![11 Pyke Drive, Gladstone Park - for herald sun real estate](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1280 720"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
11 Pyke Drive, Gladstone Park, sold for $980,000 — but the buyer would have gone past $1m.
Would-be homebuyers who’ve spent years searching for the right property are making their move now amid expectations of price rises in 2025.
A Gladstone Park home that went under the hammer with an $820,000-$870,000 price guide yesterday topped it by more than $100,000.
The auction for 11 Pyke Drive ended at $980,000 after the underbidder tapped out at $975,000.
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And the keys went to a downsizer who had been on the hunt for a new address since selling their former home two years ago — before Melbourne properties went into a price slump.
Ray White Gladstone Park’s Phillip Mercieca said with five bidders competing for the home, it had significantly exceeded expectations.
The first bid came in at $850,000, well into the quoted range, and the house was called on the market at about $930,000 amid strong bidding.
Mr Mercieca noted that he had only notched about four home sales for more than $1m in the suburb, and for a residence with one-bathroom to come within $20,000 of that mark was “a really good result”.
The home’s backyard pool will be among the features the owners will miss.
Outdoor entertaining and barbecues were frequent at the well-appointed home.
Despite this, he said by the end of 2025 it would look like good value.
“In the near future, this will be a $1m-plus home,” Mr Mercieca said. “A few more rate cuts, that’ will put more confidence into buyers.”
Speaking with the buyer after the auction, vendor David Pernasilici said they had confided they would have gone past $1m if it had come to it.
“It is a very unique property,” Mr Pernasilici said.
“So we could have seen north of $1m if the other bidder had gone a bit harder.”
Latest PropTrack figures show Gladstone Park’s median house price is $710,000.
With the Reserve Bank cutting interest rates 11 days before the auction, he added that he didn’t think he would have got the same price without it — as the underbidders would likely have stopped sooner.
Open-plan living zones feature throughout the house.
he and wife Lisa, as well as their two kids, will now look to relocate to Airport West, and recreate the entertainer’s dream that they had loved for the past 15 years.
“I’ll miss the way the home is set up, and I will definitely miss the pool,” Mr Pernasilici said.
Mr Mercieca added that demand for homes was up across the area, with five or six families looking at most reasonably-sized residences listed for sale.
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