First home buyers snap up quirky Northcote home for $1.08 million

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Key points

  • There were 617 Melbourne auctions scheduled on Saturday.
  • Two semi-detached houses in Balwyn North sold for $3,495,000.

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A first home buyer couple bought a quirky two-bedroom house in Northcote for $1.08 million on Saturday, negotiating the deal shortly after the property passed in at auction.

They were the only bidders on the two-bedroom house at 102 Arthurton Road, but still had to increase their own bid by $80,000 to secure the keys.

The auction was one of 617 scheduled across Melbourne on Saturday.

It comes as Melbourne house prices show signs of stabilising, falling just 0.5 per cent in the March quarter to a median of $1,023,116, Domain’s latest house price report shows.

In Northcote, where the median dropped 5.9 per cent over the past year to $1.6 million, first home buyers Danica Sladic and John Loncarevic were nervous about making an offer, but kicked off the auction with a $1 million bid.

But they were the only party to raise their hands, with the rest of the small crowd remaining silent when Love & Co sales agent and auctioneer Eric Brown called for a $10,000 rise.

After taking a “half-time-break” to check with the vendor, Brown returned unsuccessfully to ask for further bids on the home, which had a $1 million to $1.1 million guide, before it was passed in.

However, the property sold just minutes later to Sladic and Loncarevic, who had only inspected the property once previously.

They said they quickly fell in love with the quirks of the home which included a wood fired oven in a second kitchen, a painting of “the last supper” on the wall, and an indoor/outdoor space with a pool table.

John Loncarevic and Danica Sladic were delighted to snap up their first home.Credit: Luis Ascui

“We went to 19 other inspections and didn’t feel anything,” Sladic said. “Here I finally felt the ‘thing’ everyone talks about, like the punch in the chest.

“Everyone says ‘when you know, you know’, and so we knew.”

Brown said post-auction that all the buyer interest had been within the price range, so it was pleasing to get close to the top-end of the guide.

The Northcote home sold for $1.08 million post auction.Credit: Luis Ascui

In Balwyn North, two neighbouring semi-detached homes were sold together for $3,495,000.

Bidding on the homes at 7 and 7a Highbury Street opened at $3 million, and a flurry of $50,000 offers from four bidders soon took the properties past the $3.36 million reserve.

The three-bedroom homes, on separate titles, had been owned by an investor and guided at $3 million to $3.3 million.

Ray White Balwyn selling agent Helen Yan said the successful buyer plans to rebuild two homes on the 540-square-metre and 621-square-metre blocks.

Yan said many international buyers had been interested in the unique property offering.

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