Pair of South Yarra art deco homes pass in at auction on $2m vendor bid

A pair of art deco houses on the same title in the heart of South Yarra failed to sell together at auction on Saturday, passing in on a single $2 million vendor bid.

Just a five-minute walk from Toorak Road shops, 50 and 52 Lang Street are both two-bedroom, one-bathroom layouts with high ceilings and classic art deco features. 50 Lang Street has recently been updated, and includes its own garage, while 52 is ready for renovation, or to be merged into a larger single family home.

The property was one of 913 scheduled to go to auction in Melbourne this 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preliminary auction clearance rate of 57 per cent from 655 reported results throughout the week, while 81 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.

While last week saw the preliminary clearance rate above 60 per cent for the first time since before the May budget, this week saw it fall below that benchmark – generally considered to indicate a balanced market – and return to the mid-50s, despite peak Spring auction season.

50 and 52 Lang Street had a price guide of $2.1 million to $2.3 million, with a $2.3 million reserve.

Marshall White Stonnington agent Jack Fowles said despite passing in on a single vendor bid, “an enormous amount” of parties had got in contact after the auction.

“A year ago, buyers would wait until the ‘halftime break’,” he said, referring to the point at which a bid is taken to a vendor to confirm the property is on the market.

“Now it’s more common for properties to pass in, then you see the interest.”

He thought this left buyers in a more vulnerable, less transparent position, making offers in private rather than competing in an open arena.

The property has been converted to private treaty and is now listed for $2,225,000.

Fowles thought it would sell by early next week, and likely within the range.

“It’ll be interesting to see what kind of buyer it goes to,” he said, noting while most had looked at the property as a potential single family home, others saw the opportunity to snatch up a prime South Yarra semi with the option of selling the other or keeping it as an investment.

Records show the property last sold in 2002 for $775,000. The vendors are moving on to their next opportunity, Fowles said.

In Cheltenham, a three-bedroom home with a rare three-car garage sold for $1.19 million in post-auction negotiations, $10,000 below its $1.2 million reserve.