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Key points
- A sought-after Northcote house with park access exceeded its reserve by $431,000.
- A Eltham North home on a large block sold for $1,942,000 at auction.
- There were 904 auctions scheduled for Saturday.
Property listings
A Northcote family home with backyard access to a park attracted fierce competition at auction on Saturday, and sold for $2,481,000.
The three-bedroom home at 9 Maxwell Street saw four families vie for the keys, and were interested in buying the house for its modern fit-out, landscaped gardens and enviable position, Nelson Alexander listing agent and auctioneer Robert Enes said.
“It had a lot of quality to it and solved a lot of problems for buyers who didn’t want to deal with renovations,” he said. “The reserve at the rear was a heart-string puller for people who had kids and wanted to be in that area.”
Enes listed the home with a quoted price range of $1.9 million to $2.05 million. He said the reserve price was at the top of the range.
He began the auction with a vendor bid of $1.85 million, which enticed two buyers to bid.
The home quickly reached a price of $2.2 million, but then the auction slowed, Enes said.
Robert Enes auctions 9 Maxwell Street, Northcote. Credit: Simon Schluter
“It just took off again,” he said. “There were two parties that hadn’t started bidding yet, but when it slowed down, they jumped in for the element of surprise.”
It wasn’t a particularly large family home, Enes said, but the lack of choice had pushed the four buyers to compete.
“It only had one living zone. But for the sheer lack of options at the moment there aren’t many options for people wanting a fully renovated family home,” he said. “The market still needs more stock to be able to absorb the buyer database that’s out there right now. It doesn’t feel like a traditional spring at the moment.
“We thought leading up to the grand final we’d start listing more for October and November, but there’s not a lot. Stock levels will remain low.”
Families were interested in the home for its access to Rubie Reserve from the backyard. Credit: Simon Schluter
Enes said the sale exceeded the vendor’s expectations by $431,000.
It was one of 904 auctions scheduled for Saturday.
Earlier in Eltham North, a home on a large allotment sold for $1,942,000 after a slow-to-finish auction.
The four-bedroom house sat on a 1012 square metre block at 2 Parkdale Avenue, and featured a high-tech and modern renovation, Jellis Craig listing agent Tom Kurtschenko said.
“The cost to build that home would be a lot with all the extras in it,” he said. “It’d be north of $1 million. It was set up with solar, double-glazed windows, a commercial security system and an IT system to turn all the lights on and off.
“It was never built to sell, but circumstances changed, so it was a great opportunity for the buyers.”
Bidding opened at $1.7 million, the bottom of the quoted price range. The reserve was at the top, at $1.8 million. Three bidders contested the auction.
It quickly reached the top of the range and the reserve, Kurtschenko said. However, the auction slowed to $500 increments towards its conclusion.
“It sold to a local family who were upgrading,” he said. “We thought $1.8 million was a fair price for the home, but both buyers who went at it just didn’t want to let it go.
“It’s a supply and demand conversation as well, there’s not a lot like it in the area at the moment.”
In Cheltenham, a townhouse in a large development sold in another drawn-out auction.
The three-bedroom home at 25 Woodland Drive didn’t have any shared walls with other townhouses and had 347 square metres of land on title, Ray White listing agent Angela Limanis said.
She listed it with a quoted price range of $790,000 to $820,000. The reserve was $840,000.
“There’s been a few sales in that complex in the early $800,000,” Limanis said. “Considering it’s a little bit better in some areas we thought the price would be maybe early-to-mid $800,000 with some competition.”
It sold after a 30-minute auction to a downsizer from Armadale for $995,250. Five bidders contested the auction, Limanis said.
“[The downsizer] went head-to-head with an advocate,” she said. “The auction went for a long time, considering we were on the market.
“There were bids of $250 back and forth, then back up to $1000 and $5000. They were both committed, and it was quite intense.”
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