Add Category![47 Preston Street, Fawkner - for herald sun real estate](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1280 720"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
47 Preston Street, Fawkner, attracted nine registered buyers on Saturday but six bidders ended up taking part in the auction.
An emotional auction in Fawkner caused plenty of tears and a buyer who fainted upon securing her dream house on Saturday.
Six bidders vied for the three-bedroom home at 47 Preston St, that was being sold after 64 years in the one family.
Ray White Coburg’s Hamza Ali said the residence fetched $827,500, a sum $67,000 above the $760,000 reserve.
RELATED: Broadmeadows home auction stuns crowd as it smashes price expectations
Charming Coburg period home sells for $1.28m amid fierce bidding
More than $50,000 above its reserve price: cosy Coburg villa sells under the hammer
Mr Ali said the successful bidder, a single mother of five, snapped up the abode after a 15-month search.
The overwhelmed but happy mum fainted after her final bid was successful, but luckily she quickly recovered and was fine.
The house’s owners, Maria and Pietro Mazzucco, bought the property in the 1960s.
Daughter Rosa Vocale said she and her husband moved in eight years ago to help care for her parents, now aged 89 and 93 respectively.
The updated kitchen is equipped with stainless-steel appliancs, and a serving window to the family room.
The 600sq m block’s well-cared for rear garden, while the a garage has a kitchenette.
One of the three bedrooms.
Her mother is now in aged care at Regis Fawkner, and her father recently joined his wife.
And although her Mum loves living at the “amazing” senior citizens’ residence, yesterday was a poignant day for the entire family, including Ms Vocale’s sister Gina and brother Fred, with many tears shed between them.
Ms Vocale said her parents, both originally from Italy, moved to Fawkner because they wanted a large block to establish a vegetable garden.
Her memories of the house include many celebrations.
“Being European, there was plentiful get-togethers,” Ms Vocale said.
“We had a multicultural neighbourhood, other residents would come over as well and have bread and salami with olives.”
The house has hosted plenty of family celebrations across the past 64 years.
There’s a main bathroom and also a second combined bathroom and laundry.
Pietro and Maria also loved their quiet and peaceful neighbourhood.
The couple were initially married by proxy, a common practice for people of the period when one spouse was absent, after Pietro fell in love with a photo of Maria in 1953.
They did not meet until Maria arrived on a ship from Italy, two years later.
“It’s a very beautiful and emotional story,” Ms Vocale said.
Later in life, Pietro worked at General Motors Holden for more than 20 years.
The family has a photo of motor racing legend Peter Brock standing next to Pietro as he works on brake pads for Brock’s racing car.
Ms Vocale said the house’s sale was “the end of an era, but just a wonderful story”.
Mr Ali described the auction as “the most meaningful sale of my career”.
“It was a very emotional sale for both the buyer and sellers,” he said.
Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox.
MORE: Thornbury: Family won over by house less than 300m from the world’s coolest street
Melbourne housing: Units in sought-after suburbs offer big discounts for first-home buyers
Five tiny homes you can buy for less than $76,000, DIY dwellings going big online