Your Domain: Young couple's tree-change dream delayed after their stylish home fails to sell at auction

Despite plenty of pre-auction interest, a stunningly renovated home in Melbourne’s Cremorne failed to sell under the hammer last weekend.

For sellers Jess and Ali, it had been a labour of love to transform their two-bedroom house, which before their extensive renovations left much to be desired.

“I think we were insane to buy it, when I look at old photos. It was disgusting. Pink, aqua, yellow all happening in the one room,” Ali told Your Domain ahead of the auction.

Positioned in a great location, listing agent Edward Hobbs from Biggin & Scott Richmond said the property was one of the most popular listings he had on the market this year.

“Cremorne is really dynamic and it’s become a really blue chip suburb. It used to be a hidden gem but the secrets out now,” Mr Hobbs told Your Domain. “It’s got an appeal from a first-home buyer’s perspective, second-home buyers – investors as well.”

“It had good bones though. We had to strip the paint off the bricks and a fair bit of elbow grease. But it’s come up well,” Jess said.

Ali and Jess were hoping the sale of the home would fund their tree change, passing along the keys to somebody who would appreciate the inner-city location more than they currently did.

“We’re selling because we want more space. We’re going down [to] the beach or the country. We just want something similar to what we had growing up,” Ally said.

“Finally get a shed for once – that would be nice,” Jess said with a laugh.

The auction took place in the alleyway outside the home – a testament to how quiet and secluded the home is, but with great access to the nearby hustle and bustle of Richmond.

The auctioneer began by asking for a starting bid of at least $1 million but there was radio silence from the crowd.

One bidder put in a bid for $800,000 – significantly lower than the auctioneer’s expectations. The auctioneer added a vendor’s bid to bump the price up to $1 million, but that’s where the action ended. The property was then formally passed in with the opportunity for buyers to come inside and make an offer.

“A little bit anti-climatic. You never know how things will play out,” Mr Hobbs said after the auction.

“There’s certainly indicators of interest that we track behind the scenes which were quite strong. It’s a little bit surprising that buyers weren’t bidding. We’ve got two or three buyers that we’re going to talk to now post-auction.

For Jess and Ali, there was still a smile at the end of it all. But that dream of owning a shed in the bush or by the beach might have to wait.

“I’d prefer that this was a celebratory champagne, but commiserations,” Ali said with a laugh as family and friends celebrated, regardless of their much wanted sale.

The property remains on the market, with an asking price of $1.125 million.

Your Domain airs at 10am on Saturdays on Nine. Catch up on all episodes on 9Now.