The sellers, a downsizing couple about to retire, bought the house via Currie.

“It’s a full circle moment for them because when they bought the house, they had young kids, and now selling it, they have grown kids,” he said.

Records show the address was last traded for $650,000 in 2002.

Currie said the Ascot Vale market has been strong.

“This campaign had over 80 groups, which is above average,” he said. “The area is quite tightly held, so when opportunities come up, they are in demand.”

The property was one of 1257 scheduled auctions in Melbourne last week. By Saturday evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 66.4 per cent from 955 reported results throughout the week, while 95 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.

In Abbotsford, a first-home buyer beat an investor for the keys to a three-bedroom townhouse, paying $1,236,000.

The home at 10 Federation Lane had a price guide of $1.1 million to $1.2 million for the first three weeks of the campaign and was replaced by a publicly-listed reserve of $1.3 million three days before the auction.

Selling agent Mat Suckling from Realco said that this decision was an attempt to regain the confidence of buyers.

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“Another one of the townhouses in the complex sold for an obscene amount of money last weekend, so a lot of the interested parties had called me concerned the same thing would happen with this, and some just didn’t show up because they thought it would be out of their price range,” he said.

The renovated townhouse with open-plan living and a northern aspect attracted two active bidders, with the auction opening with a vendor bid of $1.2 million.

“It went up by $10,000 and then $5,000 after that,” Suckling said.

“After it was sold, I had a lot of parties who had gone through the home get in contact, rueing the fact that they didn’t come. That is definitely a lesson from this; the market is funny at the moment, so not turning up could cost you a great home.”

There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.

Meanwhile, in Coburg North, an ex-commission home with a heritage overlay was sold for $820,000.

The two-bedroom home at 19 Ronald Street had a price guide of $700,000 to $750,000 and a reserve of $700,000.

Selling agent Raphael Calik-Houston from Ray White Coburg said six active bidders participated in the auction.

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“The bidders were predominantly first home buyers,” he said.

“The successful bidder was a first-home buyer, a woman currently renting in Brunswick,” he said.

The property, which was sold by Homes Victoria, was “a bit run down but a solid home,” said Calik-Houston.

“It had a lot of groups through, and the auction was competitive.”

Bidding opened at $650,000 and increased in $10,000 increments.

“There was a good crowd and a coffee van on site, so that was a nice vibe,” Calik-Houston said.

“The bidders who missed out on 19 Ronald Street could then have a second chance at 33, which had an auction straight after.”

LJ Hooker’s head of research, Mathew Tiller, said that the rate hike has taken a “bit of the wind out of the sails” in the Melbourne market, yet overall, it is still relatively strong.

“This week hasn’t been as good as previous weeks, but it’s reflective of the number of auctions there are,” he said.

“There are definitely still buyers out there, especially those who already have their finances sorted. Investors are also still looking.”