Historic Abbotsford home with one-of-a-kind renovation fetches $2.2m at auction

An eclectic and unique Abbotsford home sold under the hammer for $2,196,000 on Saturday, after a spirited contest between three buyers.

The three-bedroom house at 96 Yarra Street had been renovated by vendor Sharon Wells during her 26-year stay at the property. At the rear, she added an extension with living and dining areas, which framed a central garden.

$1.7m-$1.85m

96 Yarra Street, Abbotsford VIC 3067

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The home had a natural feel inside; wood with various levels of finish was used throughout, and tiles and colours could change from room to room.

“I’ve done a lot of work to design it and restore it, and yeah, it’s very moving,” she said. “You dedicate so much of your life to [your home] and it was a pleasure.”

Wells said the property was first purchased by a lord mayor of Melbourne in the 1800s, and the original bluestone structure had been used to house tram drivers.

Biggin and Scott selling agent Andrew Crotty listed the home for sale with a quoted price range of $1.7 million to $1.85 million. Wells set her reserve at the top of the range.

The auction opened on a bid of $1.8 million. The three parties, all home buyers, traded more than 40 bids for the home.

Wells said she planned to downsize.

The property was one of 1308 scheduled to go to auction in Melbourne this week. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 65.4 per cent from 991 reported results throughout the week, while 134 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.

In Woodend, a house advertised with a published reserve sold for $108,000 more than the lowest price its vendor would take.

Reserve Price $675,000

30 Morris Road, Woodend VIC 3442

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The three-bedroom home at 30 Morris Road was listed for sale with a reserve price of $675,000 by Keatings Real Estate’s John Keating, a long-time proponent of publishing reserves ahead of auction.

Keating said three bidders, all home buyers, contested the auction. The first bid of $680,000 passed the reserve price, and it sold for $783,000.

The agent said publishing the reserve made it easier for potential buyers.

“In four open-for-inspections, we only had 11 groups of people look at it,” Keating said. “It shows the value of transparency because people know where they stand.

“We had [fewer] people because people who couldn’t afford $675,000 didn’t come through.”

Keating said the result affirmed the state government’s recent announcement it would introduce laws to require agents to list a reserve price a week out from auction. “The auction was the perfect example of a public reserve price auction where there was maximum transparency: the vendors were happy, the purchasers were happy, it was how all auctions should be done, done right.”

In Carlton North, a renovated Victorian fetched its owner $1.7 million, its reserve price, after receiving just one bid.

The two-bedroom house at 679 Drummond Street had an atrium at the rear, an upstairs entertaining area with a wet bar and city views, and a modern style.

SOLD - Price Withheld

679 Drummond Street, Carlton North VIC 3054

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The home was close to the popular Rathdowne Village dining and lifestyle precinct.

“It was a beautifully presented home with an upstairs area that was likened to a backyard, but was very private with exceptional views towards the CBD and surrounding area,” Jellis Craig selling agent and auctioneer Trevor Gange said. “The integration of the outside area and upstairs internal area was perfect for entertaining. I think that was a big hero for the property.”

Gange listed the home for sale with a quoted price range of $1.6 million to $1.7 million.

The auction began on a vendor bid at the bottom of the range. Just one buyer bid for the home, offering $1.62 million before the home was passed in to them.

The reserve was the top of the range. Gange said a young professional couple bought the home. “It was a very good result for the property … given it’s a two-bedroom, two-bathroom home.”

In Newport, a two-bedroom house sold under the hammer to home buyers for $1.17 million.

The weatherboard home at 20 Tait Street was most recently an investment property, but had also been the vendors’ home, Williams Real Estate selling agent Katie Smith said.

“I sold it to these people 18 years ago at an auction, this is sort of full circle for me. Their family lived there half the time, and they rented it out half the time,” she said. “It was … neat and tidy, it had a really pretty facade, which was a big thing for these, and was in a great street.”

SOLD - $1,170,000

20 Tait Street, Newport VIC 3015

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Smith listed the home for sale with a quoted price range of $1 million to $1.1 million. The reserve was set at the bottom of the range, she said.

“It just flew. It started off at $900,000, and I didn’t get a chance to say it was on the market. It was a quick auction.”

Smith said four buyers competed, and all were looking to live in the home.