Downsizers outbid young couples for $4.06 million Hawthorn East house

The house had been quoted at $1.05 to $1.15 million. Jas Stephens listing agent and auctioneer George Alexander placed a vendor bid at the bottom of the range to start the auction. The only buyer at the auction bid $1.075 million before a second vendor bid was placed at $1.1 million.

Negotiations between the buyers and vendors led to a sale price that exceeded the vendors’ $1,120,000 reserve price.

The vendors had lived in the property since 2008 before they moved to Perth nine years ago. They had retained the property with intentions to return to Melbourne, but decided to stay in Perth and sell the Yarraville home.

Alexander said that increased costs for landlords have caused an uptick in listings.

“People are just saying there’s no point holding on to rental properties anymore, they’re selling. The rental crisis is going to get worse and worse,” said Alexander.

The buyers had rented in Yarraville after moving to the city from Geelong. Alexander said they had plans to renovate the single-level Victorian.

In Elsternwick, first-home buyers paid $730,000 for a renovated two-bedroom apartment.

The successful buyers beat two other competitors for the property at 8/20 Victoria Street. Bidding in the auction commenced at $630,000 and it was declared on the market at the reserve price of $690,000.

“The location is what really attracted everybody – right across the park, across the road from Elsternwick shops,” said Jas Real Estate auctioneer Oren Flamm.

“The market is really saturated at the moment,” Flamm said. “But when a really good apartment comes on the market, nothing else matters, buyers will come.”

The first-home buyers will move in from a rental in South Yarra. The vendors had raised their family in the apartment and were upsizing to Caulfield North.

In Richmond, an updated Victorian two-bedroom house went to auction on Saturday but was passed in after no bids.

The asking price for the property at 37 Smith Street was $820,000 to $880,000. Biggin&Scott director and auctioneer Andrew Crotty said that three buyers had registered to bid at auction, but due to personal circumstances did not attend on Saturday.

“We’re finding that the market is steady,” he said. “We’re seeing fewer people at inspections, but everything is either selling, before, during or after [an auction], and nothing is hanging on the market for long.”

“It’s a really pleasant, really charming, renovated cottage. We’re confident that it’ll sell in the next day or two,” Crotty said about the property.

AMP chief economist Dr Shane Oliver said that ongoing high interest rates and delayed rate cuts are restraining demand in the Melbourne property market.

“The preliminary clearance rate was 61.1 per cent, which will probably get revised down to 57 to 58.

“We’ve got a pickup in listings which is relatively high compared to Sydney,” Oliver said. “Some of those listings could be distressed sales. Demand is struggling.”

Oliver said that the Reserve Bank’s decision to hold interest rates was progressively having an impact on the market.