Ray White Cheltenham’s Trevor Bowen with couple Carmen and Vish, who purchased 5 Egerton Ave, Cheltenham, after the auctioneer – Mr Bowen’s colleague Greg Brydon – riffed some Taylor Swift lyrics. Inset picture: Picture: NCA NewsWire/Richard Dobson.
A Kew house featuring a combined steam room and sauna caused hot competition between bidders on Saturday, soaring a massive $656,000 above reserve to sell for $5.356m.
The home at 10 Bowen St, auctioned with a $4.7m reserve, achieved the impressive result in a week that saw Victoria record a preliminary 65.2 per cent clearance rate from 466 early results, according to PropTrack.
Marshall White’s Lawrence Zhu said five bidders competed to secure the abode with the underbidder knocked out by a $1000 bid, something which is relatively rare at a $3m-plus price point.
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A family purchased the newly-built, single-level house that Mr Zhu described as quite unique for Kew, a suburb where many developers and investors build large double-storey residences in an effort to maximise their profits.
In Melbourne’s southeast, a three-bedroom house at 5 Egerton Ave, Cheltenham, hosted one of the week’s most entertaining auctions.
The home was listed with a $895,000-$980,000 asking range but as five buyers tried to secure it, the price quickly rose above $1m.
10 Bowen St, Kew, features a bluestone-paved barbecue area and swimming pool.
The kitchen has Miele appliances including induction cooking and a microwave and steam oven.
When the bidding hit $1.111m, Ray White Cheltenham agent and auctioneer Greg Brydon said, “All the ones are lined up like singles on Tindr.”
At little while later, he urged the bidders “to feel like Taylor Swift and go to 22” when encouraging them to make a $1.22m bid.
“22” is a song from Swift’s from fourth studio album, titled Red.
Ray White Cheltenham’s Trevor Bowen said a first-home buyer couple purchased the house.
Mr Bowen said the auction “went nuts” as bidding rose higher and resulted in a $1.131m sale.
The combined steam room and sauna, which is also equipped with a shower and toilet.
It’s close to schools, tram lines, Kew Junction and the Yarra River.
PropTrack senior economist Anne Flaherty said about 994 homes were set to go under the hammer across the state next week.
“Auction volumes are expected to pick up over the second half of August as we transition from the seasonally quiet winter period into the spring selling season,” Ms Flaherty said.
“Conditions for buyers are looking positive in Melbourne, with more homes for sale compared to a year ago, and price growth trending downwards over recent months.”
5 Egerton Ave, Cheltenham, has French doors that open to the back yard.
There’s a formal living and dining room, plus another meals area.
Ray White Victoria chief auctioneer Jeremy Tyrell said the Reserve Bank’s Tuesday decision to keep rates on hold, plus widespread commentary that they would likely remain unchanged until the year’s end, had “provided much needed confidence to the market as buyer activity lit up” across the agency’s network.
“Auction volume is set to soar over the coming weeks as confidence builds,” Mr Tyrell said.
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