Merrivale property sells under the hammer, east Warrnambool home gets passed in

A crowd of about 25 attended the sale of 67 Merrivale Drive on Saturday, enticed by the property's low price point.

The one-bedroom home on a 615 square-metre block had an expected price range of $295,000 to $322,000, with required maintenance the reason given for the quote.

Bids for the property opened at $230,000 and three active bidders saw that offer rise by $20,000 and $25,000 before settling at $275,000.

No further bids were received, prompting Ray White auctioneer Fergus Torpy to seek instruction from the vendor.

At his return the crowd was informed the bid had risen to $310,000 through negotiation, eventually selling under the hammer to a local first home buyer.

Lead agent Tessa Dayman said it was a great result for all parties involved.

"We're really happy with the result," she said.

"We had three active bidders, two of them were first home buyers and one of them was an investor. One of the first home buyers secured it which was really good.

"Both of the first home buyers were local."

She said the "light" price point for the property was relatively uncommon for the city.

"The price point was a bit unusual, the property unfortunately hadn't had any maintenance on it so it is unique in that it needs a little bit of TLC," she said.

"It's a one-bedroom cottage which is why it was situated in those low threes."

Meanwhile in the city's east, the three-bedroom property at 74 Hickford Parade attracted a crowd of about 35.

A large corner-block measuring 652 square metres which offered oversized bedrooms, two bathrooms, four parking spaces, extra storage room and the sound of the ocean had setup the occasion to be a bumper auction.

But bids for the property opened at just $740,000.

Mr Torpy put forward a vendor bid of $760,000, which remained well under the expected price range of $775,000 to $850,000.

Two active bidders saw that offer rise slowly, with a bid of $780,000 being put forward and being counter-offered by a $5000 increment.

With the offer stagnating at $785,000 and bidders refusing to budge, Mr Torpy was again forced to seek instruction from the vendor and the highest bidder.

No further bids were received and the property was passed in for further negotiation.

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