Malvern bungalow sells for $2.66m to buyer who wants to tear it down

A Californian bungalow in a coveted Malvern street sold for $2.66 million at auction on Saturday, with the buyer planning to tear it down to build her “dream home”.

The well-maintained three-bedroom house at 32 Jordan Street is on a 576-square-metre block and features original Baltic pine floors, front verandah and classically landscaped gardens, all walking distance to Tooronga Road shops, Harold Holt Swim Centre and High Street.

It had a price guide of $2.2 million to $2.4 million, and a reserve of $2.35 million. The house was sold as part of a deceased estate.

The property was one of 692 scheduled to go to auction in Melbourne last week. By Saturday evening, Domain Group had recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 55 per cent from 464 reported results throughout the week, while 94 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.

After last week’s preliminary clearance rate almost hit the 60 per cent threshold that indicates a balanced market, this week’s results suggest the market continues to favour buyers, despite a shortage of supply in the traditionally quieter winter months. The clearance rate was 72 per cent this time last year.

Ray White Ashburton agent Max Hedley said bidding for Jordan Street opened at $2.2 million, with four bidders competing. Two main bidders traded $50,000 increments throughout, sending the eventual price more than $300,000 above the reserve.

“It was unexpected,” Hedley said. “It just kept going.”

He believed that while the market for homes over $2 million had slowed, the scarcity of original Malvern properties had led to a “surprising” result.

“In those … streets in Malvern, there’s not a lot of properties left like that,” he said.

The property was advertised with an artist’s impression of a potential renovation – subject to council approval – and Hedley said the buyer, who lived in nearby Caulfield East, had purchased to “take it down and rebuild”.

“It just showcases the fact that the heart is still beating for the right properties,” Hedley said.

In Yarraville, a freestanding two-bedroom Victorian passed in on a single vendor bid of $950,000, despite a campaign with “a lot of love” for the home.

Nestled in the Yarraville village, a “short stroll” to shops and the historic Sun Theatre, 16 Norfolk Street features a north-facing yard, modern updates and had a price guide of $950,000 to $1 million, with a reserve of $1.05 million.

There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.

While updated, Compton Green agent Dee Gibson said the vendors had preserved much of the original Victorian features, including its pressed iron ornamentation.

“It’s quite a quaint, beautifully styled home,” she said.

Gibson said the auction opened with a vendor bid of $950,000 and passed in without either of two previously interested parties putting their hand up.

“It seems typical of the market at the moment,” she said, noting the sale would now convert to private treaty.

She thought it was in a difficult spot for the current market, but was sure it would find the right buyer.

“The first home buying market is still strong,” she said. “When we get to the $1 million mark … that’s where there’s that stretch. Can buyers go the extra mile for something a bit better? That’s the question.”

In Port Melbourne, a two-bedroom modern townhouse sold in post-auction negotiations for $1.14 million to a “seasoned purchaser and seller” who beat an eager but nervous first home buyer.

Split across two levels, 6/97-101 Cruikshank Street features light-filled rooms, a red-brick facade and large balcony, and is a short walk to Port Melbourne beach and Gasworks Arts Precinct. It had a price guide of $1.1 million to $1.2 million and a reserve of $1.14 million.

Buxton Port Phillip agent Nancy Yang said the opening $1 million bid came from the first home buyer – the first bid of his home-buying journey.

From there, the two bidders went back and forth, with $5000 bids from the first home buyer and larger $10,000 and $20,000 bids from the more “seasoned” eventual buyer. The home passed in at $1.12 million, after the first home buyer hit the top of his budget, selling in post-auction negotiations.

Yang said the buyer lived with her parents while saving to make her next move, and would be sharing the home with her dog, using the second bedroom to work from home.

The home had been an investment property “for many years”, but Yang said the vendors were selling following state and federal tax changes.

“The market’s not down,” she said, noting that renters were getting a better opportunity to buy after an “exponential” rise in rents, competing with Sydney and Brisbane buyers who were still keen on Melbourne investment properties.

“It’s just a re-shifting.”