First‑home buyer clinches $722,500 North Melbourne apartment at auction

A first‑home buyer purchased a three‑bedroom apartment at 5/55 Haines Street in North Melbourne for $722,500 after the vendor lowered the reserve. The buyer bid $690,000, the property was passed in, and a post‑auction agreement was reached. The transaction used the federal government's 5 percent deposit scheme; the sellers, who live in New Zealand, no longer needed the unit. Domain Group reported a 55 percent clearance rate for Melbourne auctions that week.

In Queensland, a builder bidding by phone from a boat in Vietnam secured a 37 Wylie Avenue cottage in Coorparoo for $1.43 million. Co‑selling agent Karl Cheung said the buyer plans to renovate the property. The sale was part of a modest 15 percent clearance rate for southeast Queensland auctions.