Source : the age
A Victorian terrace in the heart of Carlton North sold for $1,985,000 at auction on Saturday, almost half a million dollars over the advertised reserve.
The modest two-bedroom home at 513 Canning Street sits on one of the inner north’s key cycle paths, and features timber floors, a study and an open-plan kitchen and living room leading onto a large west-facing paved courtyard.
Nelson Alexander Carlton lead agent Sam Carbone said the property had been advertised with its $1.5 million reserve, rather than a guide, to be transparent with potential buyers, noting the tactic had generated a lot of interest across the agency’s Melbourne offices. It was a deceased estate and last sold in 2002 for $610,000.
Auctioneer Tom Roberts opened with a $1.45 million bid. Carbone said five active bidders quickly bid in increments that were “all over the place”, from $10,000 down to $1000, and back up again.
With a few failed attempts at “knockout bids”, the price cleared $1.9 million before a young buyer “swept in after an underbidder had done all the work”, Carbone said, to win the day.
“He threw the kitchen sink at this one,” he said.
Carbone thought the market in general, especially over the past three to four weeks, had been the worst he had seen since he started as an agent in 1989.
“It’s panic mode out there,” he said. “But this particular property was one out of the box.”
The property was one of 755 scheduled to go to auction in Melbourne this week.
In West Footscray, an Edwardian on a large corner block passed in without a bid, failing to sell under the hammer.
The two-bedroom house at 2B Buxton Street is on 453 square metres. It has a separate garage, large front yard and an interior described as “timeworn” on the listing. It had a price guide of $900,000 to $990,000, and a reserve of $990,000.
Frank Dowling agent and auctioneer Joel Campbell said he’d had interest from a couple of families who were keen to renovate, and was optimistic about a result early next week.
“It will be up for sale again today for $990,000,” he said, this time under private treaty.
“It’s definitely a buyer’s market,” he said, while noting he had sold another home due to go to auction this weekend midway through the campaign.
“There are buyers out there; it’s just slowed … You’ve got to do the work.”
