The three-bedroom house at 8 Strickland Ave, Highton, sold for $751,000 at auction.
A three-bedroom “old Highton house has uncovered strong underlying demand for affordable homes in the suburb despite selling $111,000 above the reserve price.
The 589sq m property at 8 Strickland Ave, Highton, was the subject of a 10-way tussle when it went to auction on Saturday.
But most interest had fallen away well before the hammer came down on the auction.
A Melbourne investor offered a final $751,000 bid to secure the home as the property went to auction with a $640,000 reserve price.
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The central kitchen overlooks two living areas.
Hayeswinkle, Highton agent Rachael Taylor said there were 10 active bidders at the auction, including two on phones.
While 10 bidders raised a hand at the auction, especially once auctioneer Michelle Winckle had revealed the property was selling at $640,000, just three remained in the hunt after the price had surpassed $700,000, demonstrating the level where buyers were showing the biggest demand.
“Throughout the whole campaign we had about 135 buyers through the door,” Ms Taylor said.
“The majority of buyers that came through were people relocating to Geelong, but it ended up being an investor that bought the property.
“Potentially he’s going to rent it for a year to so and then relocate himself,” Ms Taylor said.
The school zoning – Bellaire Primary School and Belmont High School – were the biggest draw for buyers, along with proximity to Highton Village and Porter Ave shops, she said.
The property is near Porter Ave and Highton Village shops.
The formal living room has a wood heater.
The 589sq m block has a deep back yard.
The sale bettered the $728,000 achieved for a similar sized but renovated house next door that sported an updated kitchen and bathroom.
Other similar homes in the neighbourhood had achieved $700,000-plus sales in the past two years, records revealed.
PropTrack data shows Highton’s $861,000 July median house price has dropped 5.6 per cent, or $51,000 compared to the same time last year, and $80,000 compared to three years ago.
The property was listed with a $595,000 to $645,000 price guide.
“The vendor was really trusting with us, he basically let us run the campaign how we felt we needed to get him the best results,” she said.
“We chose to auction because we feel that it’s a unique property, because that area is very desired and hard to get in to.
“There’s not a lot of turnover, so we chose the auction based on that we felt that we would get a better result with for the vendor going to auction and you’ve got more buyers – more eyes on the property – over a four week period.”
The vendor bought the property in 2006.
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