Auctions were held across 838 scheduled properties, with Domain recording a 56 per cent preliminary clearance rate from 612 reported results; 102 auctions were withdrawn.
The five-bedroom triple-brick home at 173 Bastings Street, Northcote, which includes a separate apartment, passed in on a vendor bid of $1.7 million. The reserve was set at $1.8 million. Agent Chris Vrantsis of Collings Real Estate said interest had been strong, but the mandated disclosure of the reserve under new Victorian auction rules put buyers off. "We had 30 to 35 people through the house and a few people came back quite a few times," he said. "But I think as soon as the reserve was shown they felt it was over the top." The property is now listed for private sale at $1.775 million.
In Fitzroy, a fully renovated four-bedroom art deco home at 74 Alexandra Parade sold under the hammer for $1,531,000, above the $1.35 million reserve. Three first-home buyers competed. Agent Mark Verrocchi of Nelson Alexander Fitzroy said the property's location on a busy road kept the price down; on a quieter street it would have fetched $2 million or more.
At Essendon, a four-bedroom home at 36 Washington Street attracted five bidders and sold for $2,285,000, well above the $1.95 million reserve. Agent Jason Johnson of Jellis Craig Moonee Valley said advertised reserves and realistic vendor pricing helped deliver the result. A property at 15 Ferguson Street, Ascot Vale, sold for $1.47 million, above its $1,385,000 reserve.
Agents noted that market conditions are being shaped by concerns about interest rates, with the Reserve Bank set to make its next decision on November 3, and by uncertainty ahead of the Victorian state election in late November. Domain data shows Melbourne's median house price dropped 3.3 per cent in the September quarter and may soon fall below $1 million.