Updated September 5, 2026 — 4:34pm,first published 1:51pmA freestanding Edwardian home in the heart of Elwood, in the inner-south, has defied predictions of a cooler spring market by selling for $320,000 above reserve.Dubbed by Marshall White Port Phillip auctioneer Kaine Lanyon as a “home for everyone”, the five-bedroom, three-bathroom residence at 19 Burns Street comes with wrap-around tessellated verandah, multiple living zones and a deep rear garden. It is walking distance to cafés, the beach and public transport.With an opening bid of $2.6 million, three parties confidently bid in varying increments of $100,000, $75,000, $50,000, $15,000, $10,000 and $5000, shocking even the real estate agents as bids swiftly climbed above the property’s $2.65 million to $2.8 million guide on a blustery Saturday spring morning.A final bid of $100,000, up from $3 million, took the sale price to $3.1 million, significantly above its reserve price of $2.78 million.Lead agent Rachael O’Connor from Marshall White expected the home to “go for maybe towards the top of the range,” she said. “It’s not what we expected.”All bidders were local young families looking to upgrade, she said.Marshall White auctioneer Kaine Lanyon presiding over the sale of an Elwood home that sold for $320,000 above reserve.Wayne Taylor“[The result] is a sign that there isn’t enough choice out there,” O’Connor said. “We’ve had buyers coming from all around surrounding suburbs, and it’s just a sign that there’s buyers out looking for family homes, and they don’t have a choice.”The vendors, a couple who bought the home nearly 30 years ago and had raised their family there, were looking to purchase a smaller apartment.“They brought their children up here, and now they’re just downsizing,” O’Connor said.People lining up to witness the auction of a large Elwood family home. Wayne Taylor The property was one of 654 scheduled to go to auction in Melbourne this week. By evening, Domain recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 59 per cent from 481 reported results throughout the week, while 82 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.In East Melbourne, a Victorian Italianate home adorned with original iron lacework that passed in at an opening bid of $1.4 million sold to the same bidder for $1,455,000 in post-auction negotiations.The five-bedroom house at 1091 Hoddle Street, featuring soaring ceilings, decorative plasterwork and marble fireplaces, was listed with a price guide of $1.4 to $1.5 million, with a reserve of $1.5 million.BigginScott Richmond lead agent Andrew Crotty said while the house attracted interest from three potential buyers, one was unable to bid on the day after failing to get their finances in order, and another was uncertain.The sole bidder was two men who had moved from interstate and fallen in love with the property.“They really love the house and a lot of its superior detailing and its size … and now they’re the happy owners of it, and they’ve gone away to celebrate,” Crotty said.The agent said active buyers should get in the market now, or risk waiting until properties increased in price by another 5 per cent in six months.The home sold in post-auction negotiations. Domain“We’re seeing numbers are picking up a little bit … so get in now, particularly in that sort of $1 million to $1.2 million [market],” Crotty said.“Last week we were noticing that about 50 per cent of the buyers that were coming through our offices were new buyers ... which means people are starting to think about entering the market.”In Yarraville, in the city’s west, a three-bedroom family home passed in on a vendor’s bid of $1.25 million, and will now be moved to private sale with a reserve of $1.36 million. The updated Californian bungalow at 12 Buninyong Street features a spacious kitchen, neat backyard and is near Yarraville Village, and had a price guide of between $1.2 million and $1.32 million. There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.Branko Lemaic from Jas Stephens Real Estate said a potential buyer showed interest in the property and came to chat after the auction, but their offer was “not quite at the level needed to put a deal together”.“This is now a private sale moving forward at $1.36 million,” Lemaic said.He said while the “general apprehension” was the “overarching theme” around the market, there was still competition for accurately priced properties.“It’s a bit of a mixed bag overall, but deals are still happening. The length of time properties spend on the market is just stretching out a bit more than when the market is red-hot,” he said.More:AuctionsAuctionsVictoria residential propertyProperty pricesSalesProperty marketEast MelbourneYarravilleElwoodProperty listingsFrom our partners