Talking points

• A single-fronted terrace in East Melbourne passed in, but was expected to sell.
• Melbourne could still expect a strong year, Kay & Burton’s Gowan Stubbings said.

Property listings

A double-storey East Melbourne terrace asking $3 million passed in without a bid at auction on Saturday, leaving the Paris-based vendor hanging on the phone line.

The stunning four-bedroom home at 136 Simpson Street was expected to sell under the hammer but the crowd did not raise their hands.

During the auction, Nelson Alexander Fitzroy director and auctioneer Arch Staver joked the vendor had been keen for it to sell, not only because it was his former home, but because it was midnight in Paris when the auction was held and he was keen to get to sleep.

Mr Staver said the property, which was initially advertised with a price range of $2.8 million to $3 million, then updated after auction to $3,020,000, received an offer after auction and was expected to sell by the end of Saturday after negotiations with a few buyers.

Allowing a property to pass in had been a tactic from buyers looking to haggle on price, he said.

“It’s not unusual for us to hold an ‘auction’ after the auction,” Mr Staver said.

Bidders did not raise their hands at the auction.Credit:Eddie Jim

It was one of 1100 auctions scheduled in Melbourne on Saturday.

Other agents also reported mixed results ranging from big sales to pass-ins, noting there was less competition as the number of auctions scheduled grew.

While the East Melbourne property passed in, Mr Staver sold a three-bedroom terrace at 26 Gore Street, Fitzroy for $300,000 above the reserve when the buyer made a $2,050,000 bid.

A young professional living in Carlton was the buyer, wanting to buy a home in the coveted street.

He was one of three bidders, with one of the underbidders, a determined investor from NSW, later buying 40 Newry Street, Fitzroy North, for an undisclosed sum.

Northwest of the city in Aberfeldie, a home that had not been renovated in 50 years sold under the hammer for $307,000 above the reserve.

The three-bedroom home at 104 Fawkner Street sold for $2,007,000, against a reserve price of $1.7 million.

Barry Plant Essendon selling agent Walter Mahch said there were four bidders, including one online, and the buyers now plan to tear down and rebuild the home.

The auction opened with a vendor bid of $1.5 million before competition heated up, sparking a flurry of bids.

Mr Mahch said the home had been owned by the same woman for 50 years, and she was now planning to downsize.

“It was its proximity to the Maribyrnong River that definitely helped it sell so well,” he said.

In leafy Montmorency, a property on a 1354-square-metre block owned by the same family since 1957, sold under the hammer for $1,510,500.

That price was well above the $1.2 million to $1.3 million asking price range.

Three bidders competed for the three-bedroom home at 47 Buena Vista Drive and a family beat two developers.

They are now planning to tear that home down and build their own, Jellis Craig Eltham director Scott Nugent said.

“It was an emotional sale, there were two mature people in tears inside the house after the sale,” Mr Nugent said.

Though the sale had been a cracker, Mr Nugent said the market had been running hot and cold, with some open for inspections seeing few prospective buyers look through.

“When people hear about interest rate rises in the media, they get a bit nervous and wait to see what the market does,” Mr Nugent said. “Things are moving, but the urgency has gone.”

Mr Nugent said about 90 per cent of his sales had been listed as expressions of interest sales as competition was not strong enough to take them to auction.

In Carlton, a two-bedroom home at 141 Station Street, passed in with a bid of $1.55 million before selling directly after on the reserve of $1.6 million.

Woodards Carlton partner Glenn Bartlett said two bidders competed for the home known as Avernel.

Mr Bartlett said buyer numbers were smaller over the weekend, with competition falling away since the highs late last year, when buyers flooded back to the market after lockdown six.

It was a different story in the city’s inner southeast, where a renovated Edwardian home sold under the hammer for $3.26 million, $30,000 above the price it was called on the market.

The four-bedroom home at 53 Stuart Street, Armadale saw five bidders fighting it out for the keys, and a millennial won.

An opening bid of $2.8 million setting the tone for the auction, with the property called on the market at $3.23 million.

Kay & Burton Armadale director Gowan Stubbings said the vendors, who had owned the property since 2011, were now planning a tree change. He predicted the market would continue to be strong this year.

“It’s still early days for Melbourne’s market, but this weekend will be the first true test,” Mr Stubbings said after the auction.

“The Mornington Peninsula summer market has always been a barometer for how the metro market is going to perform and if we use that as a benchmark, it’s looking like a strong year for Melbourne.”

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