Young couple buys Yarraville home for $1.8 million, $200,000 above reserve

In Melbourne’s southeast, a three-bedroom Hughesdale townhouse sold to a first-home buyer for $1,360,500.

Seven active bidders, including one from southern France, are vying for the 1/13 Bletchley Road.

The auction stalled briefly when one party offered $850,000, and then a full-blown bidding war broke out.

Ray White auctioneer Jonathon Eaves said more than 100 bids were placed between seven parties, pushing the price well above the reserve of $1,045,000.

“It works like a pinball machine,” he said.

The buyer, from the neighbouring suburb of McKinnon, paid more than she expected, beating out a host of young couples and downsizers to the sought-after property.

Eves said she had always wanted to buy it but always missed it at auction.

“The highest bidder was ecstatic. I think she had mixed emotions, she was happy she had found something… She was way over her head, but she was prepared to pay.”

Mr Eaves said the affordable prices of properties in areas such as Bletchley Road were a major attraction for first-time buyers and young families, with more than 260 groups having come to view the townhouses.

Meanwhile, a brother and sister bought a two-bedroom townhouse-style apartment in Melbourne’s northwestern suburbs for $20,000 below reserve.

Brothers and sisters won 2/13 Ross Streetwho bought the Niddrie home for $720,000 in post-auction negotiations after it passed in on Saturday. They were the only active bidders after a downsizer ultimately decided not to bid.

McDonald Upton Essendon auctioneer Paul McDonald made a $680,000 bid for the vendor, then the siblings made a further $690,000 bid before the property passed in.

During negotiations, the siblings offered an additional $30,000, purchasing the apartment for $720,000.

Simone Tramontana, an agent with McDonald’s Upton Real Estate, said the seller, who is moving out of state, was happy to accept the offer even though it was below the $740,000 reserve.

Tramontana said the siblings, who now live with their parents at their home in nearby Essendon, were delighted to move into the villa, which had been renovated by the previous owner.

“They’re getting along really well now, living together, and they wanted more space,” Tramontana said.

“It’s in a great location. It’s close to everything, it’s north-facing, it’s light and bright, and it’s very quiet.”

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Tramontana said while villa-style units have traditionally been popular with downsizers, they are also becoming increasingly popular as first-time homes.

“These properties are affordable for people who are exiting the rental market. Now they can pay their own mortgage, they think, ‘Well, why should I pay someone else’s (mortgage)?’ So they are becoming more popular among young people,” she said.

In the bayside suburb, a flat in Beaumaris that needed work sold at auction for $775,000 to a local couple keen to renovate.

60 people watched 1/117 Cromer Roadan estate, sold for $75,000 above reserve.

Bidding opened with an offer of $680,000 and a competitive auction ensued with five active bidders vying for the two-bedroom apartment.

“Prices have been going up,” said Kevin Pleysier of Hodges Real Estate’s Beaumaris branch.

The successful buyers plan to live in the unit, Plessier said, and have completed renovations and want to sell the property.

“For some people, it’s a great little purchase that helps them accomplish what they were planning to do,” he said.

Plessier said some potential buyers didn’t bid because the property shares outdoor space with four adjacent units.