Three out of four properties sell at auction in Warrnambool

The three-bedroom property in Nelson street sold for $755,000 to a local family.

More than 30 people watched the auction which kicked off with a vendor's bid of $700,000.

It only drew one bid of $725,000. After discussions with the owner, it was placed on market with another vendor's bid of $750,000 before a single bid of $755,000 sealed the deal.

Auctioneer Brian Hancock, of Brian O'Halloran and Co real estate, said there were signs of a correction in the market or of a slow down.

"The owner is happy and the buyers are happy too," he said. "It was good fair price on both sides."

It was among three Warrnambool properties that sold at auction at the weekend.

Three bidders battled it out for a two-storey, three-bedroom unit in King Street which sold for $445,000 which was above the advertised price range of $390,000 to $429,000.

A cottage in need of renovation on half an acre in Moore Street was passed in on a vendor's bid of $500,000.

About 50 people had turned out for the auction of the property which has the potential for development or subdivision, but it failed to attract a single bid.

The listed price range for the property was $599,000 to $650,000.

A three-bedroom house in Breton Street in north Warrnambool sold for $460,000 under the auction hammer.

Bidding opened with an initial bid of $420,000 followed by a vendor bid of $420,000 before a final bid of $460,000.

Mr Hancock said changes to land tax announced by the state government this week which hits landlords and those who own a second property were not going to help the situation.

As part of measures to pay back debt the state government racked up to pay for its pandemic measures, a suite of changes to land tax rules that will begin on January 1, 2024 lowers the tax-free threshold for general land tax rates from $300,000 to $50,000.

Landholdings valued between $50,000 and $100,000 will attract a fixed $500 charge each year and those between $100,000 and $300,000 will incur a $975 charge.

Landholdings worth more than $300,000 will attract an additional charge of 0.1 per cent of every dollar above $300,000.

"It's put a lot of fears into landlords and second property owners with this prevailing land tax," he said.

"You've got to look at what bracket creep is going to do to it over a period of years. It doesn't resonate very well with our industry.

"It's going to be interesting over the next six to 12 months what the knock on effect is going to be."

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