in on an offer of $671,500 despite competition from three bidders.

The home at 5/24 Grant Street had been listed with a price guide of $690,000 to $759,000.

And a family home at 142 Kangaroo Road, Hughesdale drew four bidders, pushing the price from an opening offer of $800,000 up to $899,000, where it passed in.

The three-bedroom house had been listed with a price guide of $900,000 to $990,000.

SOLD - $1,040,000

142 Kangaroo Road, Hughesdale VIC 3166

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Ray White Oakleigh selling agent Jonathon Eaves called both auctions and said he expected the homes to sell within the week.

“We had bidders, and that is the number one thing,” he said. “People were still comfortable to bid under the environment, not being able to walk through physically.

“They might be holding back an extra $30,000 to $40,000 because ‘We haven’t walked through it and don’t know what we are walking into’.”

Mr Eaves had filmed virtual walkthrough videos on an iPhone before the lockdown to be able to give to buyers just in case, but hopes the ban on inspections will be lifted soon.

More potential buyers got in touch with him after the auctions, he said, adding there are few homes for sale at the moment – the reason he had encouraged vendors to list.