A young family has ended their long search for a place to call home at an auction in Melbourne’s northeast.

They had lost out on multiple properties in recent months before landing the Federation-style stunner at 75 Maroong Drive, Research (pictured above and below), with a winning bid of $1.65 million on May 11.

They outlasted two other bidders in a battle for the five-bedroom house that had been fully renovated.

The lifestyle home on 1850sq m had a $1.35-$1.45 million price guide, with the reserve set at $1.45 million.

“It was an exciting auction, and it came down to $1000 bids at one point, but the buyer made strong $10,000 bids to try to win the auction,” Barry Plant Eltham agent Indianna Allan said.

“It was an emotional buy for the purchasers who are relocating from the west.”

The property had 50 groups at inspections and attracted interest because “it was a fully turnkey property in a great location”, Ms Allan said.

The agency had sold the property to the vendor in 2020 and they were “very happy” with the result.

The suburb of Research, with a low turnover of properties, has strong buyer demand, Ms Allan said.

“The Maroong Drive home is in a sought-after pocket and also backs onto Maroondah Aqueduct Trail, ideal for riding bikes and walks,” she added.

There were only 12 houses for sale and none for rent in Research in the month to May 15, according to realestate.com.au data.

There were only 25 house sales in the past year, with 1510 buyers interested. The suburb has a median house price of $1.405 million.

Strong premiums for Moonee Ponds and Keilor East auctions

On the same day, eight bidders competed for the keys to a two-bedroom unit at 4/19 Montague Street, Moonee Ponds (pictured below).

Attracting interest mainly from first-home buyers and downsizers, the street-fronted property had a strong campaign with 114 groups at the inspections.

The local purchaser paid $768,000 for the spacious unit, which had a reserve price of $700,000, Barry Plant Essendon agent Natalie Drazic said.

The agency also achieved a successful sale at 1/68 Park Drive, Keilor East (pictured below), which attracted three bidders and sold for $840,000.

And a competitive auction was held in Moonee Ponds, at 10 Bruce Street (pictured below).

The period home, located near the river and Aberfeldie Park, sold above the reserve for $1.56 million.