Gift this free article<\/p>\n
Share full article with anyone \u2014 no subscription needed to read it. It won’t deduct your gift credits. Learn more<\/a><\/p>\n Share article as gift<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Key pointsThe Newport home had a reserve of $1.8 million and sold for $1.79 million.A livable three-bedroom house in West Melbourne sold under the hammer for $1,115,000 to a family wanting to remain in the inner city.\u00a0In Carlton North, a two-bedroom Victorian terrace sold below its $1.09 million reserve.<\/p>\n A family from Williamstown bought a cute-as-a-button double-fronted Victorian home in Newport after auction on Saturday for $1.79 million \u2013 $10,000 below the reserve \u2013 after making a single bid of $10,000 above a vendor bid.<\/p>\n The property at 32 Speight Street<\/a> had a $1.8 million reserve and passed in on their bid of $1,735,000 before the sale was negotiated.<\/p>\n Though some reserve prices have been advertised over the past few weeks, Saturday marked the first official weekend when vendors going to auction were required to have published their reserves at least seven days prior under Victoria\u2019s new auction rules.<\/p>\n It was a quieter than usual spring weekend, with 466 auctions scheduled for Saturday, less than the 698 last Saturday. Next Saturday, 853 auctions are scheduled so far.<\/p>\n There were 553 properties scheduled to go to auction in Melbourne throughout last week. By Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 53 per cent from 385 reported results throughout the week, while 59 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.<\/p>\n Related Article Agents say turnkey properties are selling well, while those that need work are still finding buyers but are more challenging.<\/p>\n The home in Speight Street had been renovated by the vendors, who refurbished the bathrooms and added new flooring. It had been fully repainted, Jellis Craig Inner West\u2019s Lauren Wood said.<\/p>\n The gorgeous spring weather brought out a crowd of about 50, but no opening bid came. Instead, the auction opened with a $1.7 million vendor bid.<\/p>\n A second vendor bid of $1,725,000 followed, before the buyers made their $1,735,000 offer.<\/p>\n Though two bidders were expected to compete, only the buyer, ended up raising a hand, allowing the family to negotiate the sale after the auction passed in, Wood said.<\/p>\n She said the market had its challenges as prices were down, after interest rate rises and the higher cost of living cut buyers\u2019 borrowing capacity. There were fewer houses to choose from as spring remained quiet.<\/p>\n However, there were good opportunities for buyers.<\/p>\n \u201cThe savvy buyers know it\u2019s a really good time to upgrade,\u201d Wood said. \u201cThough their property price has taken a hit, the other property will as well, so it\u2019s all relative in this market.\u201d<\/p>\n In West Melbourne, a liveable three-bedroom house that needed work at 427 Victoria Street<\/a> sold under the hammer for $1,115,000, above the $1.06 million reserve.<\/p>\n Two bidders, one a family from North Melbourne, the other a local investor, competed, pushing the price past its advertised reserve.<\/p>\n Bidding opened on a vendor bid of $1 million, and the reserve price was reiterated for potential buyers.<\/p>\n A flurry of offers followed, with the family, which wanted to remain in the inner city, beating the investor.<\/p>\n Related Article It was the first time the house had been sold in 57 years, with the vendors, who had inherited the property, using it as an investment.<\/p>\n Barry Plant Essendon\u2019s Paul Filippone said the house had been popular and agents were expecting more bidders to make an offer.<\/p>\n \u201cThere still seems to be a hesitancy for bidding,\u201d Filippone said. \u201cThe houses that are liveable but need work are more of a challenge to sell because a lot of people don\u2019t want to deal with tradespeople or pay for the extra costs.\u201d<\/p>\n In Carlton North, a two-bedroom Victorian terrace fixer-upper sold for $1 million, below its $1.09 million reserve, after passing in on a $985,000 bid.<\/p>\n The auction for 527 Station Street<\/a> opened on a vendor bid of $975,000, with the buyer, a local investor, making a further $10,000 offer before negotiating the sale after the auction.<\/p>\n Nelson Alexander Carlton\u2019s James Pilliner said buyer feedback had been that the reserve was a little too high, so the sale price was not surprising, and the vendor was happy with the outcome.<\/p>\n \u201cThe investor will need to spend a bit more to fix it up, but it\u2019s in a really good location and in a row of heritage houses,\u201d Pilliner said.<\/p>\n \u201cTypically, the buyer pool is a lot shallower for something that needs work, though those that have renovated before are not daunted by it.\u201d<\/p>\n Property alerts are now available in The Age app. Turn them on to receive the latest market news and trends.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Gift this free article<\/p>\n![\"Auctioneer](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792318692_248_720447186d5f563c7a288930c2f38513f7bf5c04.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f5df19fc73999ac2ca4fc229a7b704d5f95f669e.jpeg\")
The house on Speight Street had been recently painted.Jellis Craig Inner West<\/p>\n![\"Declan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792318695_278_7cc6735064aaad39cfb4b0a2b595fd4ec3fcda7d.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n