Dreams driving up shack prices
DREAM homes will be on the drawing board for coastal properties that generated more than $4.5m in sales, including one selling for $770,000 over the reserve price.
The properties at St Leonards and Torquay were snapped up at auctions pitting locals against buyers from regional Victoria and Melbourne for the rare opportunities.
Six groups had registered to bid for the 1415sq m property at 103 Bluff Road, St Leonards.
The elevated site held an old beach shack, which most were looking to tear down to build their dream home.
A family that lived nearby opened the bidding at $1m and countered every offer to secure the property for $1.83m, RT Edgar, agent Aaron Jones said.
The reserve price was $1.06m, he said. “The elevated block was certainly a drawcard. You’re never going to be built out there and it is a really nice aspect off the top of Bluff Road looking out across the bay.”
The block allowed for a dream home, swimming pool and sheds to store all manner of toys, he said.
“There was a few developers interested and one of the groups loved the retro feel of the house and were going to do a renovation,” he said.
“It was a pretty amazing result considering what the valuation came in at.”
A Ballarat family is also looking to build a dream home after paying $2.7m for an 1011sq m property at 11 Pride Street, Torquay.
Hayden Torquay agent
Brent Hartigan said the original three-bedroom house was not part of the equation for most buyers who were eyeing off the prospects of rebuilding one street off the front beach.
“The house was in basic condition,” he said.
“It could have been used for this summer and you might have got another 12 months out of it, but the majority of people were going to do some form of development.
“There was some developers interested but at that price range there is not a lot of margin in it, so it’s really a person
that wants to buy it and put something spectacular on it, or side-by-side.”
Four bidders contested Saturday’s auction, he said.
Mr Hartigan said some locals were keen to upgrade, while buyers from Geelong, western and central Victoria and Melbourne were also in the running.
“We had quite a few people around the $2.2m to $2.3m mark, but we felt something like this,” he said.
“We quoted $2.4m to $2.6m and that’s where we thought it was.”