Latest news with #RayWhiteBlackburn
The Age
11-08-2025
- Business
- The Age
Family pays $2.9m for a Princes Hill home in competitive auction
'The clearance rate at our company is over 88 per cent, so we are selling them, and we are selling them competitively,' Cortese added. Meanwhile, further out in Melbourne's east an investor, a first home buyer and a builder developer negotiated to buy a post-war weatherboard house after it passed in at auction at $750,000. The three-bedroom house on 60 Surrey Road, Blackburn North had a price guide of $858,000 to $943,800, and a reserve price of $940,000. Peter Schenck, Ray White Blackburn selling agent and auctioneer, said the two bidders – the first home buyer and builder – were joined by a single woman – the investor – in post-auction negotiations, who bought the house for $901,000. 'The buyer was a lady who turned up post-auction but had seen the house before,' Schenck said. 'She is an investor, and will rent the property out back through us.' He said investors were slowly coming back into the market post the February and May rate cuts. Loading In Melbourne's inner south-east, two first home buyers in their 20s battled it out with the help of their parents for a single-fronted Victorian home, with the winner paying $1.35 million for the property at auction. The three-bedroom house at 13 Oban Street, South Yarra 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. Loading Just across the Yarra River in Richmond, a townhouse sold under the hammer for $1,205,000 to a couple in their 30s. The three-bedroom home at 6/33 York Street had been guided at $1.05 million to $1.1 million, with a reserve price of $1.05 million, BigginScott Richmond leasing agent Phoebe Hnarakis said. 'All four bidders were young couples, one with children,' she said. The winners were first home buyers with 'a bit of a trade background, and are excited to do some work to the place', she added. While renovated or 'turnkey' homes were still more popular, properties such as the townhouse were also sought after because 'someone could come and put their stamp on it without having to do anything structural,' Hnarakis said.
Herald Sun
12-05-2025
- Business
- Herald Sun
Chirnside Park home with pizza oven, incredible view sold at auction — plus unusual, but amazing pizza recipe tip
A Chirnside Park home with a view so good the owner bought it off his grandfather has sold in post-auction negotiations about $1.4 million dollars above what they paid 43 years ago. Scott and Carmel Bennett bought the 4 Karalla Court home off of his forebear for about $45,000 in 1982. But it has been in the family some 57 years after being built by his grandfather in 1968. RELATED: PropTrack: See what your suburb will be worth in 2030 Expert tips Melbourne's best first-home buyer suburbs for first auction weekend after election Bushranger Ned Kelly, The Block's Danny Wallis in Melbourne auction action 'We're a little bit emotional and it will be sad to leave after coming here since I was 15,' Mr Bennett said. The pair have also raised three kids and five dogs at the home. 'I'm relieved we are moving on,' Mr Bennett said. 'But it will really hit us when we pack the furniture.' Since buying it off his forebear, Mr Bennett and his wife have added a swimming pool, and a handful of extensions. The pair will miss the view out to Mt Donna Buang, which isn't significantly different to when they bought it in the day time. 'But with more housing being added, you see more lights at night,' Mr Bennett said. The view was also factored in when adding the home's entertainment deck, which comes with an outdoor kitchen and a woodfire pizza oven. Mr Bennett said the result had been many pizza nights over the years, where they provided bases and sauces, and guests brought their toppings, Ironically, it was their real estate agent that came up with the best topping they'd tried: shaved dark chocolate and sliced cherries. Ray White Blackburn's Allan Smith handled the sale and said while five bidders had registered to bid for the home — just two had bid for it. 'It was young families, looking to upsize,' Mr Smith said. 'But all the bidders were attracted to the view, which looks out over the Yarra Valley and it's the sort that you just can't build out.' Initially passed in at $1.4m, post-auction negotiations got the home to a $1.46m sale. A young family with three kids of their own claimed the keys and will move into the property. The agent added that the home wouldn't have achieved the same level of activity even two or three months ago, but a potential interest rate cut in the coming weeks could generate more interesting sales results in the near future. Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox. MORE: Ticketmaster boss Gavin Taylor selling 'house-size' apartment featuring a built-in bar Arrotex pharma boss billionaire Dennis Bastas firming as buyer of $100m+ Coonac 2025 Houses Awards: Bushfire ready steel treehouse among short-listed Victorian projects
