“We sold [our house] a month ago so it’s a big relief that we’ve got somewhere,” she told The Age.
McDonald Upton chief auctioneer Paul McDonald said the vendors, while pleased with the sale price, were emotional about saying goodbye to the home, which had been in their family for 69 years.
“One-owner home, never been offered for sale. That’s rare,” he said.
Bidding opened with an instant offer of $1.2 million.Credit: Jason South
In Noble Park, a couple who migrated to Australia from Ireland bought their first home for $815,000 at auction.
The first-home buyers, who were previously renting in Prahran and had only been looking to buy for a few weeks, purchased 13 Jennifer Street for $75,000 above its $740,000 reserve.
Ray White Cheltenham chief auctioneer Greg Brydon said five parties turned out to bid for the three-bedroom weatherboard, including one online bidder and an investor from Queensland.
One party placed an opening bid of $650,000 before the other bidders traded increments of $10,000.
“A few bidders then dropped off, so from $780,000 to $815,000 it was head-to-head with just two bidders,” Brydon said.
“[The buyers] were in a position where they’ve only had their finances approved for three weeks, so they acted pretty decisively.”
Brydon said the vendors, who had plans to upsize, were thrilled with the auction result.
“This auction was a cracker. We must have had 60 people in the front yard … it was nice to see that in the middle of winter,” he said.
Meanwhile, a Northcote home that was on the market for the first time since the 1960s sold for $1.73 million to a family renting in the suburb.
Bidding for the three-bedroom Edwardian at 66 Gladstone Avenue kicked off at $1.4 million, with five parties jumping in on the action and trading bids of $20,000.
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Jellis Craig Northcote listing agent Craig Nowotsch said bidding really took off once the property was declared on the market at $1.53 million, with three parties dropping out of the race as the price went up.
Bidding came down to two local families before it sold under the hammer for $1.73 million, some $200,000 above reserve.
Nowotsch said the buyers had been renting in the area and planned to renovate and live in the north-facing property, which had been owned by the same family since the 1960s.
He said many young families had shown interest in the home because it was close to schools and had the potential for a great renovation.
Nowotsch added that he was currently seeing a lot of upsizers and second-home buyers bidding at auctions.
The suburb’s median house price declined 4.1 per cent to $1,572,500 in the year to March on Domain data.
In Airport West, another long-held family home sold to a young couple for $940,000 after being passed in at auction on Saturday.
Two parties vied for the keys to 89 Victory Road, which was listed with a price guide of $850,000 to $900,000.
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Ray White Gladstone Park listing agent Lachie Kennedy said the auction opened with a vendor bid of $850,000. From there, two parties joined in and slowly pushed the price up to $920,000, where it was passed in.
The buyers, a young couple from Tullamarine, offered up an extra $20,000 during post-auction negotiations and purchased the home for $940,000.
Kennedy said this was the first time the four-bedroom home had been on the market since the original owners built the property in 1959.
“[The vendors] are ecstatic. We had about 25 to 30 [family members] there taking photos,” he said.
Airport West’s median house price rose 7 per cent to $920,000 in the year to March.