Lofty Heads homes clear $1m reserve

Five apartments at a new development in the heart of Barwon Heads have sold for a combined $530,000 above reserve in a series of hotly-contested auctions.

The Bridge Apartments – a newly built residential complex above the town’s IGA – hit the market at Thirteenth Beach Golf Club last week, with four selling under the hammer, a fifth sold on the night post-auction and a final property passed in.

The properties sold for between $705,000 and $1.255 million last Thursday night, surpassing pre-auction hopes of around $1 million for the top end homes

“Apartment three and apartment six were the most hotly contested – they were the best ones in there, so it wasn’t a surprise that people were bidding strongly on those,” selling agent Levi Turner said.

“We sold five out of the six, which in the current climate, I would say is a pretty good clearance rate.”

Mr Turner said the unique nature of the apartments drove strong interest right up to auction night.

“That’s probably why they were desired, and why we felt comfortable auctioning them,” he said.

If you look at Ocean Grove or Torquay, there’s a lot of apartments, they come up almost on a weekly basis.

“But here in Barwon Heads they’re pretty rare, there might be one or two apartments a year that come to the market.

“It’s just a small commercial, mixed-use area where you can build these sorts of properties.”

Buyers from across Victoria including Geelong, Melbourne, Ballarat and Daylesford were the successful bidders, highlighting the properties’ broad appeal.