Ray White West Realty’s singing auctioneer Yogi Flis oversaw the musical-themed auction for 56 Helen St, St Albans.
A musical auctioneer’s vocal stylings helped a house in Melbourne’s west soar more than $160,000 dollars above expectations on the weekend.
On Saturday, the St Albans home changed hands for $910,000 after being listed with a $680,000-$748,000 range.
Ray White West Realty’s Yogi Flis, who is also a classically-trained opera singer, said he was “gobsmacked” by the figure.
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“I was not expecting that price, I was very surprised,” Mr Flis said.
Although having eight to 10 bidders helped the abode achieve an impressive sale, his singing also wowed the 50-strong crowd who watched the property go under the hammer.
During the auction, Mr Flis crooned parts of Elvis Presley’s It’s Now or Never, Frank Sinatra’s I Did It My Way and even a tune from Broadway star Josh Groban.
While aged in his twenties, Mr Flis trained as an opera singer at the Melba Conservatorium of Music in Richmond before he later went into real estate.
He’s since become known for his signature theatrical auctions in Melbourne’s western suburbs.
The owner had lived at the home for about 40 years.
Ray White West Realty’s Yogi Flis, aka the singing auctioneer, with colleague Darren Lambert following the auction.
The property, set on a 767sq m block, is close to Keilor Plains train station, Keilor Downs shopping central, the Alfrieda St shopping strip, schools and parks.
Mr Flis, whose idol is the late Italian superstar tenor Luciano Pavarotti, said many people become nervous and tense at auctions but that singing helped to lighten the atmosphere.
“People start laughing because they don’t expect it,” Mr Flis said.
“It creates a sense of warmth, suddenly we’re friends.”
The owner of the three-bedroom house at 56 Helen St, St Albans, had lived in the house for about four decades before going into a nursing home, Mr Flis added.
Her son assisted with the sale and was rapt when the abode sold to three brothers.
Eight to 10 bidders competed to secure the keys to the home, including a Sydney-based buyers’ agent who flew in for the auction.
A group of three brothers are the house’s new owners.
Mr Flis said he believed the siblings were planning to renovate the residence which features a self-contained bungalow and four-car garage.
Ray White West Realty director Darren Lambert, who also worked on the house’s marketing campaign, said more than 60 buyers had looked through the property in the weeks before the auction.
“The vendor is ecstatic, they are going to go out for a drink or dinner tonight,” Mr Lambert said.
Coincidentally, Saturday was also Mr Flis’ 52nd birthday and he was planning a celebratory dinner with family and friends.
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