Your Domain: A jam-packed auction in Melbourne's east soars $347,000 above reserve

An accelerated sales campaign, forced by a sudden chronic illness diagnosis, all paid off for one deserving Melbourne vendor at a lightning-paced auction last week.

With dreams of travelling after fighting her illness, vendor and mother of three Shelley had made peace with leaving her Wantirna home. But despite the strong result, saying goodbye wasn’t without a few tears.

“I had already decided earlier in the year that I was going to downsize anyway because the children are old enough,” she told Your Domain.

“But in June this year I got told that I had chronic renal disease and that I would need a kidney transplant eventually. So that made things move a bit faster and I needed to be closer to the dialysis. Then all of the sudden I just went alright, put it on the market.

“I am moving to a two bedroom unit in Glen Wavely. [Then] wen things calm down – once I’m into dialysis – I’m going to travel.”

The four bedroom house located in the Castlefield Ridge Estate, a tightly held part of Wantirna located 24km east of Melbourne’s CBD.

Hopes were high from the start, and Shelley’s positive outlook for the future matched those who turned up to the auction, who were all ready to bid big.

“Lots of neighbours, lots of buyers – the mixture for a good auction,” said selling agent Chris Hodge from Harcourts Wantirna

Rain moved the auction into the home’s kitchen and living room, which could barely hold the huge turn out. There were at least four agents on the ground trying to manage the large crowd full of bidders.

Bidding begun at $900,000, moving quickly onto the market when the home hit $1.07 million. A generous bid of $100,000 came through surprisingly late in the auction, fast tracking the price to $1.2 million.

“I’m in shock. I thought maybe $1.2 [million] – that was about what I was going for,” said Shelley as the bidding continued past $1.4 million. It was a final bid at $1,417,000 sealed the deal.

“That was crazy. I wasn’t expecting that. That was pretty good. I’m glad it’s all over too,” Shelley said.

“It shot well, well, well above the reserve price, well above what the owner was expecting, well above what we were expecting,” Mr Hodge said.

An emotional Shelley met the new owners of the home, who had been searching in the area with no luck until now.

“It’s hard to believe, because I had been searching in this area for many months,” the  happy buyer said.

They had just missed out on a house a few streets away, also in Wantirna.

“But this one is better than that one,” the she said. “I think our dream’s come true.”

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