
A four-bedroom North Warrnambool home has been snapped up at auction as buyer inspection inquiries increase across the region.
The property at 72 Balmoral Road sold under the hammer for $696,000 on Saturday.
Ray White's Fergus Torpy said it sold above the top end of the range which was between $630,000 and $690,000.
Bidding started at $600,000 with three buyers vying for the property which rose in lots of $20,000 before slowing to single bids of $500 and $1000.
Mr Torpy said there were two Warrnambool buyers and one from Melbourne.
"It was a local couple who bought it in the end," he said.
"The owners were really happy with the result. It was their first family home and it sold above what they were expecting."
The four-bedroom, two-bathroom home boasted a double car garage with internal access, gas central heating and a secure 735-square-metre block.
The auction attracted a crowd of about 30 people.
It came after an auction at Woodford was cancelled on Saturday morning.
"While that auction didn't go ahead, we've engaged in a private negotiation with an interested party," Mr Torpy said.
"We will likely proceed with a private sale from here."
The four-bedroom bluestone-look property at 265 Bridge Road is situated on a 8,300-square-metre block on the former site of the old Anglican Church.
Mr Torpy said the market remained strong and house sales weren't expected to slow throughout winter.
He said Ray White had recently seen its strongest buyer inspection inquiries since February.
"We saw 137 interested buyers between the Mondays before and after the federal election, which is a period where we traditionally don't see as many people out and about," he said.
"It's something we haven't seen since the market was peaking between October 2021 and February 2022."
Mr Torpy said the number of inquiries had jumped 30 to 40 percent from previous weeks with predominately local buyers.
"We're also seeing investors come back as prices stabilise a little bit," he said.
He said Ray White was expecting up to 12 auctions across the Warrnambool district in June.
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