FAMILIES JOIN TO BUY BAY BASE
A PORTARLINGTON holiday house fetched $315,000 above its reserve price at auction on Saturday.
The three-bedroom fibro house at 118 The Esplanade attracted competition from seven registered bidders before selling under the hammer for $1.305m.
The 600sq m property had a $990,000 reserve.
Bidding opened at $940,000 and the buyers entered the competition when the price reached $1.1m.
Others tried their luck at $1.16m, $1.175m and more than $1.2m.
But a decision to allow a $1000 bid to round the price up to $1m extended the duration of the auction as the underbidder traded $1000 bids for almost 30 minutes.
In the end, she lost out to two Ballarat families who are combining their finances to secure a permanent holiday spot on the peninsula.
While two brothers handled the bidding, wives Laura and Lisa Clark signed the contracts as their eight kids waited patiently on the front deck.
They said the property would provide a convenient centre point for their regular Bellarine Peninsula holidays.
Maxwell Collins Geelong agent Lois Wilson said the families would be able to enjoy their first holiday there after September, when the existing tenant’s lease expired.
Ms Wilson said the property attracted a mix of buyers looking to downsize, renovate, redevelop or retire, with 13 registered to bid.
“It’s like your own beach out here,” she said.
“You can sit on the deck and look out and watch the kids play.”
Later, two people who had registered to bid but didn’t make an offer competed for a 557sq m vacant block at 208 The Esplanade, Indented
Head, which sold for