South-west agents kept busy as real estate year comes to a close

It was the most auctions held in the area on a Saturday in recent times, but agents said holding auctions a week before Christmas wasn't unusual due to strong buyer interest ahead of the festive break.

A three-bedroom period home at 99 Grey Street in Terang sold for $500,000 which Harris & Wood auctioneer Danny Harris said was above its $430,000 to $470,000 price guide and exceeded agent expectations.

Meanwhile in Warrnambool, a three-bedroom home at 189 Moore Street sold after auction for $530,000 to an interstate buyer who is relocating to the south-west. Mr Harris said the property was passed in but later sold for at the top end of its quoted price range of $495,000 to $535,000.

It was a lively auction at 9 Wentworth Street with three bidders interested in the three-bedroom home which backs onto St John of God Hospital. Bidding opened at $640,000 and rose in $10,000 and $5000 increments, selling for $760,000 to an out-of-town buyer who purchased it as an investment. Mr Harris said they were quoting $680,000 to $720,000 for the two-storey property.

"It's a positive end to the year and I think it's a general reflection of what we've found this year," Mr Harris said.

"Even if we're below the peak of the boom it's still a very good market that we're working within."

He said despite the hectic lead in to the festive season, people continued to buy property at December auctions.

"We've always found the market is active right up until Christmas, perhaps the couple of days prior people's focus goes elsewhere, but the week before Christmas has always been really strong," he said.

"Everyone seems to have some urgency about them this time of year and it's always been really strong."

Just around the corner, a three-bedroom Art Deco home at 93 Botanic Road was passed in at $750,000 with Brian O'Halloran & Co auctioneer Brian Hancock negotiating with a buyer shortly after and he said he expected it to sell in the coming days.

Ludeman Real Estate auctioneer Mark Dwyer said a three-bedroom home in the city's west at 7 Kermond Court, which had a price guide of $529,000 to $582,000, asked for a starting bid of $540,000 but when there was no activity it was passed in after vendor bid of $500,000 on Saturday.

Ray White Warrnambool auctioneer Fergus Torpy said it was a pretty solid day of sales with two of its five properties passed in at auction.

A home on 9000 square metres at 13 Pertobe Lane was passed in at $1.115 million. The auction for the three-bedroom, five-car garage home in the city's south opened with a bid of $1 million. Interest was between two parties and negotiations with the highest bidder are ongoing.

A first-home buyer purchased a two-bedroom cottage at 61 Hider Street in the heart of town for $470,000 with bidding between two parties. Mr Torpy said bidding opened at $450,000 and was within its price guide of $450,000 to $490,000.

Bidding for a home at 11 St James Crescent in north Warrnambool opened at $400,000. The three-bedroom home was contested by two bidders with a local family purchasing the property for $452,000. Its price range was $430,000 to $475,000.

There were three bidders at 237 Russell Street, Dennington. The four-bedroom home opened at $600,000 and sold to a south-west couple for $670,00.

A three-bedroom home at 16 Reginald Grove in the city's east, close to Our Lady Help of Christians Primary School, was passed in with a vendor bid of $450,000 and will be listed on the market. Its price guide was $500,000 to $550,000 and previously sold in February this year for $520,000.

"There's always a bit of a late rush before Christmas we find," Mr Torpy said of the large number of auctions scheduled.

Mr Torpy said it was the agency's final auction of 2022 and capped off a big year.

"There's been a huge increase in prices and a number of interest rate increases that we haven't seen for over a decade," he said. "There were some high highs and some slight adjustments along the way.

"We've seen a lot more local interest over the last couple of months. We're a very locally based market. We get some effects from Melbourne. They heavily influenced us during COVID but not as much now."

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