BRIGHTON, 108 Head St | John Clarkson (Buxton - Brighton) Under Hammer: Bought range: $1,870,050 - $2,057,250 - 5 Bidders (Photo: Catherine Ross)
Bidderbuzz Auction ""It's the vibe of the thing". A shimmering, omnipresent, all encompassing vibe. There are lots of bidders here, I can feel it a block away as I'm walking toward Head Street "on the border of Brighton and Elsternwick - the best place to be" espouses Buxton's inimitable Johnny Clarkson. There's a feeling of hope which is shortly going to be despair when yet another group of late-youth hipsters are going to be flattened in the chase for the keys. There's a b-i-g crowd for a foggy and drizzling Saturday morning, although it's wonderfully still and ethereal in the mist. About 200 people have gathered on both sides of the street and the eyes of the Buxton team are glittering at the prospect of a show. A big crowd, lots of bidders and Mr J Clarkson, performer extraordinaire adds up to entertainment off the scale. He doesn't waste any time whipping through the formalities and suggests that $1,300,000 is a good place to start and before you know it there are hands rising and we rattle along in $50,000 bids with Bidders 1 and 2 steaming forward to $1,550,000 when a third bidder joins us, and we are quickly at $1,650,000. We are on the market in double-quick time, and yes, he'll take $10,000 so Bidder 4 joins the vibe. Bidder 1 and 2 and 4 drop in and out but Bidder 3 means business until $1,770,000 when Bidder 5 joins in from over the road and the others drop away as they struggle for the keys. Bidder 5 adds larger bids trying to gain the advantage, and Bidder 3 is gamely trying to keep up, but finally at $1,950,000 he raises the white flag. Johnny thanks him sincerely for his respectful manner and his bidding but he bows out leaving Bidder 5 victorious with a huge round of applause from the crowd." (Catherine Ross)
Biggest Sale: BRIGHTON, 23 Albert St Peter Kakos (Marshall White - Brighton); Under Hammer, $2,910,000 - 3 Bidders "Auctioneer Peter Kakos warmed the crowd of 65 on this cold and grey day. His pace and humour took our minds off the weather and directed our eyes onto him as he quietly but assuredly paced the street. With an opening statement of Brighton being a destination suburb and a vendor bid of $2,600,000 he started the auction. His skill was evident in how he teased out the bids from three bidders who took their time considering their options between each bid. All the while, managing Agent Kate Strickland was busy putting the final touches on her hard work performed during the campaign. She called out to Peter to announce it on the market at $2,870,000 as she ran back outside during the bidding. 30 minutes of action and just as it started to drizzle, Peter brought the hammer down to Bidder 2 who bought the property for an undisclosed price.
" (Hugh James)
