The two-bedroom brick home at 10 Vail Street attracted a single bidder, the eventual buyer, who offered $1.06 million at auction, $40,000 below the $1.1 million reserve. Auctioneer James Burne started with a vendor bid of $1.05 million. After the home was passed in, agent Michael Tynan of Biggin Scott Stonnington negotiated a $20,000 increase to $1.08 million, closing the deal. 'It's not turnkey, but if you put the work into it, you've got a really great home that's only going to go up in value, especially when the market recovers ,' Tynan said. 'This one, people will regret not purchasing.'
The property was one of 629 scheduled for auction across Melbourne this week. There were 74 withdrawn auctions, which count as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
In Fitzroy North, a three-bedroom terrace at 168 Scotchmer Street sold for $1.78 million against a reserve of $1.67 million, after an auction that drew five registered bidders. 'They had come off a couple of losses, so it was good to finally win,' agent and auctioneer Mark Verrocchi of Nelson Alexander Fitzroy said. The auction opened at $1.6 million and quickly surpassed the reserve, with bids rising mostly in $5000 and $10,000 increments. The underbidders included a first home buyer whose mother took over bidding in the closing stages.
In Thomastown, an interstate buyer bought a 1970s house at 311 High Street for $710,000 before the auction began, after negotiations during an open for inspection. The three-bedroom property on 555 square metres had a reserve of $700,000. Agent Kiara Comans of Harcourts said the buyer had made an offer even before the home was listed. 'It's maybe not where we would have been 12 months ago, but it's definitely a good result for the market that we're in ,' she said.
Tynan said homes not needing renovations in the $1 million to $3 million range were performing well in the current market, and interstate investors were active on older one- and two-bedroom apartments. 'The yields are starting to get to 6 to 7 per cent for some of these apartments that are selling,' he said.