‘This is an outlier’: Renovated Melbourne unit fetches $670,000 at auction

September 28, 2026 — 11:27amInvestors sold their Noble Park unit to a first home buyer couple for $670,000 at auction on Saturday, beating downsizers to the keys.The two-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 1/19 Simon Avenue had been fully renovated and came with a backyard and carport, and was set on a large block of 352 square metres.The property was one of 291 scheduled to go to auction in Melbourne this week. By Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 52 per cent from 178 reported results throughout the week, while 29 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.The volume of auctions dropped to less than a third of the 918 scheduled the week prior because of the long weekend for the AFL Grand Final.The Noble Park home was listed with a price guide of $600,000 to $660,000.Four bidders registered and three participated in the auction, Century 21 Wilson Pride selling agent Travis Bockman said.Bidding began at $600,000 and rose in $10,000 increments at first, then by offers of $5000.After reaching the reserve price of $650,000, the stride shortened to bids as small as $1000.A first-home buyer couple won the keys, while the underbidders were downsizers.Bockman thought the home stood out due to its renovation and land size.The Noble Park home sold under the hammer.Century 21 Wilson Pride“This is an outlier,” he said. “To have four parties interested in one property is an outlier.”He said the market broadly is on a downward trajectory, noting the chance of another interest rate rise when the Reserve Bank meets on Tuesday.Once rate hikes cease, he thought confidence would return.“There are people wanting to buy, they want to move, they want to transact. They are just waiting for this cloudiness.”In Craigieburn, a downsizing couple won a hot auction for a three-bedroom house, paying $783,000 under the hammer.The home at 73 Scenery Drive was set on a 453-square-metre block and listed with a price guide of $679,000 to $729,000.Three bidders competed, starting with a bid of $650,000.The price rose quickly in a mix of $10,000 and $5000 increments to reach and surpass the reserve of $730,000.Downsizers from Melbourne’s northern suburbs whose children live nearby won the auction.“I don’t think they were going to let it go,” Barry Plant Craigieburn selling agent Romi Sleiman said.He thought the home felt spacious and well-proportioned, because it did not have a fourth bedroom squeezed onto the site.A first-home buyer was runner up, while the sellers were a young couple who have moved closer to the city.Records show the property last traded for $692,500 in 2023.Sleiman said there was still demand for homes in the area, and he expected to see more sales within a fortnight.“I am starting to see a lot more buyer demand as we come into spring.”Property listingsFrom our partners