Warrnambool auction results show market still strong

Both properties on offer sold under the hammer, with one house in east Warrnambool selling well above the agent estimate.

Ray White agent Lachie Kelly said while prices had plateaued from the COVID boom, buyers had a lot of confidence when bidding.

"A lot more of the properties are selling within their target range at the moment," Mr Kelly said.

"I think that gives buyers confidence that they're in the market when they look at a particular property."

The first auction of the day was a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house on Gateway Road, which attracted a huge crowd of around 50 people.

"We had four registered bidders and three active bidders on the day," Mr Kelly said.

"Bidding kicked off $630,000, which was a really strong opening, the went in 20s to $670,000.

"It was called on the market at $690,000 and ended up selling for $732,000."

The sale price was well above the predicted range of $650,000-$700,000. Mr Kelly said all the bidders were from the local area and the high price showed the strength of the Warrnambool market.

"We had about 30 inspections over the sale campaign, so we were pretty confident of a good result," he said.

"People responded to the spaciousness, westerly outlook, street appeal, and location near Gateway Plaza."

The other auction was on the other side of town in McMeekin Road, where a three-bedroom house sold at the bottom of the predicted range for $390,000.

"This one needed some TLC and sold to a young couple who had missed out on a recent property and planned to do some renovations," Mr Kelly said.

"Things kicked off at $340,000 before a vendor bid at $360,000 when the auction stalled. There were negotiations on the auction floor and the bidders went to $390,000 when the property was sold."

Mr Kelly said well-presented properties were still selling for a premium.

He said there hadn't been any inquiries from joint borrowers benefiting from federal budged changes expanding access to first home guarantees.

"We haven't seen that yet, but I expect we will in coming months," Mr Kelly said.

"First home buyers have been hit the hardest by house prices and rental prices, so any kind of assistance for them is a positive thing."