This Fitzroy bluestone home has just sold for $950,000 in a shock result that has put the blue-chip area’s houses onto first-home buyers’ shopping lists.
A young couple have walked into an “almost unheard of” $950,000 Fitzroy sale after missing an auction they thought they couldn’t afford.
Chloe and Daniel drove to the three-bedroom character home’s auction late, debating how much over $1m it would have sold for.
As they were relying on the federal government’s 5 Per Cent Deposit Scheme they knew would only be able to make an offer at $950,000 – the home’s reserve price.
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When they got there and found it had passed in they were shocked.
“We know how lucky we are right now,” Chloe said.
“We had given up the hope that we could afford it. We couldn’t believe that we actually were in a position to be able to do it.”
The pair had been looking for about two months, and only got their finance pre-approved after they had inspected the house in its first week for sale.
Oliver said even a month ago, they would have probably missed out on the home – because without a reserve disclosed they wouldn’t have gone back to see how the auction had turned out.
The renovated house still features exposed bluestone walls alongside more modern features.
The living space still has a cast iron fireplace with an ornamental mantelpiece.
While interest rates are tipped to rise next week, they are thrilled with the purchase noting they felt much more confident of buying well in this market.
“You don’t see houses for sub $1m with three beds in this area,” Oliver said.
Nelson Alexander’s Rick Daniel said the bluestone built home had passed in on a $920,000 vendor bid with a handful of familiar faces in the crowd, though nobody willing to make an offer.
Mr Daniel said many owners on the market today were there to sell, and while some would still see strong prices, buyers could also do well.
“For a three-bedroom house in Fitzroy, under $1m is almost unheard of,” Mr Daniel said.
While many buyers were still hoping to pick the bottom of the market, he said there was a good chance it had already arrived and a few more sales like the one at Henry St would be the social proof needed to get buyers competing more fiercely.
The bathroom was updated sympathetically with features that connect to its 1860s origins.
A modest courtyard at the rear of the block has space for outdoor enjoyment.
The vendor bought the home and renovated sympathetically with its past with the hopes of making it their retirement apartment — minus the owners corporation, lifts or stairs.
However a change of plans meant they had decided to find a new custodian instead, where a former resident had informed them the property’s first owner John Wilson wed his wife Matilda in what is today the lounge room.
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