After an auction loss, an exciting off-market sale which was retracted for an auction launch and MONTHS of searching on their own before finding us, we had the recent pleasure of helping a wonderful local couple secure their new home on a full block of land on budget.
Having found themselves at the end of their tether with under-quoting and auction under-bidder exhaustion, an off-market opportunity seemed a mirage.
In this aggressive and moving market, it’s hard enough to win at auction, let alone tempt an agent or vendor to sell a property for what seems to be a fair and reasonable price. Of late, house sales in particular have surprised even the most experienced of agents. With auction clearance rates at 77% for two consecutive (and busy) weekends in March, these buying conditions are unlike those we’ve experienced in the last five years. The general trend in the inner-ring areas seem to be strong results for houses on full blocks, and March 2015 is testament to some incredible sales results.
Our young couple’s wishlist was simple … but it wasn’t easy. They were hoping to find a three bedroom house on a full block in Melbourne’s inner west; and their motivation was to have a full backyard and an opportunity to make this house their home. The challenge was the budget… $650,000.
Every opportunity we pursued seemed to generate other buyer interest – and then competitive bidding pushed the price into the $700K’s.
What to do?
We hounded the local agents until they knew the brief inside out. On the day we received a call about this fantastic opportunity in Yarraville, Our initial inspection was conducted some three hours later and our clients were able to view our clips and photos via email that day and inspect the following morning.
A fast purchase decision was one thing – but in the time we awaited contracts, other buyers were introduced to the property.
In a sea of offers flying backwards and forwards, we were able to negotiate into the night to secure the property for $668,000; a result we considered was favourable to our buyers and fast for the vendors. An 11pm signing ceremony on our purchaser’s birthday sealed the deal… and a delightful meeting with the lovely vendors who’s parents had owned the property for over thirty years was a beautiful finale to a great adventure.
Sometimes the best opportunities are the ones around the corner from the heartbreak… and this is one of those stories….
Wishing our special clients years of happy memories being built in a house which has decades of happy memories stored in it already.