Former Kensington Police Station shop sells for $1 million at auction

“The seller has been there about 10 to 12 years now … He’s done a lot of work over the years and he’s very happy.”

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The sale was one of 856 auctions scheduled in Melbourne on Saturday.

As of Saturday night, Domain Group reported a preliminary auction clearance rate of 62.9 per cent from 579 auction results, with 60 auctions withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.

Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said Melbourne’s market was challenging as the number of scheduled auctions increased significantly compared to this time last year, but auction clearance rates remained stable.

“We have 40 per cent more auctions scheduled than we did at the same time last year … and active bidding was down 9 per cent in July,” Ms Conisbee said. “But (Ray White’s) clearance rate is 69 per cent and it’s steady, so stock is clearing out.”

“We still had an average of 2.6 active buyers per auction, which isn’t too bad.”

Ms Conisbee said spring would bring a new round of listings, keeping Melbourne house prices moderate.

In Hawthorn, a four-bedroom, one-bathroom home on a rare 921-square-metre block sold on Saturday for more than $1 million above reserve.

The home sold for $3,851,000 after a young family beat out the investor with a final bid of $1,000.

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The property is located in 28 Mason Streetwith a reserve of $2.71 million and an offer range of $2.8 million to $3 million. It attracted three active bidders.

Ray White Ferntree Gully selling agent Rene Mawad said the result was due to the size and location of the home.

“To be honest, the market right now is one in 10. Nine houses are hard to get together and the prices need to be adjusted before auction. But then you get a standout house,” he said.

“The house sold for a little over 30% above the reserve price.”

The property was inherited by two siblings whose parents had lived here for 47 years.

The auction opened with a vendor bid of $2.5 million, before a second vendor bid raised the price to $2.6 million. Mawad then threatened to give up on the home, but the vendor offered $2.6 million, which he rejected.

“I held out, and that set the tone. Then it started going up to $100,000 until it got down to $50,000,” he said. “The buyer bought it for $1,000. They had been waiting for six months.”

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exist 8 Kingshott Close, Williamstowna four-bedroom, two-bathroom brick home in the Williamstown High School district sold for $1,565,000 as a young couple outbid two other bidders.

There were five auctions held in the suburb on Saturday, of which only one was successful.

Bidding started at $1.4 million and quickly rose in $25,000 increments to $1.5 million. The property had a reserve of $1.54 million and a guide of $1.45 million to $1.55 million.

“The buyers have two young children and they really wanted to be in the high school zone,” said Leigh Melbourne, the agency’s selling agent.

“One of the downsizers was a middle-aged couple who lived nearby and it was their first time attending an auction, and another had recently sold their home in Williamstown and was looking to upsize.”