First home buyer forks out $1.35 million for South Yarra house

a day ago

Two first home buyers in their 20s battled it out with the help of their parents for a single-fronted Victorian home in South Yarra, with the winner paying $1.35 million for the property at auction.
The three-bedroom house at 13 Oban Street was built about 1880, and had been held by the same family for nearly 70 years. Kay & Burton Stonnington selling agent Gabrielle Gruskin listed the home for sale with a quoted price range of $1.2 million to $1.3 million.
'We had quite a lot of interest in the house, with about 60 groups coming through – we thought there may be more in the crowd, but there is always more houses coming up,' she said.
The buyer – a man in his early 20s whose parents had bid on his behalf – had called about the property only the day before auction, Gruskin said.
'He hadn't been through it … and he came through today and bought it,' she said.
The auction had opened with a bid of $1.2 million, with the two sole bidders battling it out for nearly 15 minutes, Gruskin added. The reserve price was $1.3 million.
The underbidder, a man in his late 20s, had visited the property previously and was with his father, who bid on his behalf. Both men were looking to purchase their first home.
'These type of properties in South Yarra have been especially popular with the first home buyers … there has been a rise in interest in the market,' Gruskin said.