It was set to be bought by a new owner for the first time in more than 70 years until a twist at the eleventh hour kept a Seaton home in the family.
A relative of the owners snapped up the four-bedroom house at 3 Airdrie Ave after deciding on the morning of the auction that they were going to make a bid for it.
The owners – three siblings whose later father designed and built the original 1952 sold brick character home on the 964 sqm block – were surprised and relieved their cousin Thomas Campaniello stepped up to secure it.
Mr Campaniello was the only prospective buyer to make a bid for the property, having blown all six others out of the water with his high offer.
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“We had a lot of good times in this place,” he said on auction day.
“I just couldn’t see it go to anyone else so I just decided to buy it this morning.”
He planned to use the property as a retreat.
Selling agent Sophia Pampena, of Ray White Semaphore, said Mr Campaniello “came in strong with his first bid”, which quickly eliminated all the other prospective buyers.
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Following negotiations, she said the siblings decided they wanted their cousin to have the property.
It ended up selling for $1.4m under the hammer.
“It was really hard for them to sell this property, it took them a long time to let it go,” she said.
“They were so happy it went to their cousin.
“It was a very emotional auction for the vendors and purchasers.”
Latest realestate.com.au figures show the median house price in Seaton is $1,070,750 following 13.3 per cent growth in the past year and 42.8 per cent over the past five years.
