Emo Road: All Quiet on Auction Day
At 4 Emo Road, Malvern East, the crowd of 40 was as varied as Melbourne itself — dads rocking babies, seniors leaning on walking sticks, and plenty in between.
The agent opened with a vendor bid of $2.5 million — squarely within the $2.4–$2.6 million quote. Then came the half-time huddle with the sellers.
Back to the crowd… and silence. No bids. Passed in at the vendor bid. Photo Randall
Underquoting’s the Headline. But What About Overquoting?
There’s a lot of noise about underquoting this weekend. Fair enough — buyers deserve clarity. I’m focused on buyers too.
But here’s the question no one’s asking: Where’s the focus on sellers? I say this because my buyers are often sellers too.
If you’re selling, how do you really know what your home’s worth when all the commentary is buyer-centric? If the aim is to sell, 50% of buyers here were overquoted. That’s just as misleading.
In this improving — but still tricky — market, too many sellers went straight to the public stage without first testing the waters. A quiet, multi-agent off-market campaign before launch can flush out real buyers, set a true price range, and put you in control when you go live.
Right now, I’d say half the sellers this weekend should have considered it.
Our market is good and getting better — but it’s not quite the “hot streak” the headlines painted.
Smart selling is about truth, timing, and tactics. And this weekend proved that still matters more than the headline.
| no | Street | Suburb | Date | Sale/PassedinPrice | Method | |
| 4 | Sylvan | Ct | KEW | 09/08/2025 | $3,708,000 | Auction Sale |
| 582 | Neerim | Rd | HUGHESDALE | 09/08/2025 | $3,650,000 | Passed in Vendor Bid |
| 372 | Beach | Rd | BEAUMARIS | 09/08/2025 | $3,400,000 | Passed in at Auction |
| 9 | Hornsby | St | MALVERN | 09/08/2025 | $undisclosed | Auction Sale |
| 138 | Marshall | St | IVANHOE | 09/08/2025 | $3,090,000 | Passed in Vendor Bid |
| 10 | Irymple | Av | KEW EAST | 09/08/2025 | $3,000,000 | Auction Sale |
| 4 | Frater | St | KEW EAST | 09/08/2025 | undisclosed | Auction Sale |
| 27 | Sycamore | St | MALVERN EAST | 09/08/2025 | undisclosed | Auction Sale |
| 514 | Park | St | CARLTON NORTH | 09/08/2025 | $2,900,000 | Auction Sale |
| 67 | Swallow | St | PORT MELBOURNE | 09/08/2025 | undisclosed | Passed in Vendor Bid |
| 30 | Lyndon | St | RIPPONLEA | 10/08/2025 | $2,780,000 | Auction Sale |
| 12 | Peppermint | Ct | DONCASTER EAST | 09/08/2025 | $2,755,000 | Auction Sale |
| 192 | Drummond | St | CARLTON | 09/08/2025 | $2,600,000 | Passed in at Auction |
| 104 | Abbott | St | SANDRINGHAM | 09/08/2025 | undisclosed | Passed in Vendor Bid |
| 135 | Through | Rd | CAMBERWELL | 09/08/2025 | $undisclosed | Passed in at Auction |
| 1 | Hotham | Ct | MONT ALBERT | 09/08/2025 | $2,550,000 | Auction Sale |
| 9 | Hawson | Av | GLEN HUNTLY | 09/08/2025 | $2,506,000 | Auction Sale |
| 14 | Lydson | St | MURRUMBEENA | 09/08/2025 | $2,500,000 | Passed in Vendor Bid |
| 10 | Speers | Ct | WARRANDYTE | 09/08/2025 | $2,500,000 | Passed in Vendor Bid |
| 4 | Emo | Rd | MALVERN EAST | 09/08/2025 | $2,500,000 | Passed in Vendor Bid |
Bath Street: One Bid, Then Done
At 50 Bath Street, Glen Iris, the scene was set opposite Hartwell Sports Ground. Thirty-eight people clustered in the front yard, eyes on the auctioneer.
A vendor bid of $2.45 million kicked things off, matching the bottom of the $2.45–$2.65 million quote. A pause came quickly — the sort of mid-auction reset sellers hope will spark competition.
It didn’t. The restart drew just one crowd bid at $2.47 million, and that’s where it ended. Passed in and remains unsold.
The Incredible Future is Here – Check this Out
askJAMES
Two of the many ratings we covered this week — for clients and for interest — are compared here. Below are our reviews, and you can see the ratings detail on each home’s own page.
BUT you can also askJAMES to compare the two for you — as an investment, for lifestyle, whatever you want.
Your answers aren’t BS from the cloud — they’re our assessments.
(OK, some of you may think I’m BS, but if you don’t, you’ll know every answer is tailored to you, your needs, and your questions — and they’re real.)
Everything here has been edited for clarity and flow by an LLM (large language model — I use a few), but nothing is from a web search. My GPT only searches my library and has explicit instructions not to hallucinate.
If it ever does, let me know at mal@james.net.au — we’re still testing and will be for a while yet.
Every home you see here this week, I’ve personally visited. I wrote the ratings sheets, the reports that went into the library, and still found time to start two campaigns and put two houses into bidding for buyer clients.
The way of the future is now — and you can be in the 50% who bought or sold this weekend, or the 50% who didn’t.
We Rated Many Homes This Week — Including These Two
51–53 Regent Street, Brighton East – James Home Rating 601
This is a very large 1,540 sqm development block with two street frontages in a residential zone — essentially two side-by-side blocks of around 770 sqm each. One block holds a north–south tennis court (fronting Regent Street), the other — on the corner of Canberra Grove — holds a house that, frankly, is a bulldozer candidate. The bricks are difficult to work with, the floor plan is awkward, and it’s not the sort of home you’d keep if you’re paying the quoted $6 million.
For the right buyer, the opportunity is in the rebuild. But with a likely $3–$4 million construction cost on top of purchase, you’re looking at a $10 million outlay — a figure that’s rare for Brighton East, with only a handful of $7M+ land sales on much smaller parcels.
Design choices matter here:
- If you don’t want the tennis court — use the Canberra Grove access, create a deep, substantial home with a big garden, and maximise livability.
- If you keep the tennis court where it is — you’ll be forced into a shallow floor plan on Canberra Grove, entering almost onto the court itself, which limits design appeal.
- If you swap the tennis court to the corner — you could create a substantial Regent Street home with a north-facing rear, but you’ll face planning hurdles, corner-block building restrictions, and streetscape considerations.
At roughly $4,000 per sqm, the ask is at the top end of the market. It’s a block with potential — but also with significant complexity that only a clear vision (and deep pockets) will resolve.
86B Kooyong Road, Armadale – James Home Ratings
We all like a sexy project, and this one has it in spades — challenge, class, intrigue, and architectural beauty you simply can’t reproduce at scale.
It’s an old church on 1,438 sqm, sitting right behind Kooyong Road’s high street shops, and wrapped in significant heritage overlays. That means you’ll be largely working within the existing shell — and buildings like this rarely hit the open market. The stained-glass windows, vaulted ceilings, wide timber floors, and organ pipes are all here, waiting for the right buyer with vision and stamina.
The quoted price is around $6M, and while this isn’t a $30M landmark deal, it is a bottomless money pit in the best sense. Whatever you think you’ll spend — multiply it. The upside? You’ll end up with something no one else has.
Decision Process – Should You Even Consider It?
- Be clear on your appetite for complexity — this is not a “settle and renovate” job.
- Consider your final use early: intergenerational residence, home-office blend, high-end office, or something mixed-use (all subject to council).
- Budget beyond the obvious: heritage compliance, specialist trades, planning delays.
Assessment – What You Need to Weigh Up
- Heritage constraints: How far can you adapt while keeping the character?
- Space: 800 sqm of existing building plus significant land offers scope — but also costs.
- Parking: Is under-building parking viable? You’ll need serious underpinning.
- Zoning vs. reality: It’s residential, but proximity to shops might allow more (if council agrees).
Negotiation – Where This Gets Interesting
The purchase process will be as much about strategy as price. Expect “smokes and mirrors” — not in a negative sense, but because there’s genuine uncertainty:
- Who else is seriously bidding, and are they real players or posturing?
- What’s it truly worth given its uniqueness and restrictions?
- How much will unknowns impact your timing and budget?
This is the kind of negotiation where preparation, local knowledge, and quick decision-making will make or break your outcome.
If you navigate the process well, the result could be one of Melbourne’s most distinctive private projects — a showpiece of heritage adaptation that’s as rewarding emotionally as it is architecturally.
They are both around $6m so we askJAMES to compare. Give it a go yourself! - Its 100% real
ai tailoring our James content for you. But only what we provide. Nothing more. Now less can be more.
This will be far better for buyers and sellers if you find sources of trust and you want to trust them.
Some properties sell themselves. Others you buy on impulse. And then there are those rare, complex opportunities where every step — from first viewing to final signature — demands focus, skill, and the ability to make confident calls under uncertainty.
86B Kooyong Road, Armadale is exactly that. A heritage church on 1,438 sqm, right behind Kooyong Road’s shops. Stained glass. Vaulted ceilings. Timber floors that feel like they’ve absorbed a century of stories. You can’t recreate this at scale. But you also can’t stroll in with a paintbrush and a Pinterest board.
Step One – Clarity
Before you even start talking numbers, you need clarity.
- Purpose:Is this a once-in-a-lifetime family home, an intergenerational base, a home-office hybrid, or a statement commercial project (subject to council)?
- Budget reality:$6M purchase price is just the start. Heritage overlays mean specialist trades, compliance work, and inevitable surprises.
- Lifestyle fit:Heritage conversions are rewarding, but they’re also slow burns. Are you ready for that?
Clarity isn’t about removing the romance — it’s about making sure the vision survives contact with reality.
Step Two – Assessment
We call this the “cool head” phase. Yes, admire the stained glass, but also:
- Map the heritage constraints— what can you alter, and what’s untouchable?
- Understand building scope— 800 sqm of existing structure is generous, but how usable is it in its current form?
- Test the parking puzzle— can you create under-building parking with underpinning, and at what cost?
- Read the zoning landscape— it’s residential, but proximity to shops might unlock more potential if council is on side.
A good assessment balances opportunity with risk — and in a property like this, the line between the two can be very fine.
Step Three – Negotiation
This is where most people misstep, because it’s rarely just about price. In deals like 86B Kooyong Road, there’s genuine ambiguity:
- Who are the other bidders, and how serious are they?
- How is “value” being defined when there are no true comparables?
- What are the timing traps — deposits, conditions, access?
You’re not just negotiating against a vendor’s price expectations — you’re negotiating against the unknowns. That’s where preparation, local knowledge, and the ability to pivot quickly matter.
Why This Matters
Heritage conversions like this are as much about process as they are about property. If you get the clarity wrong, you can end up owning a dream that becomes a drain. If you skip the hard questions in assessment, the budget will spiral. And if you approach negotiation without a strategy, you risk either overpaying or missing out entirely.
We’ve navigated projects with similar layers — heritage, zoning, planning, and complex vendor expectations. The most successful outcomes always came down to a clear-eyed start, forensic assessment, and a negotiation strategy that adapted as new information emerged.
Opportunities like 86B Kooyong Road don’t come up often. When they do, they’re worth exploring with the same care you’d give to building the property itself.
If you like your property deals neat and tidy, this isn’t one of them. 51–53 Regent Street, Brighton East is a 1,540 sqm double-fronted block that’s equal parts opportunity and puzzle. It’s got size, location, and street presence — but also layout, planning, and pricing challenges that will test even the most seasoned buyer.
At the quoted $6M+ price point, nobody’s moving in as is. This is a knockdown and rebuild play. But that’s where it gets tricky.
The Numbers Problem
A realistic build here will cost $3–$4M on top of the purchase. You’re now at $10M in Brighton East. Yes, there have been $7M+ land sales locally — but on much smaller 750–850 sqm blocks. $10M sales aren’t common in Brighton, let alone Brighton East. That means the buyer has to either:
- Really want this location and be comfortable holding a $10M+ asset here, or
- See a path to adding significant long-term value that justifies the spend.
The Design Dilemma
The tennis court is both an asset and a headache.
- Option 1 – Lose the court:Use Canberra Grove access, design a deep home with a large garden, and maximise family living.
- Option 2 – Keep the court where it is:You’ll end up with a shallow house plan off Canberra Grove, which compromises flow and appeal.
- Option 3 – Move the court to the corner:Potentially the best for a Regent Street build with a north-facing rear — but you’ll hit planning hurdles, corner-block restrictions, and streetscape rules.
None of these are bad options — but none are straightforward either. The Verdict This is not a passive investment. It’s a big land play at a big per sqm ask (around $4,000) that demands vision, budget, and confidence. For the right buyer, it could become one of Brighton East’s standout homes. For the wrong one, it risks becoming a very expensive game of tennis.
Do you have an off-market for any of these buying clients?
| PRICE | POSITION | PROPERTY |
| 3.5m | Brighton Church St Precinct | Apartment |
| 5m | Malvern East | Family home double garage |
| 2m | Carnegie to Richmond | Townhouse |
| 3.5m | Camberwell; Canterbury, Kew | New Home |
| 1.5m | Caulfield South Elsternwick Brighton North | 3B/2B/2C Land for dog |
| 7m | Larger block and family home | Bigger yard, will reno |
| 6m | Camberwell Hawthorn | Renovation Value Add up to $2m |
| 3m | Surrey Hills, Canterbury area | Low maintenance, no reno |
| 1.6m | Fitzroy North, Carlton North | First family home |
| 1.5m | Anderson Park Area – Hawthorn | Townhouse for single |
If you do great – we can come and have a look. Simone 0400304111 or Mal 0408107988
Always buying (real) off-markets.
Can we help you? A selling agent has this and we can act as your buyer advocate if you wish. Simone 0400304111 or Mal 0408107988