Derelict Thornbury house sells for $940,000

“They could see the potential for value in the bottom line,” he said. “It’s not about what it’s worth now, it’s about what it’s worth in the endgame.”

The amount of work required to make the property comfortable spooked most buyers, although inspections were well attended, Brizzi said.

“Those who didn’t have any construction experience were very, very scared, but those who saw the potential were [were interested],” he said. “It’s pretty run down inside. It’s probably not even rentable.”

Brizzi said buyers are considering flipping the home, which sold for $50,000 more than the reserve price.

The house was one of 912 Melbourne properties set to be auctioned on Saturday. As of the evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 64.9 percent from 696 reported results, while 82 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold items when calculating the clearance rate.

Later, in Fitzroy, a lovingly renovated patio was sold after competition from three bidders.

The three bedroom house at 111 Greeves Street was the former home of a recently deceased artist. It has been updated by the owner’s daughter, an architect now living in Germany.

Nelson-Alexander agent Peter Stephens had listed the home with a price guideline of $1.55 million to $1.65 million. It featured a loft-style bedroom, a landscaped courtyard, and a multicolored brick exterior.

Bidding opened at $1.56 million and buyers increased the price in $10,000 increments to $1.71 million and then fell to smaller increases. The house sold for $1,724,000.

Auctioneer Rick Daniel said the patio sold for $44,000 more than the reserve and thought it was a good price.

“I think right now agent pricing is a little more predictable,” he said. “They come up with a price based on two things: the expectation of the owners and what has recently been sold in the area.

“And then of course seeing that perform better means that then that becomes a comparable sale for the next one, and so on and so on.”

All three pairs of bidders are young professionals who have moved up from smaller lots, Daniel said, and were looking for homes that didn’t require much or any work.

“If I had houses like this for sale all the time, my job would be very, very easy,” he said. “Turnkey properties continue to outperform all other property types.”

A four-bedroom house in Malvern has been sold to a young couple for $4.32 million.

Marshall White’s director and auctioneer, John Manton, listed the home at 34 Glendearg Grove with a guide price of $3.8 million to $4 million.

Morell and Koren’s Prestige buyers’ attorney, Matt Cleverdon, who attended the auction but did not bid, said three buyers were vying for the property.

“[The home] was clean and tidy and well presented in a good area and location,” he said.

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He said the auction started with a seller’s bid of $3.8 million and the home was on the market for $4.25 million.

“[The Malvern market] is quite positive,” said Cleverdon. “There are a lot of people looking and stock levels continue to be a hurdle for many buyers.”

He said buyers in the high-end suburbs were “jumping into the shadows” as they worried about the reduced number of homes for sale.

“Due to the lack of stock for both sales and rentals, people are worried about where they might end up,” Cleverdon said. “They are willing to be a little braver and keep trying to get a roof over their heads.”

In South Melbourne, a two-bedroom apartment overlooking Albert Park Lake – and the Formula 1 track – has sold for $1,035,000.

Jellis Craig listing agent and auctioneer Warwick Gardiner said the auction for 8/182 Albert Road was like a “boxing match” between two bidders.

A woman renting in Port Melbourne, the eventual buyer, started the bid at $900,000.

A second bid was then made by a phone bidder – a Melbourne buyer who was in Sydney for a week – and the bid quickly rose above the $1 million reserve.

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Gardiner said the sellers, who were obsessed with Formula 1, would upgrade their growing family to a larger apartment in the 15-unit block.

He said the flat is a rare find in South Melbourne.

“They have a lot of cookie cutters [in this suburb]but these are just very tightly held.

“All properties in this block are owner-occupied. They are the premium products that stand out in this market.”