Bidding ploy hits pay dirt
A FINAL $500 bid secured a first home for a Belmont couple on Saturday.
Matt and Julia Baden admitted after the auction at 19 Marjorie Ave, Belmont, that they had reached their price limit before Ms Baden made the last $500 bid to secure the property for $505,500.
The couple, who are renting nearby, will be close to family and living in an area that they enjoy.
It will also be close to schools when it comes time for a family, Mr Baden said.
Ms Baden said that the couple had been looking for a home for more than six months. Saturday was the first time they had bid at auction.
The couple used a strategy to deliberately slow the auction by waiting to place their bids and offering only small increments.
Bidding had opened $470,000.
“We wanted to slow the momentum because auctions work on momentum,” Mr Baden said. “So we wanted to offer smaller increments and if they don’t accept it, we just had to be stern and say we’d like you to accept our genuine bid.”
Both placed bids during the auction, with Ms Baden relenting on the final $500.
“When it hit the $505,000 that was our limit, but we said do we want to lose by a tiny amount,” she said.
The three-bedroom house attracted a crowd of about 60 people, with the Badens and one other party making offers.
The renovated house stood out in the area because it had two living areas, Hayeswinckle, Highton auctioneer Michelle Winckle told the crowd. The reserve was $500,000. Belmont’s median house price is $468,000, according to CoreLogic. at