May 23, 2026 — 2:02pmA single mother won the keys to a St Kilda East townhouse, outbidding two rivals as another registered bidder, an investor, failed to show up at Saturday’s auction.The two-bedroom home at 2/73 Westbury Street, equipped with double-glazed windows and a large courtyard, was listed with a price guide of $650,000 to $710,000.The bidding, overseen by auctioneer Tony Lombardi, opened with a $650,000 bid from a phone bidder, and was quickly followed by a second bid of $670,000 from a man in the crowd.The two bidders continued to battle it out until the $720,000 mark, at which point a third party – also bidding over the phone – entered the fray. From there, bidding continued in $5000 increments until the third bidder offered $745,000, buying the property.A singe mother bought the two-bedroom townhouse at Saturday’s auction. Domain The reserve price was $690,000.Ray White Southbank lead agent Tommy-Lee Davies said the underbidder was a “middle-aged cash buyer from Malaysia”, while the winner was a single mother of one child buying her first property through a buyer’s agent.He said an investor had registered for the auction but did not show up.Davies said the apartment market, which he deals with primarily, had not changed much since the federal budget.“I’ve had a few of the more expensive ones that have been like, ‘Oh, I can’t really afford that now’, but I think they just have to slide down to a slightly cheaper property – they’re still buying. It’s just they’re borrowing a little bit less,” he said.The property was one of 1071 scheduled to go to auction in Melbourne this week.In well-heeled Hawthorn, a two-bedroom brick Victorian house sold at the reserve price of $1,325,000 in post-auction negotiations.Listed with a price guide of $1.2 million to $1.3 million, the home on 21 Edward Street drew a crowd of at least 150 people, said Ray White Hawthorn lead agent Mike Beardsley.There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.Proceedings opened with a vendor’s bid of $1,220,000, after which two bidders fought in $10,000 increments until $1.25 million, when the property was passed in.“There were lots of first-home buyers there, and at least two that had registered that didn’t end up bidding,” Beardsley said. While the budget has spooked many buyers and sellers, Beardsley said many were waiting to see what happened.“Buyers that are intuitive see opportunity, and sellers are panicking a little and probably feeling hard done by, particularly investors because they’re basically having to sell something that was a great asset that has now decreased,” he said.In Melbourne’s inner west, an investor selling a Seddon property settled for less than the reserve price in post-auction negotiations with a single bidder. The two-bedroom house at 16 Charles Street sold for $915,000 and had a price guide between $890,000 and $950,000. It had a reserve of $920,000. It features high ceilings, timber floorboards and period fireplaces.Andy Simpson, lead agent at Jas Stephens Real Estate, said that out of two interested bidders, only one – a first home buyer – turned up to Saturday’s auction and opened with a $900,000 bid.“I then placed a vendor bid at $910,000, and they went again at $915,000,” Simpson said.“It was very quick, and we passed it in [after] the one at $915,000, and the owner accepted that price after auction.”The property sold for $915,000 in post-auction negotiations, $5000 less than the reserve price. DomainSimpson said the vendor was an investor who lived on the other side of the city.He said first home buyers had become “a little gun shy … after reading about the property market in the media. So the numbers have been a little bit low in terms of attendance and interest.” Simpson said he was still getting interest from interstate investors, mostly from Sydney.In Melbourne’s middle north, a first home buyer couple paid $880,000 for a family home in Thomastown after outbidding a fellow first-time property buyer in a rapid-fire auction.The house at 167 Victoria Drive, featuring three bedrooms, a large backyard and an extensive security system, was guided at between $780,000 and $858,000. It had a reserve of $875,000.Harcourts Rata & Co lead agent Mario Tucci said two of the three registered bidders competed for the home.“The opening bid was $780,000, and it went up by tens [$10,000] and fives [$5000 increments] until the end,” he said.Both active bidders were young, first home buyer couples searching for a family home, Tucci said.The bright home was bought by a first home buyer couple at Saturday’s auction. Domain “[The federal budget] has wiped out all the investors ... which is very unfortunate,” he said.More:Property marketProperty investmentNegative gearingHome loansCapital gains taxFirst-home buyersSeddonThomastownProperty listingsFrom our partners