An impressive family home in the heart of Brighton sold for $4,252,000 at auction on Saturday, above its most recent sale price of $4.22 million when it traded last year.
The five-bedroom home at 23 Gray Street had a price guide of $3.8 to $4.1 million and its vendor had set a reserve price within the guide, even though this was less than they paid.
In front of a crowd of 150 people, two would-be buyers raised their hands.
An opening bid of $3.9 million started the auction and strong $50,000 increments were made shortly after. Two buyers competed fiercely against each other for the home, and the auction concluded with $1000 bids.
Listing agent Nick Johnstone, of Nick Johnstone Real Estate, said that the competitors blew away two other registered parties who did not have an opportunity to bid.
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The successful buyers are moving back to Melbourne after spending time overseas. But this is the first time they will live in Brighton.
“This is a really good family home in a very family-friendly location. It’s near Were Street shops and the beach,” said Johnstone.
Renovated by the previous vendors, the home features rich oak flooring on the ground floor and multiple living spaces. There is an ideal entertaining space at its rear with a pool and stylish cabana.
The Brighton sale was one of 889 auctions scheduled for Saturday. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 65.6 per cent from 570 reported results, while 73 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
Elsewhere, a young couple snatched up the cheapest house for sale in Malvern, spending $1.35 million at auction on Saturday.
12 Chandlers Road had been vacant for eight years and the vendor had made minimal changes to the house.
Its interior, front yard, and rear will need to be improved by the new owners.
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The former rental property attracted interest from three buyers in a drawn-out auction.
“That’s by far the cheapest house in Malvern to the tune of about $400,000,” said Ray White auctioneer Tom Grieve.
“It’s pretty unusual to find a completely detached home in Malvern for that sort of price.”
On a 241-square-metre block, the house provides an opportunity with three bedrooms and Edwardian features.
The vendor’s family had owned the property since the 1970s. In years gone by, there were plans to renovate but none eventuated.
The opening bid was $1.3 million and when the second bid was made at $1.32 million, the house was declared on the market. The reserve price was within its price guide of $1.2 to $1.3 million, although it was not declared until the second bid.
Some lengthy pauses between $5000 bids led to the final sale price.
The underbidders were investors who were looking to renovate, then rent out the house. The young family had plans to renovate in time as well.
Meanwhile, a desirable two-bedroom East Melbourne apartment with outdoor space sold for $999,000.
14/8 Wellington Crescent courted interest from a mix of parties.
“There’s not a consistent sort of buyer type at the moment in East Melbourne,” Caine listing agent Toby Campbell said.
“There were young professionals looking to move near Collins Street, people looking for weekenders, and people looking to buy now and rent it out for a few years.”
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Two bidders participated in the slow auction that opened at $950,000.
At $985,000, the apartment was declared on the market. The result for the deceased estate exceeded the expectations of the vendor, who did not believe it could fetch more than $950,000.
Campbell said the successful buyer is looking forward to living in the same suburb as the MCG.
AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said the Melbourne property market has seen a rise in listings at the start of the spring selling season.
Oliver said listings would not normally rise until October, but the 889 listings last weekend showed otherwise.
“It seems like vendors are now getting more motivated to sell, which is the reason why we’ve seen that pick-up in listings,” he said.
“On top of that, there may be some distressed selling in there as higher interest rates continue to feed through. That has taken a bit of a toll on clearance numbers.”
