Choosy buyers get a purchase
Published on 12/08/2012
Buyers were choosy yesterday. Some properties sold under the hammer for good prices, while others – despite being in blue-chip locations and drawing crowds – remained unsold.
Illustrating the patchiness of the day, a quality family home at 5 Bethela Street, Camberwell, quoted by Noel Jones at in excess of $1.5 million, drew a solid crowd of at least 40 people but, says Catherine Cashmore of National Property Buyers, it was passed in on a vendor bid of $1.55 million.
In contrast, Ms Cashmore says, Hocking Stuart’s auction of a townhouse at 8/25 Malmsbury Street, Hawthorn, went ”hammer and tongs”, with four bidders vying for it. On the market at $692,000, it sold for $726,000.
There were some strong results at the top end. Mont Albert saw the auction of Yurnga, a Queen Anne-style residence located on a massive 2700 square metres at 17 Victoria Crescent. It was on the market at $2.71 million and Jellis Craig reports that it sold for $2.81 million before a crowd of 250 people.
In Box Hill North, a four-bedroom, two-storey residence at 19 Werder Street sold for $1.22 million following negotiations after being passed in. Ray White quoted in excess of $1.2 million, and while the auction attracted a crowd of 40 to 50 people, there were just two bidders.
A two-bedroom apartment at 4/1 Clyde Street, Thornbury, was auctioned by Barry Plant for $491,000, well above the reserve of $450,000.
In Abbotsford a two-bedroom townhouse at 72 Little Turner Street – on the market at $680,000 – sold at auction for $727,000, says Frank Valentic, of Advantage Property Consulting.
The market was also patchy in the west, according to Melissa Opie of Keyhole Property Investments, but in Flemington, a three-bedroom home at 49 Marshall Street, quoted by Thomson Real Estate at $660,000 to $720,000, was passed in at $730,000. It sold after negotiations for $736,500.