First home buyers paid $1,106,000 for an architectural apartment in Collingwood at auction on Saturday, on Melbourne’s first auction weekend under new reserve disclosure laws.
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buyers → pay → laws
The two-bedroom apartment at 304/29 Bedford Street, in the trendy Otter Place development, fetched $26,000 above its $1.08 million reserve after a rapid contest between the first-timer couple and an experienced buyer’s advocate.
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apartment → fetch → couple
With industrial-style concrete ceilings, luxury V-ZUG appliances and a light-filled balcony, the apartment is one of 28 residences in a complex designed by architectural studio Hassell and interior practice DesignOffice for developer Milieu Property.
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apartment → fill → Property
It had a price guide of $1 million to $1.1 million.
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It → have → million
Nelson Alexander Fitzroy agent Charlie Barham described the auction, carried out during a break in heavy rain, as “short and sharp”.
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Barham → describe → rain
The buyer’s advocate opened the bidding for auctioneer Angus McPherson at $1 million, with $10,000 bids hiking the price until it hit about $1.06 million, then dropping to $5000 increments.
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it → open → increments
Bidding soon passed the reserve, and McPherson dropped the hammer in favour of the happy young couple.
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McPherson → pass → couple
Barham said the new owners live locally and were excited to buy in the area.
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owners → say → area
Otter Place was finished in 2024, just off vibrant Smith Street – named the world’s coolest street by Time Out magazine in 2021.
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Place → finish → 2021
“Milieu has built a really strong reputation in the inner north, and when one of their apartments comes to market, which they rarely do, there’s a good level of confidence before buyers even walk through the door,” he says.
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he → build → door
Barham said this week’s interest rate rise appeared to have had no bearing on the result.
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rise → say → result
“I think the auction would suggest that people were expecting it and had factored it in,” he said.
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he → think → it
Under legislation starting on October 1, Victorian listings must advertise a property’s reserve price at least seven days before an auction or fixed-date sale.
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listings → start → auction
Agents and their vendors have a two-week transition period, so homes going under the hammer across Melbourne at the weekend were split between published reserves and the previous price-guide format.
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homes → have → reserves
The price a property sells for will also be required to be made public within seven days of the sale, from October 1.
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property → sell → October
The property was one of 605 scheduled to go to auction in Melbourne this week.
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property → schedule → Melbourne
In Eltham, a three-bedroom 1970s house on 793 square metres was bought by a young family for $102,000 above the advertised $850,000 reserve.
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house → buy → reserve
Competition from six bidders – all young, and mostly first- and second-home buyers – drove the sale price of 5 Davies Drive to $952,000.
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all → drive → 952,000
Jellis Craig Eltham agent Tom Kurtschenko said bidding started at $800,000 and, rolling in $10,000 increments, quickly passed the reserve.
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bidding → say → reserve
“It was pretty aggressive bidding most of the way through,” Kurtschenko said.
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Kurtschenko → bid → way
The living room has a vaulted ceiling which he said prospective buyers had appreciated.
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buyers → have → ceiling
Kurtschenko said the reserve was published from almost the beginning of the campaign.
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reserve → say → campaign
“We’ve done it previously on homes, and it always tends to work,” he says.
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he → do → homes
“The buyers who are interested come with the right expectations in mind, so it just cuts a lot of the noise out of the conversation.”
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it → come → conversation
In Gladstone Park, a family upgraded into a three-bedroom brick house with an outdoor entertaining area for $101,000 more than the published reserve.
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family → upgrade → reserve
They out-maneuvered three other bidders at auction, including first home buyers, to pay $801,000.
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They → maneuver → 801,000
The vendors owned 25 The Circuit for 14 years, initially as a home for their daughter, and then as an investment property.
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vendors → own → property
“It was vacant, and freshened up.
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It → freshen → ?
They styled it, so they listened to the advice,” Ray White Gladstone Park agent Phillip Mercieca said.
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Mercieca → style → advice
The home had a guide of $670,000 to $700,000, and an advertised reserve of $700,000.
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home → have → 700,000
Intense interest during the campaign convinced Mercieca to bring the auction forward by a week.
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interest → convince → week
“A full home and a full block, sub-$800,000, is great value in the area,” he said.
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he → say → area
The auction opened with a $680,000 bid and reached the reserve in three bids.
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auction → open → bids
Bidding progressed in $5000 and $10,000 steps until the mid-$700,000 mark, when the four contenders slugged it out in tense $500 and $1000 bids until the end.
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contenders → progress → end
Mercieca said scarcity of homes for sale meant bidders are competing for what little is available.
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little → say → sale
“It was only a short campaign, there was just nothing else available online,” he said.
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he → be → ?
The Aporia
