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13 Wexford Court, Keilor Downs, was sold by its investor owner, who decided to put it on the market following the federal budget.
A day or two after the federal budget announced major changes to property tax benefits, an Airport West investor decided he’d had enough.
Seven weeks later, he sold his final Victorian residential investment for a lot more than he was expecting when the 13 Wexford Court rental sold under the hammer for $875,000 with four parties bidding for it.
And while the result was a good one for the vendor and the buyer, it’s a sign of bad news ahead for tenants.
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Raso Real Estate’s Luke Raso handled the sale and said while bidding started at $750,000 and it took a bit of work to get buyers going, the home had sailed well past the $815,000 figure when it was called on the market.
“It’s absolutely above expectations,” Mr Raso said.
“It went against the trend in a more challenging market; but $800,000-$900,000 properties about 15km from the city are still proving to be competitive if they are well presented.”
The agent said with all four bidding groups first-home buyers, the vendor’s decision to give the home a fresh coat of paint, updated carpets and a refresh for the gardens had helped raise its profile.
The residence sold to first-home buyers, meaning it has now been lost from the rental pool.
But as good as the result was for the buyer and the seller, the agent said it wasn’t ideal news for an increasingly tight rental market in Melbourne’s suburbs.
“He called very quickly after the federal government change was announced,” Mr Raso said.
“He has sold his last residential investment property and will be investing in commercial property now.”
Real Estate Institute of Victoria chief executive Toby Balazs said based on anecdotal evidence he would “absolutely expect to see more investors doing this”.
“With the environment we are in both for state and now federal, there will be more property investors questioning their decision to continue to invest in property in Victoria,” Mr Balazs said.
Real Estate Buyers Agents Association of Australia Victorian state representative Matthew Scafidi said investors had essentially disappeared since the federal budget announced changes to tax benefits for property investors on May 12.
The home had its paint refreshed and gardens tidied up prior to going under the hammer.
He’s also noticed a range of sellers motivated to offload rentals after the Albanese government made significant changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax benefits.
“There’s so many people who have been kicked and kicked over the past two to three years, and that was it, they are saying ‘we are done’, and we are not getting investors to replace them,” Mr Scafidi said.
He said the only way a sale like Wexford Court going from an investor to a first-home buyer would be working out for Melbourne tenants was if the buyers had been renting a home.
“If they were living with mum and dad, we are in all sorts,” he said.
Mr Raso added that the market above $1m was not as strong, though spending a bit of money to try and leave buyers with little to do immediately after moving in was giving sellers their best chance at getting a deal done.
Meanwhile, in Reservoir, 32 Howard St sold for $944,000 — more than $100,000 above its advertised guide and what had been expected of the home ahead of auction.
Multiple bidders contested the home, which had a bit of money spent on preparing it for sale.
Woodards’ Andrew Guarino handled the sale and said from a $780,000 opening offer, three bidders had pursued the home fiercely enough that a fourth registered buyer didn’t get a chance to make a bid.
The buyer was a father bidding on behalf of his first-home buyer daughter.
“It was a strong sale given the market conditions, and I think it just goes to show that if you have a vendor willing to meet the market, things can fall into place.”
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