The Sydney Morning Herald
· collected 2026-10-11 · by Melissa Heagney-Bayliss
A four-bedroom Art Deco home in Essendon, Melbourne, passed in at an auction with a bid of $2.55 million but later sold for $2,655,000 after negotiations. The buyer, a local professional upgrading to a larger house, received a discount of nearly $45,000 below the vendor's reserve price of $2.7 million. This transaction highlights how higher interest rates are influencing buyers to seek more affordable properties as borrowing becomes costlier, with vendors offering better deals accordingly.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-11,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Two bidders weren’t enough for a four-bedroom Art Deco home in Essendon to sell under the hammer on Saturday, when it passed in on a bid of $2.55 million and sold in post-auction negotiations for $2,655,000.
asserted
it → sell → 2,655,000
A local professional wanting to upgrade bought the home at 51 Woolley Street, paying just below the $2.7 million reserve.
asserted
professional → want → reserve
The Essendon home was one of 710 scheduled to go to auction in Melbourne last week.
asserted
home → schedule → Melbourne
By Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 58 per cent from 508 reported results throughout the week, while 78 auctions were withdrawn.
asserted
auctions → record → week
Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
asserted
auctions → withdraw → rate
This weekend also marked the last where reserves would not appear in advertising for properties listed for auction.
asserted
reserves → mark → auction
New state laws mean vendors will be required to make their reserves public at least seven days before the auction is scheduled.
asserted
auction → mean → ?
The new rule comes into effect on Friday.
asserted
rule → come → Friday
Agents, many of whom have already adopted the rule changes, say buyer hesitancy is growing after the September interest rate rise.
asserted
hesitancy → adopt → rise
Higher interest rates mean buyers can borrow less, and many are now looking for a bargain to meet their reduced budgets.
asserted
many → mean → budgets
Bidding for the Essendon property, part of the exclusive Mar Lodge estate, carrying a single-dwelling-only covenant, opened on a vendor bid of $2.4 million.
asserted
Bidding → carry → million
The buyer and another bidder – a young family – traded offers until the property passed in at $2.55 million, and the sale was negotiated.
asserted
sale → trade → million
Jellis Craig Moonee Valley’s John Morello said the market was offering good opportunities for those looking to upgrade.
asserted
market → say → those
“It’s a great buying opportunity compared to markets gone by where a house like this would have gotten a price in the high $2 millions if not $3 million,” Morello said.
asserted
Morello → ’ → millions
The sale was emotional for the vendors, he said, given they had owned the home for 32 years, and had undertaken a full renovation and extension about 15 years ago.
asserted
they → say → renovation
“It was the closing of a chapter for them – the house was just too big for the two of them to live in and too big to maintain,” he said.
asserted
he → live → them
In Fitzroy, a similar story unfolded when two bidders competed for a double-storey Victorian home known as ‘Thusnelda’.
asserted
bidders → unfold → Thusnelda
It also passed in on a $2.39 million bid, then sold for $2.4 million, below the $2.45 million reserve.
asserted
It → pass → reserve
The three-bedroom property at 40 Palmer Street needed a major renovation, and had been advertised with a guide of $2.4 million to $2.5 million.
asserted
property → need → million
The buyer, who negotiated the sale after the property passed in, was a Fitzroy local looking to upgrade.
asserted
property → negotiate → sale
Nelson Alexander Fitzroy’s James Pilliner said buyers were holding back in a quieter spring market, especially when homes needed a renovation.
asserted
homes → say → renovation
Many feared rising building costs and were not keen to undertake major works.
“I am finding they are more hesitant – they will still buy but only if there’s a really good deal on the table in terms of price,” Pilliner said.
asserted
Pilliner → fear → price
He said there were still a “good amount” of buyers in the market, given people moved for life changes including being closer to work and schools, which he believed would help balance supply and demand.
asserted
he → say → supply
“Moving ahead, the next six weeks is going to be very quiet, but that’s possibly related to the upcoming State election,” Pilliner said.
uncertain
Pilliner → move → election
Pilliner also sold a three-bedroom Victorian home in Carlton North under the hammer, for $1,822,000.
asserted
Pilliner → sell → 1,822,000
The property known as Fernleigh, at 580 Drummond Street, sold above its reserve of $1.7 million as a family investment.
asserted
property → know → investment
It had been advertised with a guide of $1.6 million to $1.7 million.
asserted
It → advertise → million
Two bidders competed, opening at $1.6 million, with offers of $10,000, $5000 and $1000 and $2000 following.
asserted
offers → compete → 10,000
Another property in Footscray also passed in before selling for $890,000 to first-home buyers moving from South Yarra.
asserted
property → pass → Yarra
The two-bedroom California bungalow at 4 Essex Street sold under its reserve of $920,000, the top of its advertised price range of $870,000 to $920,000.
asserted
bungalow → sell → 920,000
Bidding for the property, which was in original condition, opened with a vendor bid of $880,000.
asserted
which → open → 880,000
The first-home buyers made one bid of $890,000 before the property passed in.
asserted
property → make → 890,000
It sold for that price as the buyers had reached the limit of their budget, and had no room to move, with the vendors accepting their offer.
asserted
vendors → sell → offer
Jas Stephens Real Estate’s Branko Lemaic said agents had been expecting another buyer at the auction, but they hadn’t shown up.
asserted
they → say → auction
Lemaic agreed buyers had been hesitant after the last interest rate rise, with budgets being squeezed.
asserted
budgets → agree → rise
“Apprehension is the name of the game,” Lemaic said.
asserted
Lemaic → say → game
“Larger scale family homes that are fully renovated, are turnkey, are going really well.
asserted
that → renovate → ?
“If this one had been renovated it would have done well.”
asserted
it → renovate → ?
The Aporia
