Investor adds ‘affordable’ $6.51m Toorak house to her portfolio

An aged Toorak home sold for $6.51 million at auction on Saturday, despite coming with two restrictions on its title which the agent said had cut its price by about $1 million.

The mostly original house at 65 Irving Road sat on a 674-square metre block, which had been carved off the neighbouring property at 63 Irving Road in the 1950s. Two covenants were placed on No.65: only one dwelling could be built on the property, and it must be no more than one storey above ground level.

Auction Saturday 27 September at 11am

65 Irving Road, Toorak VIC 3142

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Kay & Burton selling agent and auctioneer Scott Patterson listed the home for sale with a quoted price guide of $6 million to $6.5 million.

“We got $6.51 million, so [the guide] was pretty accurate, but we adjusted it back from our initial thoughts, which was $7 million to $8 million,” he said. “We adjusted it when we discovered the covenant.”

Two buyers contested the auction, and the competition began with a $5.5 million bid. The home was placed on the market at $6.41 million after Patterson conferred with the vendors. He said they had a floating reserve of about $6.4 million to $6.5 million.

The winning bidder was a local investor, who would add the property to her portfolio of homes in the area. The underbidder was a luxury home builder from the neighbourhood.

Patterson said it was rare for similar-sized Toorak blocks to sell for so little.

“It’s affordable, absolutely, for this area, but it is limited as well,” he said. “So, it’s just one of those unique properties.”

The property was one of 250 scheduled to go to auction in Melbourne this week, as few auctions are typically scheduled for the AFL grand final weekend. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 70.1 per cent from 177 reported results throughout the week, while 23 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.

In Keilor East, a townhouse sold for $615,000 after three-way negotiations on the auction floor.

$570,000 - $620,000

4 Grandvalley Drive, Keilor East VIC 3033

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The two-bedroom home at 4 Grandvalley Drive had three levels and one more bathroom than most properties in the development.

Merri-Bek Real Estate selling agent Chris Vallis listed the townhouse for sale with a quoted price range of $570,000 to $620,000. Vallis said he was concerned the auction would stall, so he instead opted to negotiate with the three buyers present who were prepared to buy unconditionally.

A first home buyer beat an investor and another first-timer to buy the home. Vallis said the vendors had a floating reserve towards the top of the range.

In Cheltenham, a downsizer who had missed out on a few homes beat a first home buyer for a two-bedroom villa, and paid $887,000 at auction.

$780,000-$830,000

5 Haughton Street, Cheltenham VIC 3192

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The tidy, single-level home at 5 Haughton Street was listed with a price guide of $780,000 to $830,000, and the reserve was set at the top of the range.

Bidding was slow to start but began at $750,000, Buxton Real Estate Bentleigh selling agent Ivan Blow said.

Two parties fought it out until the sale price, although Blow said there was a third buyer in the crowd who didn’t get an opportunity to bid.

He said the market in his area was improving.

“We are seeing particularly the upper end – the upper end is very strong in our area,” he said.

“The biggest thing that is probably driving it is low supply.”

He thought some owners were waiting to sell their homes as Melbourne’s market started to rise again this year after a time of tracking sideways.

Blow also said the apartment market in his area was moving, with some first home buyers even keen to purchase before the federal government’s First Home Guarantee scheme expands next week, allowing more first-time buyers to purchase with a low 5 per cent deposit.

SOLD - $865,000

84 Thompson Street, Avondale Heights VIC 3034

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In Avondale Heights, a small, two-bedroom house sold to a first home buyer for $865,000 under the hammer.

Nelson Alexander selling agent Mark Giardina listed the home at 84 Thompson Street for sale with a quoted price range of $725,000 to $770,000. He said four bidders, three first home buyers and one investor, contested the auction.

The competition opened on a bid of $700,000. Giardina said buyers were assertive. “The auction was pretty competitive from the moment that it started. Because it started at $700,000, it was really quick.”

He said buyers liked that the property, which had been subdivided from a larger block, was freestanding and had its own title.

“It was a renovated two-bedroom unit, it was independent so it was on its own little block of land with its own title which is unique,” Giardina said. “It was a really well-done renovation. Two bedrooms don’t usually hit that level, which was good.”

The reserve was set at $780,000. There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.