A buyer had seen the Balwyn North house once. Then he paid $2.76 million, funding the vendor’s retirement

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Key points

• There were 955 scheduled auctions on Saturday. 
• By evening, Domain Group recorded a clearance rate of 63.8 per cent. 
• A young couple were left devastated after being out-bid on a Northcote home. 

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Eight bidders fought for the keys to an original four-bedroom Balwyn North home that sold for $2.76 million at auction on Saturday.

The house at 21 Mountain View Road blew over its reserve price by $360,000, and the listing agent said the funds would help support its vendor’s retirement. They had lived in the home for 45 years.

The successful buyer had only viewed the home once before the auction, which shocked Jellis Craig Balwyn auctioneer Damien Davis when they won the house in a drawn-out auction.

Davis said he had only confirmed that there were going to be five bidders ahead of the auction. He said he was impressed by the strong demand.

“Of the people interested, half were to knock it over and half were to come in and renovate,” said Davis.

The successful buyer and underbidder were both keen to renovate.

The house at 21 Mountain View Road attracted eight bidders at auction. Credit: Jellis Craig

Five parties were knocked out of the auction when bidding reached $2.65 million. The last $80,000 of the contest was between two would-be buyers.

The home sat on a 795-square-metre block and featured an expansive backyard with a pool.

The Balwyn North auction was one of 955 scheduled in Melbourne on Saturday. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 63.8 per cent from 708 reported results, while 73 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.

In Ascot Vale, a former Homes Victoria social housing property sold at auction for $1,355,000.

The house at 194 The Parade has been snatched up by a young couple who are first home buyers.

The five-bedroom, two-bathroom house would require work, but it offered opportunity for the new buyers, said Ray White listing agent Adam Hicks.

“The people who bought it are upsizing from a local townhouse, and it will be a good project for them”, he said.

Bidding opened at $1.2 million and two young couples were competitive in the auction. The reserve was set at $1.3 million.

The property had been owned by Homes Victoria since 1985.

In Northcote, four bidders battled in a fierce auction for 133 Separation Street that sold for $1.46 million.

The renovated two-bedroom, two-bathroom home appealed to buyers for its modern finishes and proximity to the city.

The underbidders were a young couple, and they were visibly devastated after being close to winning the property several times, said Jellis Craig Northcote auctioneer Sam Rigopoulos.

“There were four or five times when I thought the property was going to sell, but a bid would be made,” he said.

Rigopoulos listed the property with a quoted price range of $1.25 million to $1,375,000. Bidding opened at $1.3 million, and bidders made consistent $10,000 increments. Two buyers competed back and forth as they approached the sale price, with many $500 bids being accepted. The final bid was for $500.

Another owner-occupier beat the competition to win the auction. The vendors are upsizing after owning the property for ten years.

AMP chief economist Dr Shane Oliver said that the results from the weekend followed a pattern for the Melbourne property market.

“They’re softish sort of numbers, but they’re certainly not bad,” Oliver said about the clearance rate and listings.

“The ongoing concerns about high interest rates with a prospect of another interest rate is acting as a bit of a dampener on demand.

“The market strikes me as a little fragile [but] on the one hand there’s no shortage of property,” Oliver said.

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