25 Thomson St, Seddon, sold for more than $1.3m – to a first-home buyer.

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Melbourne first-home buyers with $1m-plus budgets and thought to be fleeing the city’s rental market helped drive seven-figure sales across the suburbs yesterday.

It comes a day after Real Estate Institute of Victoria president Jacob Caine and PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty revealed those making their first step onto the property ladder had saved Victoria’s winter auction market.

One of the busiest June-August sales stretches on record, the past three months have been carried by significant activity from first-home buyers.

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And as an estimated 950 homes tested purchaser’s resolve this week, multiple million-dollar addresses were contested by those who have never bought before.

PropTrack data shows Victoria recorded a 65.7 per cent clearance rate from 578 results reported yesterday.

And Jas Stevens auctioneer Tate Moore said he had three first-home buyers competing for a Seddon home at 25 Thomson St, with the keys ultimately going to one of them despite a $1.325m sale.

In Mill Park another market entrant contested the title at a Ray White auction, but fell short in a $1.19m bidding battle for 26 Callistemon Rise.

The Thomson St home won buyers over with its location and a recent refresh.

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Ray White chief auctioneer Jeremy Tyrrell said first timers with budgets above $1m were “definitely not uncommon” at the moment.

While difficult to quantify numbers, Mr Tyrrell said he believed they were increasingly active as a result of Melbourne’s rental crisis — with many who would have been happy renting and saving for years to come choosing to buy now.

“So we aren’t just talking about 18-25 year olds,” he said.

“And that’s probably why we are seeing more of those higher priced first-home purchases.”

For those bidding at auction past $1m there are no government support programs or stamp duty concessions, and Mr Tyrrell said many were likely taking on large mortgages — a further hint of confidence that homebuyers at least no longer feared interest rate hikes.

26 Callistemon Rise, Mill Park, had a first-home buyer in the contest despite a $1.19m eventual sale price when the hammer came down.

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However, with PropTrack data indicating more homes are selling prior to auctions than passing in, Mr Tyrrell noted that it was possible first-home buyers looking to add a subject to finance clause to their purchase, which is not possible at auction, could be behind an uptick in homes changing hands before planned sale dates.

The auctioneer added that Melbourne’s affordable western suburbs, particularly where homes were priced below $500,000, were “absolutely alive with first-home buyers jumping into the market”.

Professional auctioneer Andy Reid said a week ago he had sold 17 Glenvale Rd, Donvale, to a first-home buyer for $1.13m in post-auction negotiations after they made a $1.1m bid under the hammer.

17 Glenvale Rd, Donvale, sold for more than $1m to a first-home buyer a week ago.

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Mr Reid noted that he believed mortgage brokers having fewer clients looking homes outside of first-home buyers were working harder to give them the confidence to bid at auction, rather than advising them to bid subject to finance as they had done more commonly historically.

ARM Real Estate’s Daphne Lai handled buyer inquiries for the four-bedroom house.

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