Young couple buys $985,000 Melbourne home in ‘one of the strangest situations’

A bright yellow double-storey unit in Yarraville’s historic Lyric Theatre building almost sold twice at auction on Saturday, with two separate rounds of negotiations ending with a price of $985,000.

The two-bedroom home at 116 Stephen Street, zoned for mixed-use, has a shared communal garden, updated first floor and a ground floor ready to be adapted for a small business or additional living space.

The unit had a price guide of $900,000 to $970,000 and a reserve of $955,000. Woodards Yarraville agent Anna Grech said she had heard from architects, psychologists and families all interested in the space.

Auctioneer Leo Dardha opened the auction with a vendor bid of $900,000, and it was followed by a single bid of $910,000 from a young couple.

Bidding stalled before being reignited by a second bidder, who traded offers with the couple in increments of $5000, $2000 and eventually $10,000.

It was declared on the market at $955,000, and continued to rocket up in quick back-and-forths between the two parties before hitting $1,096,000.

With the young couple in the lead, the second bidder made what Dardha and Grech called a “record bid”, pushing the price up by $104,000 to $1.2 million.

After some shock and confusion from the small crowd, the bid was declared valid, the hammer came down, and the prospective buyer went in to sign the paperwork.

She left soon afterwards without signing the documents, telling Dardha, “I’m not comfortable, I don’t have my finance sorted”.

Negotiations were reopened, and the property eventually sold to the young couple for $985,000 – $30,000 over the reserve, but $215,000 short of the initial winning bid.

“[It was] probably one of the strangest situations that I’ve experienced in 23 years,” Dardha said, commending the young couple for still being open to buying.

“We just went back to the drawing board … and had an honest chat with the purchaser based on the vendor’s instructions, and they reached a deal.”

The property was one of 1051 scheduled to go to auction in Melbourne this week. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 56 per cent from 682 reported results throughout the week, while 112 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.

In Bundoora, a three-bedroom red-brick home in authentic 1970s condition sold for $820,000 at auction, after an emotional campaign for the vendors.

The lovingly maintained home at 8 Windsor Crescent had been owned by a 98-year-old man, who was selling to finance a move into aged care but died after the property went to market.

Ray White Bundoora agent Georgio Torzillo said the property, guided at $720,000 to $820,000, attracted five bidders, with the auction opening at $700,000.

Bidding went up in $10,000 increments before hitting the $800,000 reserve and being declared on the market.

From there, Torzillo said, it eventually wound down to $1000 and $500 bids, and was sold to a young couple who were planning to rent it out.

“It was just a very heartfelt one,” he said. “It was a recipe for a good sale really.”

An all-white two-bedroom Victorian terrace sold at auction for $1,531,000 in Armadale, with two bidders pushing it $56,000 above its reserve.

The updated one-bathroom home at 15 New Street features an open-plan entertaining and dining room at the rear, with wraparound decking leading onto a small, lush garden.

It had a price guide of $1.35 million to $1,475,000 (also its reserve price).

Marshall White Stonnington agent and auctioneer David Stringer said bidding opened at $1.35 million, and continued with a succession of $20,000 and $10,000 bids as the property rocketed past the $1.47 million mark.

Stringer declared the home on the market at $1.48 million, before increments winnowed to $5000, and eventually $1000 bids brought the auction to a close.

Stringer said the winning bidders were a couple. The vendor had recently bought nearby for a change of lifestyle, he said. She had lived in the property for 31 years after buying it in 1994 for $234,000.

He said the vendor was happy with the eventual price, but noted the guide was reduced from $1.55 million at the start of the campaign following low inspection attendance.

“It’s really hard to price real estate at the moment. That’s the bottom line,” said Stringer, who pointed to consecutive interest rate rises and uncertainty in the market.

Further south, a three-bedroom townhouse in Bentleigh East passed in at $990,000 at auction, well below the $1,089,000 reserve.

The large, open-plan modern home at 2/58 Wingate Street has an expansive rear deck, two bathrooms and a full-size carport and garage, and had a price guide of $940,000 to $1.03 million.

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

Anthony Fordham, agent and auctioneer at Jellis Craig Bentleigh, said bidding opened at $940,000, the bottom of the reserve, with two bidders trading $10,000 increments until the property was passed in at $990,000.

The vendor was relocating to be closer to his work in West Melbourne, Fordham said, and the two bidders were a downsizer and a couple hoping to relocate from Altona.

Fordham said negotiations with the prospective buyer had fallen through, and he was speaking to the other interested bidder.