Brighton beach box sells for record price ahead of auction
A Brighton beach box has sold for a record price, fetching more than $330,000 ahead of its scheduled auction.
The humble timber shack along the Dendy Street foreshore had been due to sell under the hammer on Saturday afternoon but wet and wild weather conditions across Victoria looked set to put a dampener on the occasion.
Marshall White listing agent Barb Gregory said the vendors had instead accepted a knock-out offer prior to auction. She said the beach box sold for an undisclosed sum but went on to clarify it was “well above” the previous record of $326,000, set in December last year.
Just one or two of the boxes are listed for sale each year, and they can only be bought by local ratepayers in the Bayside area.
There are 82 brightly-painted mostly timber sheds that stretch along the picturesque strip of Brighton coastline, now home to some of the Melbourne’s most expensive real estate (on a square metre basis).
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The miserable weather forced many of Melbourne’s 1366 auctions to be held indoors. By Saturday evening, Domain Group had recorded a clearance rate of 67 per cent from 995 reported results.
In the inner north, a small crowd gathered inside the renovated three-bedroom residence at 137 Fitzroy Street in Fitzroy to watch it sell under the hammer for $2,222,000.
The building was once a corner shopfront but had been transformed into a modern, two-level home with polished floors, open fireplaces and a courtyard garden.
A man from Sydney trumpedtwo other bidders — a downsizer and a man who had recently sold in Fitzroy — in front of a small group of 20 onlookers.
After an opening bid of $2 million, the auction moved swiftly in $10,000 increments before slowing to $1000 rises. Auctioneer Arch Staver, from Nelson Alexander, declared the property “well and truly on the market” at the $2.1 million mark.
Mr Staver said the property was selling as its owner had recently died. Title records show it last changed hands in 1997 for $280,000.
The buyer has plans to move into the house down the track, Mr Staver said. “If you’re coming from Sydney, Melbourne is still great value for money,” he said.
Asked if bad weather could sour an auction’s outcome, Mr Staver said it could turn some people off bidding.
“You’ll probably find there’s a number of auctions today where people haven’t been bidding.
“It can dampen attitudes, and this is such an emotive exercise, bidding for a residential property.”
The soggy conditions did little to deter two families from going head to head at a Caulfield South auction.
More than 80 onlookers gathered inside the four-bedroom Californian bungalow at 29 Saturn Street to watch the two bidders battle it out.
Bidding started at $1.9 million but it went on to sell for $2.45 million, $400,000 above reserve price.
“That house ticked a lot of boxes for people,” said Gary Peer listing agent Leon Gouzenfiter.
Mr Gouzenfiter said both bidders were families from the local area.