A local investor beat out downsizers to buy a dilapidated weatherboard home in Reservoir at auction on Saturday.
There wasn't a spare spot on the footpath as the bidding for 8 Ameily Crescent got underway, with more than 50 people turning out to see the two-bedroom home go under the hammer.
Investor Shaun Campbell walked away with the keys after making the winning bid of $651,000 - nearly $100,000 over the reserve.
Mr Campbell said he expected to pick up the property for a good price given its poor condition, but was still surprised with the result.
"It was actually a better price than I expected - it was under what I was looking to spend in total," Mr Campbell said.
The house was one of more than 1600 Melbourne properties scheduled to go to auction on Saturday.
The opening bid of $480,000 came from a young family at the back of the crowd, but they were quickly outbid by downsizers. Another bidder jumped in against the downsizers, and the two parties went head to head.
When the bidding hit $555,000, Love Real Estate Thornbury auctioneer and agent Evan Wailes confirmed it was on the market.
It was then that Mr Campbell made his move with a bid of $560,000. He tussled with the downsizers and another bidder to $620,000, but then the downsizers jumped to $650,000 in an attempt to knock him out.
Mr Campbell again went up by $1000 - at which point his opponent exclaimed "he can have it!".
"I think he went a bit early with the knock-out bid," Mr Campbell said.
He and his partner plan to knock down the house and build a duplex on the block within the next year.
"We've seen a few done like that and you can add a bit of value that way I reckon," he said.
Mr Wailes said the vendors were pleased with the result.
"Their expectations were around that mid-fives mark just given how far gone the home was," he said.
Mr Wailes said the property captured the "lion's share" of market interest because of its price point, well below the suburb's median house price of $725,000.
Interest was weaker further to the west in Strathmore where a three-bedroom renovated Californian bungalow passed in at auction.
The bidding for 31 Holyrood Avenue started slow at $1.2 million, but steadily made its way up to $1.3 million as two parties battled in $20,000 and then $10,000 increments.
Auctioneer and agent Fabian Rosen from Nelson Alexander Essendon paused the auction to talk to the vendor, but when he returned the house was still not on the market.
A new bidder came in at $1.31 million and then young couple Leanh and Nam Nguyen made their move with a bid of $1.32 million.
A couple of $10,000 bids later, the home was passed-in on the Nguyens' bid of $1.34 million and they were given the chance to privately negotiate with the vendor.
The couple secured the home behind closed doors, negotiating a $1.4 million sale price.
"When we walked into this house I loved it," Ms Nguyen said. "We didn't think we could get it so we're feeling a bit lucky."
She and her husband had been looking for a house in the area for their young family for three months.
"It's hard when you go to an auction and the price just goes all the way up - it was frustrating."
Mr Rosen said the vendors were happy with the result, despite the auction being slow. He said the lead-up to the end of the year meant more houses in the area were passing in.
"The way things have been going the past few weeks, that's standard at the moment," he said.
Closer to the city, in Collingwood, a two-bedroom home sold for $1.26 million - $26,000 above the reserve.
Jellis Craig Fitzroy agent Michael Amarant said the property at 4 Forrest Street sold to a couple from the eastern suburbs who were looking to downsize.
In South Yarra a three-bedroom Victorian home sold for $1.35 million. Hocking Stuart South Yarra agent William Johnson said the property at 24 Portland Place was purchased by investors.
