Auction Wrap
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769 Park Street, Brunswick
Passed in at $1,600,000
A genuine bid of $1.600.000 was all auctioneer Tom Roberts could extract from this crowd, shading under trees and straining to hear him over the noise of busy Park St. This two-storey terrace home was consequently passed in.
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23 Emmaline Street, Northcote
Passed in at $940,000 VB
After placing a vendor bid of $900,000, Stewart Oldmeadow of Miles Real Estate asked for and received a genuine bid of $920,000. Another vendor bid of $940,000 did not encourage further bidding however, and the house was passed in.
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1/174 George Street, East Melbourne
Sold for $822,000
Two bidders went head to head from $730,000 to $770,000 when the property was announced on the market. Then a third bidder joined in, and he eventually won the townhouse for $822,000.
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393 Abbotford Street, North Melbourne
Passed in at $900,000
With a slow start to bidding, auctioneer Scott McElroy from Hocking Stuart joked to the 30 people gathered “I can see I’ve whipped you into a frenzy”. From a vendor bid of $890,000 a genuine bid of $900,000 was placed, and the property was passed in.
Auction wrap from the week ending 12/05/2010
There were 1005 auctions this weekend, with a clearance rate of 60%. This is the third consecutive weekend with over 1000 properties on offer, with next week being the same. The clearance rate is remaining steady at 60%, so the interest rates continue to affect auction sales, as does the amount of properties available. This time last year the clearance rate was 82% from 913 properties.
This weekend Secret Agent looked at 4 properties, each with a different historical background.
393 Abbotsford St, North Melbourne is a corner building with an ornate rococo exterior dating from the Boom period of architecture (circa 1880). Formerly a butcher’s shop in its heyday, the faint lettering “Butcher” can be seen above the large window facing Wood St. The corner double doors open to what once would have been the shop, now converted to a living room, with very high ceilings (approximately 4.5 metres high). The shop had living premises above it – now there are 3 bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, with the living, separate dining and large kitchen which opens onto a small courtyard, downstairs. Going upstairs would give the calves a good workout – 3 flights of stairs to get above those high downstairs ceilings!
A converted fire station was on offer at 1/174 George, St, East Melbourne. This charming, ivy-clad, 2-storey townhouse was part of the original building, built around 1900 and converted into apartments about 50 years ago, with 3 extra apartments created at the back. In 1994 the entire complex was totally refurbished, and with quality fittings, as the property, although having a small living/dining area, still looked in very good condition. A small courtyard flowing from the downstairs kitchen overlooked the central complex fountain, and this being East Melbourne, each of the good sized bedrooms upstairs had leafy views, and gorgeous little planter boxes, currently decorated with petunias. This property was hotly contested between 3 parties, with the initial bidder, who started out at $730,000, finally giving up after offering his last bid of $821,000, after shaking his head at $820,000. It was a “gotcha” moment for the 3rd bidder who had come in after the property was announced on the market, and resolutely kept bidding strongly to win the property.
23 Emmaline St, Northcote had been bought in original condition and was to be a renovation job. However owner Charlton Pizzati kept on stripping back walls, and in the end all that was remaining was the foundation slab. The result is a 5-year-old house that looks as if it was built in 1900, such is the quality of the fittings and the astonishing amount of detail in ceiling rosettes, window architraves, leadlighting and an external facade that is a credit to his line of work (Mr Pizzati is a partner in Parktex Plasterers). This 3-bedroom home attracted a small crowd, many speaking Italian in this Northcote area, with one genuine bid of $920,000. With its low maintenance garden and large 2-car garage at the back, this home would appeal to someone who appreciates perfection, doesn’t like gardening, and needs a big garage space!
Park St, Brunswick is a noisy road, which is a shame as on the one side is Royal Park, and opposite it some lovely old Victorian terraces. 769 Park St had been thoroughly, if unimaginatively renovated, with the obligatory large rectangular cream family room added on to the downstairs kitchen area, to provide additional living space to the lounge and formal dining. Upstairs one of the original bedrooms had been converted into a walk-in robe and ensuite, with the original fireplace being deliberately kept in place by the owners. The large front main bedroom’s 3 floor-to-ceiling windows had been double glazed; two further bedrooms and bathroom completed the first floor. The property was passed in to a couple in their 40’s who placed the only genuine bid of $1,600,000. Currently the house is still on the market.