Reservoir house sells for just $500 above reserve
A family home in original condition on a “massive block” in Reservoir sold at auction on Saturday for $900,500 to a first home buyer, just $500 above its reserve.
Three-bedroom, south-facing brick house 22 Merrilands Road It was located on an 888 square meter block, a short walk from Keon Park train station. It had a price guide of $850,000 to $915,000.
Selling agent Keb Nguyen of Ray White Reservoir said the home sold for less than he expected.
“The reserve was $900,000,” he said. “We thought we would earn a little more.”
The auction started at $800,000, four active bidders bid up to $830,000, two withdrew from the bidding.
“The property was listed on the market for $900,000 and then another offer came in for $500 and that was it,” Nguyen said.
He said that although the property is old, its large land size has attracted the attention of investors.
“Many people saw the potential for the massive block and house to be renovated or expanded,” Nguyen said.
Ultimately, the first home buyer who planned to use the property as an investment was successful.
“He’s looking at what he needs to do to secure the grant and deposit scheme, so he may have to move in here for a while before it can be used as an investment,” Nguyen said.
The sellers, as well as investors, had previously purchased the property from Nguyen in 2022.
“I think they may have lost money,” he said. “I sold it to them… for $860,000 plus tax.”
Stamp duty payable on the purchase would likely be just under $47,000.
The property was one of 246 auctions scheduled in Melbourne last week. As of Saturday evening, Domain Group had recorded a pre-auction approval rate of 56 percent from 151 results reported, while 22 auctions had been withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the liquidation rate.
A two-bedroom house near power lines in Wollert sold at auction for $518,500, nearly $80,000 over its reserve.
1 Frisby Street It was listed with a price guide of $400,000 to $440,000 and had a reserve of $440,000.
Sales representative Hayden Assaad of Ray White Wollert said he was “extremely surprised” by the result.
“We honestly didn’t expect to get this price,” he said.
“I wasn’t expecting this result because I was so close to the power lines and there was an electrical box behind it, but the person who wanted it did everything to make it happen.”
Four bidders participated in the auction, including a first home buyer and an investor.
“The investor purchased the house with a final bid of $500 after the first home buyer gave up $518,000,” Assaad said.
He said the property was a “relatively new” two-storey house purchased by the seller as a first home. Records show the vehicle was last sold for $160,000 in 2016.
“[The vendor] “I took really good care of it and I think that was one of the biggest draw cards: well presented and cared for,” he said.
A “house-sized unit” in Glen Waverley sold at auction for $1.365 million.
1/18 Harvie Street It had a price guide of $1.2 million to $1.3 million, with a reserve of $1.3 million.
Grace Rodrigues, of BigginScott Glen Waverley, said there were four registered bidders but “only two actually entered the competition”.
“It opened with a bid of $1.2 million,” he said, “but the second bid of $1.3 million meant the other two were outpriced.”
The next 10 minutes came down to a fight between a family aiming to buy a home in the Glen Waverley school district and a downsizing family who ultimately succeeded.
“My father really wanted this. When he didn’t get it, he had tears in his eyes,” Rodrigues said.
Besides its location, Rodrigues said the 20-year-old property is “unique” because it was one of the last house-sized brick units built on larger blocks before townhouses really “came into existence.”
“It has three-metre high ceilings, a huge living area and large bedrooms. The land size is also really good,” he said.
The lack of steps was also attractive to the diminutive.
“As people get older, they don’t want stairs,” Rodrigues said. “So the fact that the garage’s interior access to the house was pretty straight forward was attractive.”
PRD chief economist Diaswati Mardiasmo said April was always a “weird time” for the auction market.
“After Easter, there’s a federal budget coming up and Anzac Day is thrown in there too, it’s like auction rate soup,” he said.
The economic climate, the war in the Middle East and rising costs of living have also had an impact on recent rate increases.
“There are already seasonal things, and then this is thrown on top of it,” Mardiasmo said.
