Brighton home for renovation sells for $7.3 million

Schiavo declined to share the reserve price.

Formerly in Fitzroy North, a two bedroom townhouse in its own title was sold in a competitive auction to an up-and-coming buyer.

Nelson Alexander auctioneer and listing agent Robert Enes was surprised at the interest in the house, having only listed it two and a half weeks before the auction instead of the usual four.

“There were six parties here to buy and what we have learned from this campaign is that there are some new buyers entering the market,” he said. “We were totally blown away”

Bidding on the home opened at $900,000, which is above the lower end of the advertised price range of $870,000 to $950,000.

Rapid bidding between two parties then pushed the price above the $950,000 reserve. Two others then stepped in and the house eventually sold for $1.11 million. The price was $160,000 over the reserve.

Enes said he was surprised by the final sale price, which was a very strong result for his market.

He said the property was popular for its proximity to Edinburgh Gardens and St Georges Road.

In Northcote, investors have outbid two homebuyers to snag a three-bedroom home at 403 Clarke Street in a hard-fought auction.

Loading

The house had been extended and had a small studio in the backyard. Jellis Craig auctioneer and stockbroker Sam Rigopoulos priced the house at between $1.55 million and $1.65 million.

A buyer’s agent acting on behalf of the investors tried to open the bid at $1,475,000, but Rigopoulos refused and opened a seller’s bid of $1.55 million.

From there, this buyer’s agent and another pushed the price down to $1.77 million over nearly 50 bids, which narrowed to $1000 increments towards the end.

Downsizers then attempted to bid, but were outbid by the investor’s buying agent. The buyers paid $1,775,000, which was $125,000 more than the seller’s reserve price.

“There was a really diverse mix of bids and these types of homes, slightly larger single-family homes, tend to attract different groups of buyers because they can appeal to different audiences for different reasons,” Rigopoulos said.

Rigopoulos noted that he’s seen more investor activity at his auctions.

“It’s a good time to start thinking about real estate,” he said. “It’s clearly not out of control and the balance between fair prices and rising rents makes it attractive to investors.

Loading

“So we’ve seen a resurgence in investor activity over the last few months.”

Rigoplous said the weak housing market had little impact on the sale of 403 Clarke Street.

“That’s the value of buying a good position and good real estate,” he said. “It overcomes all those market challenges and is protected from dips… and you get bids all the time, so it’s smart to buy homes like this.”

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s bulletproof, but it’s pretty damn close.”