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A renovated four-bedroom family home in a quiet area in Northcote attracted five bidders at auction on Saturday and sold for $2.275 million.<\/p>\n
A young family won the keys to 35 Whalley Street, which has an impressive open-plan living area with high ceilings and a seamless transition to an outdoor deck.<\/p>\n
A vendor bid started the auction at $1.95 million and competitive bidding followed.<\/p>\n
In front of a healthy crowd, $25,000 bids brought the house to $2.2 million with smaller increments up until the sale.<\/p>\n
The house had a price guide of $1.95 to $2.1 million. Nelson Alexander Northcote listing agent Tom Breen said that the vendors were sad to leave but were pleased that a young family was the successful buyer.<\/p>\n
Breen said that the result at 35 Whalley Street was a good reflection of the Northcote property market.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s sort of two sectors to it. The houses that are complete, and don\u2019t really need any work – they are still selling really strong,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe houses that need a little bit more work. They\u2019re still definitely selling, but they\u2019re not selling as well as they used to.\u201d<\/p>\n
On a beautiful spring day, the Northcote auction was one of 858 scheduled auctions across Melbourne on Saturday.<\/p>\n
By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 63.2 per cent from 627 reported results, while 72 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.<\/p>\n
The former hub of the Children\u2019s First Foundation charity in North Melbourne, formerly known as Sunnydale, sold at auction on Saturday for $2.39 million.<\/p>\n
Children\u2019s First Foundation provides exceptional medical care for disadvantaged children from developing countries.<\/p>\n
Since 2005, the charity used 66 Chapman Street as a support office and a meeting place for disadvantaged children and their families.<\/p>\n
The property underwent renovations to be listed as a five-bedroom, three-bathroom stylish home with an external self-contained unit at its rear.<\/p>\n
Four bidders competed fiercely at the auction which started with a $2.1 million bid. Strong bidding such as $25,000 increments saw the auction quickly jump to $2.3 million. After it reached $2.3 million only two parties remained interested.<\/p>\n
The house had a price guide of $2.1 to $2.3 million. It was declared on the market at $2.29 million.<\/p>\n
The property and its ideal location attracted strong demand from a range of parties including a professional couple and families. A young family was the successful buyer.<\/p>\n
\u201cA commanding terrace, free-standing, solid brick, having the backyard north-facing. But it was still very contemporary and modern today,\u201d said Belle Property listing agent Charles Bongiovanni. \u201cThat\u2019s what created a bit of demand. It was a good result.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Melbourne\u2019s south east, there was a hot auction result at 65 Lorna Street Cheltenham that featured 11 active bidders and 101 bids.<\/p>\n
The deceased estate sold for $1,221,500 and exceeded its reserve price by $271,500.<\/p>\n
Ray White lead agent Trevor Bowen described the result as one of the best he had seen.<\/p>\n
It was the first time the three-bedroom home had been sold since the original vendors built the home in 1968. They added an extension in the 1970s. But otherwise the home was in its original state.<\/p>\n
In front of a crowd of 137 people, multiple bidders responded to each other at such a pace that meant auctioneer Angela Limanis was unable to call the auction at one stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cCheltenham is a great suburb with about 20 schools within five kilometres of that home. There are beaches and it is not far away from a lot of parks. It is a very quiet neighbourhood. It just ticked every single box you can imagine,\u201d Bowen said.<\/p>\n
The buyers have plans to renovate the property.<\/p>\n
In the eastern suburbs, a two-bedroom apartment in an ideal location sold in negotiations quickly after its auction on Saturday for $745,000.<\/p>\n
Two bidders fought for 12A\/414 Glenferrie Road Kooyong in a slow auction. The auction opened at $680,000 and $5,000 increments were initially made but interest from the second party waned.<\/p>\n
The apartment was passed in at $720,000 and after successful negotiations both the vendor and a first-home buyer were pleased.<\/p>\n
Jellis Craig Stonnington agent Will Bennison said there was still demand for eastern suburban apartments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still seeing some good competition at this price point. We\u2019re probably even starting to see a few investors back into the market as well because rents have increased,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said that Melbourne\u2019s property market is the outlier compared to other capital cities in Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does seem to be the case in Melbourne that the increase in listings is satisfying buyer demand because that 63.2 per cent clearance rate is quite low,\u201d said Conisbee.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still seeing price growth in Melbourne, so that\u2019s a positive. But it is the lowest growth of all capital cities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would expect to see a strong one [clearance rate] of high 60s or early 70s. It\u2019s a little bit farther from what we are seeing elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n