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Neighbours staved off developers before selling to a homeowner in Blackburn.
A pair of Blackburn neighbours have declared mission accomplished after selling a block they purchased three years earlier to save it from development.
The 1621sq m site at 19 Alandale Rd sold for $1.63 million, slightly above the $1.571 million the strategic locals paid for it three years ago.
“The property was sold a few years ago and the people that bought it were local people that were buying, because they had adjoining properties at the time, and they were worried that someone would do something with the land,” Ray White Blackburn director Peter Schenck said.
“They bought it and put a couple of restrictions on it – it was put back on the market and got a very good result.”
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The two-bedroom weatherboard will make way for a family home.
A Balwyn buyer saw the block for the first time on the day of its November 16 auction, seeing enough to pay $130,000 above the reserve price.
They plan to build a family home.
Ray White Blackburn director Peter Schenck said it was a “long time” since they had experienced someone buying a property at auction after seeing it for the first time that day.
“We’re seeing that the end of the year is a real driver for people buying property and we actually had interest from various demographics, including expats,” he said.
The Blackburn property sold for $1.63 million to a Balwyn family.
The underbidder was a Blackburn local living in California but looking to return home, Mr Schenck said.
“They’ve been looking for a while for a block of land,” he said.
“The competitiveness for new home sites in and around Blackburn – we haven’t seen it like this for two years.
“The money’s in the land: that’s the first thing that moves.”
A three-bedroom house in Doncaster East sold for $170,000 above vendor expectations after a slow-starting auction.
Five groups, including a neighbour, vied for the keys to 61 Saxonwood Drive, which sold to a developer for $1.33 million.
Five bidders competed for 61 Saxonwood Drive, Doncaster East.
The property sold for $1.33 million.
Philip Webb Doncaster East agent William Zhu said the auction started to heat up once the neighbour became involved, shortly after the property was declared on the market at $1.16 million. “They came at the first open and never turned up again; they didn’t pick up the phone afterwards,” Mr Zhu said.
But the locals were overcome by a developer with plans to build a luxury home on the 646sq m site.
Mr Zhu said the buyer had monitored the property for two weeks, but only viewed it for the first time on auction day.
“I didn’t expect so many people would jump in,” he said.
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