Colourful inner west California bungalow sells for $1,526,000 at auction

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An updated Californian bungalow in the heart of Flemington sold for $1,526,000 at auction on Saturday, more than $100,000 over the reserve.

The colourful three-bedroom, two-bathroom home redbrick home at 15 Wisewould Street is surrounded by lush gardens, with feature walls, polished floorboards and a large rear deck. The price guide for the property was $1.3 to $1.4 million.

Nelson Alexander Flemington agent and auctioneer Jon McKenna said bidding opened at $1,350,000, with three bidders pushing the price above the $1.4 million reserve in $10,000 increments.

After the property went on the market, bidding continued to gallop up in $10,000 increments to $1.5 million, McKenna said.

From there, he said bidding was “all over the shop”, inching up in $1000 and $2000 increments to finally sell to a solo female buyer from the local area.

The earthy loungeroom of 15 Wisewould Street, Flemington

She narrowly edged out a retired couple looking to move down from Cairns, McKenna said.

The property was one of 1559 scheduled to go to auction in Melbourne this week.

In Fitzroy North, a rare contemporary townhouse was sold in negotiations after being passed in at auction for $2,325,000.

The home at 60B May Street, built in 2011, sits in a quiet pocket between St Georges Road and Nicholson Street, near to Merri Creek.

The four-bedroom, three-bedroom home had a price guide of $2.2 million to $2.4 million, and sold for $75,000 less than its $2.4 million reserve.

Michael Amarant, agent and auctioneer at Jellis Craig Fitzroy, said bidding opened at $2.2 million. From there, he said reluctant $5000 bids from two prospective buyers pushed it up to $2,275,000, where it was passed in.

The rear courtyard of the rare Fitzroy North contemporary townhouse at 60B May Street.

Amarant said the buyers were a couple planning to use the home as an investment for a few years before settling into it as their future home.

He said the underbidders were a family looking to move closer to the city, and both parties had commented on the rarity of a modern build in the area.

“The suburb’s typified by Edwardian and Victorian, and it’s all ornate and beautiful, but it often presents compromises and challenges,” he said.

With the home selling for below the reserve, Amarant lamented that it had been a high-pressure start to the year, with a small number of auction weekends between now and the end of April pushing a lot of homes onto the market.

“We have a very early Easter this year,” he said. “That means there’s a lot of activity, a lot of work in a short period of time. Everyone wants to be sold by the 28th of March.”