Young family buys $3.92m renovated heritage home in Kew in hot auction

Updated August 24, 2026 — 11:42am,first published 11:25amA young local family paid $3.92 million for a charming clinker brick house in Kew at auction on Saturday, beating a buyer’s agent in what the selling agent called one of the first competitive auctions he had seen in months.The five-bedroom home at 22 Ridgeway Avenue dates to about 1935 and retains its heritage character but has been updated and converted from a duplex into a family home with a gourmet kitchen, outdoor entertaining area, large windows and a landscaped garden.The property was one of 570 scheduled to go to auction in Melbourne last week. By Saturday evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 58 per cent from 365 reported results throughout the week, while 67 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.Two parties competed for the Kew home, which had been listed with a price guide of $3.5 million to $3.8 million.Proceedings began at $3.5 million, which was quickly raised by an offer of $3.6 million.After $3.7 million, the price rose in $50,000s and it soon passed the reserve of $3.8 million and sold under the hammer after a quick auction for $3.92 million.Kay & Burton selling agent Scott Patterson said other potential buyers attended but did not get a chance to bid. Young families were the main demographic interested in the home, he said, noting it had several drawcards.“I think the charm and character of the 1930s era, big rooms and solid brick construction,” he said. “Five bedrooms, three bathrooms, so it was a little bit more accommodation than you would usually find.“The location is very popular too because at the end of the street there is quite a nice restaurant.”There are also private schools nearby, he added, concluding it was a “popular location, charming property and nicely renovated”.Patterson said buyers in the market more broadly had been hesitant and cautious.“It was a breath of fresh air to be seeing healthy competition for a property like that,” he said. “It was one of the first competitive auctions we have seen in months.”Elsewhere, an East Melbourne penthouse apartment close to the MCG passed in at auction on a vendor bid of $1.7 million.The three-bedroom pad at 21/102-104 Jolimont Road had been listed with a price guide of $1.7 million to $1.8 million.The reserve was $1.8 million and no genuine bids were placed at auction.Jellis Craig selling agent Toby Parker hoped the home would sell soon as two parties had shown interest.He said it used to be an office building that was converted into apartments about two decades ago.“The views and the location of the apartment are incredible,” he said, also noting its proximity to Rod Laver Arena.Parker said the market more broadly was competitive, up to about the $2.5 million threshold, but was slower beyond that.In Mulgrave, a family relocating from Melbourne’s west paid $857,000 under the hammer for a townhouse.The three-bedroom home at 45 Carson Street had been guided at $800,000 to $880,000.Bidding began below the range at $700,000, then bold bids from two parties took the price to $750,000, then $770,000 and then $800,000.After that, it rose in a mixture of $5000 and $10,000 increments.The home sold just above its reserve of $850,000. The underbidder was an investor, and the sellers recently retired and moved to Queensland.“Properties that are around the $1 million price point are generally performing quite well,” Ray White Mount Waverley selling agent Jacob Biviano said.“The ones that are a little bit more tricky at the moment are the ones that are a higher price.“Homes that are ready to go, that are fairly new or don’t need much renovation work are still performing really well.”He described the market broadly as “consistent”.“We are obviously not in amazing times at the moment,” he said. “We are finding it quite consistent.”PRD chief economist Diaswati Mardiasmo said Melbourne’s auction clearance rate was holding stable from last week, as the cash rate has been held steady too.“I would expect there might be a slight pick up because of spring and normally spring is a time where, especially in Melbourne, people are out a little bit more,” she said.“[But] it’s not really a seasonal change. It’s actually quite a structural change. Previously, investors can bid for whatever they like, buy whatever they like, and they’ll be able to access negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount. And that has changed now.”Property listingsFrom our partners