“In my 15 years of auctioning property, I have never had a home that’s been stripped back to the studs.”

The seller, government body Homes Victoria, completely gutted the unit after renting it out for the last two decades.

It was one of 701 auctions scheduled in Melbourne on Saturday.

In Prahran, a single buyer looking to move from Geelong to the inner city secured a two-bedroom single-fronted home for $1.67 million after it was passed in at auction.

Belle Property auctioneer Walter Summons placed a vendor bid of $1.58 million for 48 Andrew Street, before the same buyer bid $1.59 million.

The Prahran home was passed in after a single bid, with the vendors hoping to reach the top end of the property’s $1.55 million to $1.65 million price guide.

Following a negotiation, Summons said the vendors were pleased to sell their home for $20,000 more than expected.

“It was above the range we were quoting, so they were pretty happy to get that result particularly after passing in,” Summons said.

Summons said there were three interested bidders in the lead-up to the auction, including a young couple who did not end up bidding on the day, and another who dropped out after purchasing a different property during the week.

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