Sandringham fixer-upper sells for $1.45m in hot auction; market is ‘positive’

A buyer’s advocate was the winning bidder, purchasing for a mystery client who paid well above the $3.3 million reserve.

Bidding on the three-bedroom home at 4 Highbury Grove opened at $3 million, the bottom of the $3 million to $3.25 million guide, and increases of $25,000, $10,000, and $5000 followed.

Kay & Burton partner Tom Staughton said optimism had returned to the Melbourne market. More homes were being listed for sale, he said, and there has also been an increase in buyer demand. “I definitely think there’s a bit of a positive vibe out there.”

In Sandringham, a three-bedroom fixer-upper sold for $1.45 million.

The long-held family home at 31 Hobson Street, which had a $1 million to $1.1 million guide, attracted a crowd of around 100 people for the sale. Bidding opened with a vendor’s bid of $950,000, before five buyers competed, upping offers in $25,000 increments.

The home, which needed a lot of work to fix its kitchen and bathroom, was called on the market at $1,125,000, but more bids of $25,000 followed, before offers slowed to $10,000 and $5000 increments.

The winning bid was made by a woman who first inspected the house on Thursday. She now plans to renovate the property, Ray White Carnegie auctioneer Tom Grieve said.

Grieve said the property was a deceased estate and had been held in the same family since 1969. The house was almost original, with bright-green kitchen tiles, green and yellow walls, and window trim in some rooms.

He said the home had been very popular with buyers, including first-timers, as it had an entry-level price guide for the area.

Sandringham recorded a median house price of $1,952,500 last year on Domain data.

“We’re thrilled with the result given how small the block is and how much work the house needs,” Grieve said. “You’re really limited with what you can do with it.”

Agents said the high volume of auctions on Saturday would be a true test of the Melbourne market after price growth softened in late 2023.

In Williamstown, a five-bedroom, double-fronted Victorian home was snapped up by a young family for $2,577,000, after they made a final $1000 bid increase to seal the deal.

The renovated house at 34 Ann Street had a $2.2 million to $2.3 million price guide, and the Port Melbourne buyers were one of five bidders competing for the keys.

Williams Real Estate’s John Limperis said bidding opened at the top end of the guide at $2.3 million, before a flurry of $25,000 offers followed. Bidding then slowed to $10,000 and $5000 increments, with a few $1000 bids thrown in for good measure before the fall of the gavel.

“There was a massive crowd at the auction of around 100 people,” Limperis said.

“There have been heaps of people out and about today – including for open-for-inspections – it really seems to be picking up over the past few weeks.”