Home buyers pay $1.75m for Fitzroy North house, beating four others

Five bidders competed at the auction of a Fitzroy North home on Saturday, which sold for $1,751,000 after fierce bidding in front of a large crowd.

The two-bedroom house at 90 Scotchmer Street had a large rear garden and sunroom and modern kitchen and bathroom. Jellis Craig agent and auctioneer Charles Atkins listed the home for sale with a quoted price range of $1.4 million to $1.5 million.

$1,400,000 - $1,500,000

90 Scotchmer Street, Fitzroy North VIC 3068

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The auction began with a bid of $1.45 million, which was quickly followed by a $1.55 million offer. The reserve was the top of the range, and was cleared by the second bid.

Five buyers traded nearly 40 bids over about 15 minutes. The opening bidder successfully fended off all other buyers, despite several attempts at knock-out bids.

“It was a home that’s probably been missing in the marketplace for some time and that’s why I feel like we had plenty of buyers that have come out of the woodwork today,” Atkins said.

The winning buyer was an owner-occupier, Atkins said, but declined to share more. They paid $251,000 more than the vendor’s reserve price.

“I think for the right homes, people are willing to stretch,” he said. Fitzroy North was recently crowned the most liveable suburb in Melbourne.

The auction was one of 775 scheduled in Melbourne this week. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 72.7 per cent from 476 reported results throughout the week, while 47 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.

In Frankston North, investors and first home buyers competed for a three-bedroom home.

The house at 3 Radiata Street had a large block that could be subdivided, and attracted six bidders.

$550,000 - $605,000

3 Radiata Street, Frankston North VIC 3200

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O’Brien agent Mark Burke had the sale; he listed the home for sale with a quoted price range of $550,000 to $605,000. The reserve was set at $530,000.

Burke said the auction opened with a bid of $540,000. It sold to a Melbourne investor for $701,200, or $171,200 more than the reserve price.

“Stock is low and 50 per cent of the buyers were from Sydney, investors. Then you had Melbourne investors and first home buyers,” he said. “People are scared the prices are going to go up more, which I think they will. There’s still room to move.

“I wouldn’t be surprised that at the end of the year, those houses that are worth $700,000 are worth $750,000.”

Burke said the investor buyers were considering developing the block in future.

In Richmond, a large apartment sold for $1.01 million to an owner-occupier in a quick competition with assertive bidding.

The two-bedroom unit at 307/1 Palmer Street had a flexible floor plan, a third room which could be used as a study or spare bedroom, and a leafy outlook over Palmer Street.

BigginScott agent and auctioneer Andrew Crotty listed the property for sale with a quoted price range of $950,000 to $1 million.

$950,000-$1m

307/1 Palmer Street, Richmond VIC 3121

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The auction began with a bid at the bottom of range. The second bidder countered with a $975,000 offer. The opening bidder then raised the price to $980,000, they rounded their offer to $1 million, the vendor’s reserve.

After two more bids, the home sold to the second bidder, a man buying on behalf of a younger family member who would live in the home.

“The younger guy bought it, I think it’s his second home,” Crotty said. “Maybe third. They’re very excited. He’s got his family here with him which is terrific.

“The underbidder has been through several times. Both liked it. I think they respect the fact that it’s a really quality build.”

The unit was a tenanted investment property and the residents’ lease was expected to end in a couple of months.

In Avondale Heights, the price of a family home passed its reserve with one bid, in another heated contest.

The three-bedroom house at 41 Charmaine Avenue was listed with a quoted price range of $850,000 to $935,000 and sat on a large 535-square-metre block.

Jas Stephens listing agent George Alexander said the opening bid of $1,015,000 knocked out a lot of competition.

$850,000 - $935,000

41 Charmaine Avenue, Avondale Heights VIC 3034

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He said the reserve was set at $950,000. “What I think it was, and a lot of locals were telling me this because this is the first time I’ve sold in Avondale, is that this pocket is a blue-ribbon pocket,” Alexander said.

Two bidders competed to push the price to $1,117,000, he said, and it sold to the opening bidder. They were from out of the area and saw the house for the first time only on Saturday.

“At the end of the day, it’s still 500 square metres and a nice house which you can just move into, and it’s hard to get that for $1 million these days,” Alexander said.