Sunshine dream for neighbouring houses turns to six-figure loss

2 months ago 22

Two adjacent Sunshine properties with the same owner went to auction on Saturday, both selling at a loss.

The house at 21 Anderson Road sold for $635,000 which was $45,000 less than the previous sale price of $680,000 in 2017.

Next door, 23 Anderson Road sold for $591,000, $116,000 less than the vendor paid eight years ago.

They were among 774 scheduled to go to auction in Melbourne on Saturday.

The properties were initially earmarked for demolition after their owner decided it was too expensive to build a new home on the combined land, measuring 1150 square metres.

The houses, with price guides of $560,000 to $580,000 and $540,000 to $560,000, respectively, were listed as a “compelling opportunity for renovators, investors and developers alike ... whether through a comprehensive renovation or a complete redevelopment”.

The vendor’s intention was always to demolish the houses and build a new home on the combined land, Village Real Estate agent Joseph Luppino said, but a rise in construction costs curtailed their dream.

“They’d done zero maintenance on the homes since buying them because they always planned to destroy them, and as a result, 23 sold at a loss,” Luppino said.

Three bidders vied for number 23 after an opening vendor bid of $540,000, which was also the reserve. A man in his 40s placed the winning bid of $591,000.

The house at 23 Anderson Road in Sunshine sold for a loss at Saturday auctions.

“The buyers [of 21 Anderson Road] were a youngish couple looking for an investment and saw the growth potential for the area,” Luppino said.

“They were also tempted to buy number 23 – they were on the phone trying to speak to family and some friends, trying to scrounge additional funds before the auction.”

The reserve of 21 Anderson Road was $560,000.

In Prahran, investors and upsizers traded bids for a three-bedroom, double-fronted house, which sold for $1,545,000 at auction.

The house at 4 Stewart Street had a price guide of $1,350,000 to $1,425,000. Jellis Craig Stonnington’s David Sciola said while the bidding was slow to start at $1.3 million, it soon heated up, leaving an investor and a young Elwood family going “toe-to-toe”.

The family placed the winning bid of $1,545,000. The reserve was $1,425,000, Sciola said.

“They’re a nice young family with two kids who wanted to upgrade to a house, and had been looking for a while,” he said.

Sciola added the market was “really picking up steam”, with some houses selling for $100,000 more than 12 months ago.

The house in Prahran sold to a young family looking to upsize.

“The market bottomed out around November last year, and it’s been improving ever since. In the last three months, the $1 million to $2 million market has seen a jump.”