
A block of units in central Warrnambool has sold under the hammer for $1.12 million on election day, well above expectations.
The sunny May weather drew out a strong crowd of around 50 people, although of the five eventual bidders only one was there in person, with the others bidding over the phone.
Agent Danny Harris of Harris and Wood said it was the lone in-person bidder, a local investor, who snared the property in the end. Mr Harris said bidding started at $900,000 and was fiercely contested. The final price was $75,000 above the top of the quoted range.
"We were really happy with that and it was certainly above the owner's expectations," Mr Harris said.
The six units in Kruger Street were all individually titled, but sold as one group, which appealed to prospective investors.
"I think the strong result is evidence the commercial market still has a lot of momentum. Even though this was zoned residential, it's more aligned to the commercial market because the buyer's more likely to be an investor," Mr Harris said.
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He said commercial real estate was still strong pretty much everywhere, but it was particularly sought after in Warrnambool, where such land remained scarce. But he said the residential market was also holding steady.
"A good way to describe the market at the moment is that it was going at 120km/h and now it's about 100. So it's still fast, but not quite as fast as it was," he said.
At the other local election day auction, a three-bedroom house in Moore Street in Warrnambool's inner north, three bidders fought it out with the home selling for $460,000.
The well-kept property, set on a 730 square metre block, had been a family home for more than half a century, retaining retro charm and a large back yard.
Ray White agent Fergus Torpy said a crowd of 30 people looked on as bidding started at $350,000, rising in steps of $20,000 to $390,000, then in $10,000s to $440,000. The final selling price was bang in the middle of the quoted range of $440,000 to $480,000.
Both the winning bidder and underbidder were first home buyers, which Mr Torpy said was encouraging.
"It's great to see some firsts home buyers getting into a place," he said.
"The price was probably reflective of what we've seen similar nearby properties going for, so it was a fair price."
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Ben Silvester
Reporter covering politics, environment and health
Reporter covering politics, environment and health