Armadale villa unit clears reserve with one bid, sells for $982,500

12 hours ago 4

An Armadale home attracted spirited competition and cleared its reserve price with just one bid at auction on Saturday, before selling for $982,500.

The two-bedroom brick villa unit at 6/531 Dandenong Road had a modern renovation, and was set back from the street in a small block of units. The home featured two car spaces and had a grassed courtyard at the rear.

Belle Property auctioneer and selling agent Lauchlan Waterfield listed the unit for sale with a quoted price range of $850,000 to $900,000.

The auction began with a bid of $888,000, for luck, from an agent bidding on behalf of a family looking to purchase the unit for their child. Waterfield said the reserve was set at the bottom of the quoted price range.

“Three bidders went pretty aggressively from the start,” he said. “Opening up at $888,000, that was probably a little higher than we had expected but driven by the other agent bidding on behalf of their clients.”

The opening bidder was bested by a woman buying a home for herself; the third bidder was a downsizer.

It was one of 1110 auctions scheduled for Saturday in Melbourne.

In Abbotsford, a three-bedroom apartment with river views sold under the hammer for $225,000 more than its reserve price.

The unit at 6/659 Victoria Street was large and had open living spaces overlooking the view. Biggin & Scott auctioneer and selling agent Andrew Crotty listed the home for sale with a quoted price range of $1.35 million to $1.45 million. He said the reserve was the top of the range.

Crotty said the two bidders, both downsizers, fought hard for the unit. “It was all over and done within about three minutes. It literally went in $20,000 rises all the way from $1.35 million to $1,675,000. Bang, bang, bang, bang.”

The sale price was $1,675,000. Crotty said the view and the apartment’s size contributed to the high result.

“You’re in the trees if that makes sense. You watch the trees changes their leaves, you can watch the rowers there, it’s got a great feel to it,” he said. “It was ideal for empty nesters because the living space is so huge and if you’re moving from a bigger house you don’t feel like you’re compromising your standard of living.”