What was tipped to be a $2 million breakthrough sale for a waterfront property at Werribee South failed to attract a bid at auction last Saturday.
Buyers had kept their hands firmly in their pockets by the time the gavel dropped, and the luxury house at 26 Starboard Way was passed in, despite more than 70 people turning out.
Owner-builder Peter White, of Williamstown, paid more than $1 million five years ago for the 529-square-metre block overlooking Port Phillip Bay.
“It was a little disappointing, but we were the first cab off the rank with selling a house in this area,” Mr White said.
“As the waterfront develops, there will be a lot more interest in it. I think buyers are holding back and waiting to see how the area will develop.”
Mr White said he was hoping for a private offer soon.
One potential bidder told Star Weekly he was willing to go to $1.5 million, at most, because of the property’s distance from Melbourne’s CBD. He said he did not expect to pay $2 million for a property in Werribee.
View the house at Domain.com.au
Another vendor, Chris Racovalis, watched the auction in the hope it would set a high bar for future sales in the area. Mr Racovalis is selling a 1500-square-metre lot at Campbells Cove, which is nearby the Starboard Way house.
“It’s very disappointing that it didn’t sell,” he said. “This would’ve been the sale that got the ball rolling for this area. … At this stage, there’s very little around here, so people are waiting. I think people still expect that they’d only spend $2 million in Brighton or Williamstown.”
Agent and auctioneer David Lawson, of Greg Hocking Lawson Partners, said it was rare a property of such quality came on to the market.
