Updated inner-south Victorian sells for $50,000 below reserve

An updated three-bedroom Victorian in South Yarra sold for $1.75 million in post-auction negotiations – $50,000 below reserve – as a small number of homes went to auction over a quiet Cup weekend.

Minutes from Hawksburn train station and a short walk to both Toorak and Williams roads, the preserved Victorian weatherboard at 3 Hopetoun Grove features a striking red door. Inside, floating floorboards lead past two front bedrooms built around period chimneys into a sitting room and a rear open-plan kitchen and living area, with full-length windows looking onto a small yard and terrace.

With a primary bedroom and ensuite upstairs above the living area, the property was listed with a reserve of $1.8 million.

Marshall White Stonnington agent and auctioneer Fiona Counsel said the auction opened with a $1.7 million vendor bid, followed by a single $1.71 million genuine bid from a local couple with a young family, on which it was passed in.

Counsel said the vendors, upsizing to a new property, agreed to “meet the market”, with the buyers happy to meet them halfway and sell for $1.75 million, as the potential for another rate hike on Tuesday loomed over the weekend.

“I think from the vendor’s perspective… they factored that in when it came to the negotiation,” she said.

She said she didn’t think the Cup Day long weekend had been a factor in interest on the day.

“We were comfortable to go on race week,” she said. “Everyone was here that was expected to be here.”

The property was one of 418 scheduled to go to auction in Melbourne this week.

Further south, a three-bedroom freestanding villa in Hughesdale, with 433-square-metres of land on the title, sold for $950,000 at auction, soaring $100,000 over its $850,000 listed reserve.

Split between living and dining areas to the front, and its three large bedrooms to the rear, 2/142 Poath Road was one of two units on the block, with mostly original interiors and a large yard ready to be updated by a new owner.

Ray White Oakleigh agent and auctioneer Jonathon Eaves said a $720,000 genuine bid opened the auction, from which three bidders pushed the price up in $20,000 increments to $800,000.

From there, bids slowed to $10,000 and eventually $5000 increments after being declared on the market at $850,000. It eventually reached $950,000 – $100,000 over its reserve and more than $200,000 above the opening bid.

The successful buyers were a young couple, purchasing their first home in the area, while the vendors sold to transition to the next stage of their lives.

Eaves thought the sale was an indication that some parts of the market were still selling well, but said the threat of another rate hike did factor into reluctance from at least one buyer to put his hand up at auction.

“But you’ve just got to look at it and say, ‘can I afford it? Is it a good home?’” he said.

“And can I see that potentially, in 10 years, this property will be worth more?”

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