Add CategoryAn original ‘70s Hawthorn house that’s destined for the wrecking ball has sold half a million dollars above reserve — to a family who already own the property next door.
The buyer bested five other bidders and pouring rain to win the modest brick home at 26 Lennox St for a whopping $1.72 million.
Jellis Craig selling agent George Bushby said the purchaser had secured the neighbouring property about a decade ago, but had only just demolished the house that had occupied it.
RELATED: Melbourne auction market notches best clearance rate since early 2018
Melbourne Greek restaurant site smashes reserve by $2 million
Supercar racing great Jason Bright sells Richmond home with impressive garage
“They had planned to build a modern residence next door,” Mr Bushby said.
“Now they might be able to build to a slightly higher scale.”
CoreLogic records show the neighbouring property at No. 28 fetched $1.305 million in 2010.
No. 26 last sold for just $240,000 in 1997.
The single-level, three-bedroom house had barely been altered since it was built almost five decades ago.
Mr Bushby partially attributed the property’s success under the hammer to the fact it had appealed to a broad range of buyers, with its $1.2 million asking price putting it “at the entry point into the area of Hawthorn”.
He said first-home buyers had been eyeing the “comfortable” pad to move into, investors to put tenants into it, and developers to knock it down and replace with a period-style or contemporary house.
The property’s position in a wide, tree-lined street near the Richmond border, public transport links, bars, shops, parks and schools had also been a winner.
Mr Bushby said Jellis Craig’s Boroondara offices had notched 100 per cent clearance rates the past three weeks, and was now averaging three bidders per auction.
He said buyer demand was outweighing the low supply of houses on the market. And confidence had surged following the Reserve Bank’s interest rate cut to a historic 1.25 per cent — with another cut possibly on the way — coupled with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority signalling an intention to loosen lending requirements.
MORE: Buyers finally bag Asher Keddie’s former Macedon Ranges retreat
Melbourne’s gentrifying west attracting trendy small businesses