First home buyers secure keys to $1,025,000 inner-north Edwardian
A first home-buying couple beat five other parties to secure the keys to a single-fronted Edwardian home in Melbourne’s inner north, paying $1,025,000– a figure $105,000 above the reserve – at auction on Saturday.
The two-bedroom house at 29 Audley Street, Coburg was listed with a price guide of $850,000 to $890,000 and had a reserve of $920,000.
There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.
Lead agent and auctioneer Raphael Calik-Houston, from Ray White Coburg, said the auction was a “great day and a great result”.
“We had a large crowd and a gelato truck on-site,” he said.
The property was one of 597 scheduled to go to auction in Melbourne last week in the lead-up to a quiet quasi-long weekend due to the Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup holiday.
By Saturday evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 67.7 per cent from 412 reported results throughout the week, while 51 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
The bidding for 29 Audley Street began with a vendor bid of $850,000.
“It started slowly. I was just talking to myself for a while. I felt like I was on a podcast,” Calik-Houston said.
After a second bid of $860,000, the auction took off, Calik-Houston said.
“As one bidder dropped off, another one would come in,” he said.
Six bidders took part in the auction and comprised a mix of first home buyers, young and middle-aged couples and a young family, Calik-Houston said.
“A young couple who were first home buyers were successful. They had wanted something where they are currently renting in Brunswick, but this property is right on the border,” he said.
The home’s character and charm were big drawcards. “It had high ceilings, fireplaces, rosettes and lots of natural light,” Calik-Houston said.
The seller had owned the property for 28 years.
“He listened to our advice and decluttered the home, gave it a fresh layer of paint and fixed up the garden,” Calik-Houston said.
In Preston, a California bungalow was passed in at auction, but sold onsite later that day for $1,710,000.
The three-bedroom property at 4 Larne Grove was listed with a price range of $1,600,000 to $1,695,000 and had a reserve of $1,710,000.
Lead agent Daniel Stocco, from Quixley Real Estate, said two bidders took part in the auction, which opened at $1.6 million.
“It then passed in at $1.645 million,” he said.
The successful bidders, from Sydney, only inspected the property in person for the first time the day before. The underbidder was from Canberra, bidding over the phone.
Located in a much sought-after, tree-lined pocket and set on a generous allotment of about 624 square metres, the home balances modern lifestyle and classic charm.
“The beautifully presented home located moments from Adams Reserve and High Street in Thornbury proved too good to resist, which lured the Sydney buyer,” Stocco said.
Dr Diaswati Mardiasmo, the chief economist at PRD Real Estate, said the unofficial Melbourne Cup long weekend played a part in the lower number of auctions scheduled for the week, as well as the lower clearance rate.
“It’s one of the lowest we’ve seen in a while,” she said.
Mardiasmo said the Reserve Bank’s announcement on rates on Tuesday would be a significant influencer of the market for the remainder of the year.
“If we see a cut, it should mean the market will pick up; even if it stays the same, with increased inflation, it might make people more likely to get in now in case there is a rate increase early next year,” she said.
Meanwhile, in Brunswick, a two-bedroom townhouse sold under the hammer for $795,000.
The property at 18 Warne Street had a price range of between $760,000 and $830,000 and a reserve of $795,000.
Selling agent Trish Di Vito, from Ray White Brunswick, said there was a lot of interest in the property from first home buyers.
“It was a perfect property for a first home buyer. It’s in a great location, a modern townhouse with a versatile layout, with natural light and in a boutique block,” she said.
“Unfortunately, a lot of the crowd and interested parties hadn’t had their finance preapproved and were waiting to see if the property was passed in and that they might still be in with a chance.”
The auction opened with a vendor bid of $760,000, and a first home buyer made the second and final bid of $795,000 to secure the keys. The successful bidder was renting in Ascot Vale.
The seller, an investor, was happy with the result, Di Vito said.
She said the Brunswick market was very busy. “There are a lot of first home buyers looking, and a lot buying. Many are buying before properties even go to auction.”
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