A Brisbane-based buyer who visited a Hampton house for the first time half an hour beforehand paid $2,285,000 to buy it at auction on Saturday.
The lady who flew into Melbourne that morning beat a buyer’s advocate for the keys to the four-bedroom home at 45 Earlsfield Road.
It was one of 813 auctions scheduled in Melbourne on Saturday. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 63.2 per cent from 533 reported results, while 68 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
Buxton Real Estate Sandringham selling agent Scott Hamilton had given a FaceTime tour during the week to the buyer, who previously lived in Hampton East and wanted to move back to Victoria. She came to the open for inspection half an hour before the auction and decided to bid.
“She loved the style of it,” Hamilton said. “It was good parcel of land.
“It was just a good family home, good vibes.”
Bidding cleared the price guide of $1.95 million to $2,145,000. The reserve was $2,225,000.
Elsewhere, a Thornbury family home sold for $1,605,000 in post-auction negotiations.
Two bidders fought for 3 Kelvin Grove, which had been listed with a price guide of $1.5 million to $1.6 million.
Bidding for the three-bedder began at the bottom of the price range but passed in at the $1.53 million mark. A downsizing couple moving from interstate to be closer to family sealed the deal after a negotiation, McGrath Northcote selling agent Gino De Iesi said. The reserve was at $1,605,000 to $1.61 million.
De Iesi said some homes had been passing in and selling after auction, while others were selling competitively on the day.
“The talk of interest rates potentially going up has put the brakes on some buyers and the timing of their approvals,” he said.
“Some people have been a bit cautious of their spend.”
A Port Melbourne designer home also passed in at auction and is still available.
The architecturally designed four-bedroom home at 231 Esplanade East stalled on an owner-occupier’s genuine bid of $3.85 million, within the advertised price guide of $3.7 million to $4.05 million.
Cayzer Real Estate Albert Park selling agent Simon Carruthers said some homes had been passing in but ultimately ended up selling, and believed this would be the same.
“It is the quality of the home, it is architecturally brilliant, swimming pool above the garage,” he said.
“The quality of the build is among the best I have ever seen in Port Melbourne.”
In Abbotsford, first home buyers paid $1.22 million for a three-bedroom townhouse that sold under the hammer.
BigginScott Richmond selling agent Julie Taylor said the auction for 18/1 Abbott Street drew three bidders and was rather fast.
“They loved the property, they loved the location,” she said.
She also sold a two-bedroom single-fronted home in Richmond in negotiations after it passed in.
Bidding for 68 Highett Street began on a vendor bid of $1.4 million, passed in at $1.46 million and was negotiated up to $1.5 million.
The property had a guide of $1.48 million to $1.55 million, and a reserve set at the bottom of the range.
“Probably over 60 per cent are negotiated after [at the moment],” she said.
“There is a little bit of uncertainty out there. The market is a bit of a see-saw.”
PRD chief economist Diaswati Mardiasmo said Melbourne’s 63.2 per cent clearance rate was on the low side and buyers could be waiting for an interest rate cut.
“At the moment we do have cautious consumer confidence,” she said.
“The cash rate increase has impacted Melbourne more than it impacted any other capital city, so it is possible some people are waiting on the cash rate.”