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October 3, 2026 \u2014 5:07pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n First home buyers paid $1,106,000 for an architectural apartment in Collingwood at auction on Saturday, on Melbourne\u2019s first auction weekend under new reserve disclosure laws.<\/p>\n The two-bedroom apartment at 304\/29 Bedford Street<\/a>, in the trendy Otter Place development, fetched $26,000 above its $1.08 million reserve after a rapid contest between the first-timer couple and an experienced buyer\u2019s advocate.<\/p>\n With industrial-style concrete ceilings, luxury V-ZUG appliances and a light-filled balcony, the apartment is one of 28 residences in a complex designed by architectural studio Hassell and interior practice DesignOffice for developer Milieu Property. It had a price guide of $1 million to $1.1 million.<\/p>\n Nelson Alexander Fitzroy agent Charlie Barham described the auction, carried out during a break in heavy rain, as \u201cshort and sharp\u201d.<\/p>\n The buyer\u2019s advocate opened the bidding for auctioneer Angus McPherson at $1 million, with $10,000 bids hiking the price until it hit about $1.06 million, then dropping to $5000 increments. Bidding soon passed the reserve, and McPherson dropped the hammer in favour of the happy young couple.<\/p>\n Barham said the new owners live locally and were excited to buy in the area.<\/p>\n Otter Place was finished in 2024, just off vibrant Smith Street \u2013 named the world\u2019s coolest street by Time Out magazine in 2021.<\/p>\n \u201cMilieu has built a really strong reputation in the inner north, and when one of their apartments comes to market, which they rarely do, there\u2019s a good level of confidence before buyers even walk through the door,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Barham said this week\u2019s interest rate rise<\/a> appeared to have had no bearing on the result.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the auction would suggest that people were expecting it and had factored it in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Under legislation starting on October 1, Victorian listings must advertise a property\u2019s reserve price at least seven days before an auction or fixed-date sale.<\/p>\n Agents and their vendors have a two-week transition period, so homes going under the hammer across Melbourne at the weekend were split between published reserves and the previous price-guide format.<\/p>\n Related Article The price a property sells for will also be required to be made public within seven days of the sale, from October 1.<\/p>\n The property was one of 714 scheduled to go to auction in Melbourne this week. By evening, Domain recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 56 per cent from 506 reported results throughout the week, while 79 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.<\/p>\n In Eltham, a three-bedroom 1970s house on 793 square metres was bought by a young family for $102,000 above the advertised $850,000 reserve.<\/p>\n Competition from six bidders \u2013 all young, and mostly first- and second-home buyers \u2013 drove the sale price of 5 Davies Drive<\/a> to $952,000.<\/p>\n Jellis Craig Eltham agent Tom Kurtschenko said bidding started at $800,000 and, rolling in $10,000 increments, quickly passed the reserve.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was pretty aggressive bidding most of the way through,\u201d Kurtschenko said.<\/p>\n Related Article The living room has a vaulted ceiling which he said prospective buyers had appreciated. The buyers are from Ivanhoe and the underbidders were also a young family.<\/p>\n Kurtschenko said the reserve was published from almost the beginning of the campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve done it previously on homes, and it always tends to work<\/a>,\u201d he says. \u201cThe buyers who are interested come with the right expectations in mind, so it just cuts a lot of the noise out of the conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n In Gladstone Park, a family upgraded into a three-bedroom brick house with an outdoor entertaining area for $101,000 more than the published reserve. They out-maneuvered three other bidders at auction, including first home buyers, to pay $801,000.<\/p>\n![\"Auctioneer](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/4b6112f9e492aa2f3bb34b28dd01a98da6c0713e.jpeg\")
Auctioneer Angus McPherson calls for bids in a rare break in the rain in front of 29 Bedford Street.Joe Armao<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/57fa66dafad1302588fbd94a93dcf415c8fba44d.jpeg\")
The balcony offered views across Collingwood to the south-east.Nelson Alexander Fitzroy<\/p>\n![\"x\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791041657_978_f029e3ee8b8cf0091ce889e0ec2a18b2a2aa4b64.jpeg\")
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