Downsizer nabs $1,515,000 renovated Northcote house after reserve cut

September 21, 2026 — 11:38amAn architecturally renovated house in Northcote sold in post-auction negotiations for $1,515,000 to a downsizer, after an adjustment to the reserve price sealed the deal.The three-bedroom house at 79a Thomson Street features high ceilings, a sleek kitchen and an al fresco deck and separate courtyard. It was listed with a price guide of $1.5 million to $1,585,000.The property was one of 913 scheduled to go to auction in Melbourne last week. By Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 57 per cent from 655 reported results throughout the week, while 81 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.The results came as economists warned of the chance of another interest rate rise when the Reserve Bank meets next week to tame persistent inflation, which could limit how much money potential home buyers can borrow.The Northcote auction began with a vendor bid of $1.5 million, the bottom of the quoted price range.But with no further offers, the home passed in and post-auction negotiations began.A downsizer from Melbourne’s north-eastern suburbs bought the home for $1,515,000. The reserve was $1,544,000. The vendor will also downsize.Nelson Alexander selling agent James Pilliner said it was common to have a one-buyer auction at the moment, and vendors in this market want to put a deal together.There was another potential first home buyer for the house, who wanted to make a post-auction offer subject to a building inspection, Pilliner said.“They are kicking themselves they didn’t get their building inspection and get themselves ready to bid,” he said. They feared the price would surpass what they could afford, but it ended up within their budget, the agent said.A downsizer is the Northcote home’s new owner.Nelson Alexander“Buyers have got to get themselves ready for auction with finance and building inspections because vendors that are going to auction are looking to do a deal on the day … not two weeks after,” Pilliner said.In Yarraville, a young couple who had spent months looking for their first home paid $1,172,000 for a family home at auction on Saturday.The three-bedroom house at 65 Severn Street was listed with a price guide of $1,065,000 to $1,170,000.Two bidders competed, and the auction began with a vendor bid of $1.06 million. It was followed by a genuine bid from the eventual winner of $1.08 million.The price rose in increments of $20,000 to about $1.14 million, when the bids became smaller. The home’s reserve was $1.15 million.The successful couple, young first home buyers with both sets of parents in tow, had looked for months and been priced out of other properties.“They are just glad to get themselves into a good location, into the market,” Village Real Estate selling agent Joseph Luppino said.“It was a great home, good spot, lovely buyers. I think they are going to really enjoy the house.”The couple beat a local family looking for a project to renovate and resell, who had intended to do an extension. The 1960s-built home, a deceased estate, has scope to update the kitchen, bathroom and carpet.Luppino said there was a slight improvement in the market broadly over the past month.“It does feel like there is more buyers,” he said. “All of that might be a bit short-lived if we see rates go up.”On Sunday, a lakefront home with a striking curved facade in Wheelers Hill sold at auction for $2.05 million.The four-bedroom house at 20 Gallery Place was listed with price hopes of $2 million to $2.2 million.Three parties registered and all of participated, starting with a bid of $1.85 million.The price rose quickly in $50,000 increments, then a mix of smaller offers, until momentum stalled at $2,025,000, the reserve price. Then one party bid another $25,000, and with no further offers, the home sold.The buyers are an upsizing family. The vendors are moving into a retirement village.“In today’s market I think it was a good result,” Ray White Mount Waverley selling agent Julie Wells said.“This week is worse than last week because this week the noise is getting stronger about an interest rate rise.Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee.Eamon Gallagher“Good homes still sell. This is a really good quality home.”Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said Melbourne’s auction market had broadly stabilised, and the latest weekly clearance rate was lower than the previous one due to the increasing likelihood of another interest rate rise.She said the next Reserve Bank decision could depend on the results of the official unemployment data due to be published this Thursday.Any increase in the cash rate would put a dampener on the spring selling season, she said.“It is already pretty rough out there,” she said. “If we do see a rate hike it will make it even weaker.“It is looking like a subdued season compared to recent years.”Property listingsFrom our partners