It came down to two bidders for this Werribee home. Catch all the action from Domain's live auction coverage.
As Melbourne buzzed on grand final day, the property market ground to a halt with just 40 scheduled auctions.
Many vendors opted to skip Saturday, causing a big dip in listings, but a handful of agents took their properties to auction for strategic reasons.
Some reaped rewards, with one house in Mont Albert soaring $670,000 over reserve, but other sales just scraped through.
Stoking competition: 35 Victoria Crescent, Mont Albert sold for $670,000 over reserve on AFL grand final day. Photo: Woodards
Six bidders fought in front of a crowd of 250 people – seizable, yet alone on a day when focus is more on drop punts than property – for 35 Victoria Crescent in Mont Albert.
The buyer, a local family, plans to knock it down and rebuild, agent Cameron Way of Woodards Blackburn said.
After an opening bid of $1.5 million, the property quickly hit the market at $1.57 million, and sold for $2.24 million.
Bulldogs heartland: 15 Balding Avenue, Werribee fetched the street’s highest-ever price on Saturday. Photo: Harcourts
Mr Way said the auction was held on grand final day because he knew the lack of stock would stoke competition, and said he expected the property to be highly sought, regardless of the day it went under the hammer.
In Bulldogs heartland of Werribee, locals wearing red, white and blue gathered to watch the auction of 15 Balding Avenue.
The three-bedroom weatherboard sold for $450,000 – $90,000 more than the highest price for the street.
Passed in: 6 Katandra Court, Mount Waverley sold after negotiation for $1.26 million. Photo: Biggin & Scott
Harcourts agent Michelle Chick said selling on grand final morning captured families who were heading out before the first bounce at the MCG.
Harcourts gave away a footy prize to the best dressed fan, before two contenders traded bids.
The winning bidders, who had a large support contingent, cried and embraced. Ms Chick said they had wanted to own in the area to be near to family, and had missed out at a couple of previous auctions.
Ms Chick said the Balding Avenue area of Werribee was popular for its proximity to several schools, and with the Werribee Park mansion, Shadowfax winery and Werribee Zoo nearby, was gaining more attention.
In the outer east, three bidders fought for a four-bedroom house at 6 Katandra Court in the Mount Waverley Secondary College zone.
A big crowd gathered under the carport to watch auctioneer Ryan Webb-Johnson of Biggin and Scott Glen Waverley accept an opening bid of $1 million from a man.
After two vendor bids, at $1.1 million and $1.2 million, and two trips inside to consult the vendor, the property passed in to the late-entrant for $1.21 million.
The house, with direct access to Scotchman’s Creek Trail, sold after negotiation to a local family for $1.26 million.
Listing agent Fred Zeng said he scheduled the auction on grand final day to capture Chinese buyers flying to Melbourne during the Golden Week.
The Asian community in Mount Waverley wouldn’t be a big fan of footy, he said, so scheduling the auction on Saturday wouldn’t impact the result.
“By auctioning on October 1, we will catch this specialised category of buyers from China to build us a better chance of selling it for a higher price,” Mr Zeng said.
Scheduling the auction at 10am, before the grand final kick off in the afternoon, meant buyers interested in the footy could catch the match, he said.