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Updated April 11, 2026 — 4:38pm,first published 1:59pm
An updated Californian bungalow in Thornbury sold for its $1,685,000 reserve under the hammer on Saturday, with three bidders coaxing it to market as home buyers get more price sensitive.
The three-bedroom home at 139 Rossmoyne Street featured a mix of the old and the new, with navy-blue accents highlighting the owners’ Carlton memorabilia, original brown tiling in the rear of the home, polished floorboards, a backyard with two sheds, a putting green and jacuzzi.
Sitting midway between High and Station streets, it had a price guide of $1.55 million to $1.65 million.
There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.
Jellis Craig Northcote agent and auctioneer Sam Rigopoulos started the bidding at $1.55 million, with just four more bids in $50,000, $10,000 and $5,000 increments inching the auction to conclusion.
“At the moment, three people bidding on a house is a good outcome,” Rigopoulos said, noting interest rate hikes and general uncertainty were leading to more price-sensitive buyers, particularly at the higher end of the market.
The winning couple had young children, and were moving up from Mornington to be closer to family in the local area, Rigopoulos said.
The vendors, empty nesters looking to make a sea-change to Mornington themselves, who did not give their name, said their next move would be a holiday, “probably in Thailand”, before an Airbnb tour of the peninsula to find their new home.
The property was one of 891 scheduled to go to auction in Melbourne this week.
To the south, a modern three-bedroom townhouse in Bentleigh East sold for $1.38 million in a competitive auction between two young families.
The open-plan two-storey home at 71a Stockdale Avenue, close to Centre Road and around 20 minutes’ drive from Brighton Beach, had a price guide of $1.15 million to $1.25 million and a reserve of $1.3 million.
Ray White Bentleigh agent Olivia Petrou said bidding opened at the bottom of the guide, with bids heading steadily up in $20,000, $10,000 and eventually $2500 increments.
The winning couple had young children, and Petrou said the vendors were moving their own young family interstate for “a complete lifestyle change”. Petrou said the under bidders were also a young family.
In Brunswick East, a clinker-brick house in a quiet pocket sold at auction for $1.02 million, with three bidders nudging it $30,000 above the property’s price guide.
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 57 Ryan Street was nestled next to a former electricity substation, and a recently secured parcel of ex-council land added to the home’s appeal.
It had a price guide of $900,000 to $990,000, and the reserve was set at $945,000.
Barry Plant Brunswick agent and auctioneer Ben Calcagno said the bidding opened at $875,000 and jumped to $900,000, then settled into a rhythm of increments of $10,000 and $5000, until the hammer came down at just over seven figures.
He said the winning bidders were first home buyers and a young family, who narrowly beat out an older downsizer and another young couple keen to move into the area.
The property was being sold as part of a deceased estate, and Calcagno thought its location – close to Brunswick East Primary School and boosted by the additional land – made it a unique property in a tough market.
“It definitely feels more like a buyers’ market,” he said. “But in saying that, I think if you’ve got a really good product, priced fairly, you can still do really well as a seller.”
In Craigieburn, an expansive four-bedroom home on a large block sold for $897,500, with two bidders narrowly taking the price above the $895,000 reserve.
The single-level, multiple living area house at 98 Golf View Drive features an al fresco dining area facing a reserve near Aitken Creek and a walking track at the rear of the property, and had a price guide of $840,000 to $860,000.
Ray White Craigieburn agent and auctioneer Phong Ho said the bidding opened at $840,000, and mostly increased in $10,000 increments over 10 to 15 minutes, before narrowing to $2500 bids. It sold to a couple from South Morang.
Ho said the buyers pushed just above their $895,000 budget after losing a previous home they’d had their hearts set on.
“They did fall in love with this one, so they were willing to spend a little bit more to make the rest of their weekend easier,” he said.
