A crowd of 50 gathered around the carpark of this ground-floor apartment to watch it sell under the hammer for $648,000. But it took some time for the bidders to take action. Auctioneer Arthur Apostoleros started the ball rolling with a vendor bid of $550,000. A man in a green jumper offered a $10,000 rise, but it was countered by another increase of $10,000. Two other parties joined in, bidding in increments of mainly $1000. Mr Apostoleros went inside to consult vendors at $645,000 and declared it on the market when he returned. The man in the green jumper, who later introduced himself as Felipe, won the keys for his mother. Christina Zhou

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Sold $940,000 Agent Barry Plant Asking price $820,000-plus
The opening of EastLink in 2008 and improvements to the Eastern Freeway s exit and entrance ramps have helped Doncaster property sales. These days there s little difference between prices in Doncaster, Doncaster East and the southern corner of the suburb, where this 11-year-old Hamptons-style house is located. Sixty groups inspected the five-bedroom property and three parties bid on Saturday. Auctioneer Spiro Drossos presented a teddy bear to the first bidder, then hiked the bidding by $100,000 with a $780,000 vendor bid. On the market at $880,000, the dwelling sold for $940,000 in front of 70 onlookers. Chris Tolhurst


Sold $1.35 million Agent Jellis Craig Asking price $1.2 million-plus
We ve got a heckler already, declared auctioneer Simon Shrimpton as a noisy magpie drowned out his prefatory remarks. Soon four prospective buyers in the crowd of 55 were calling out their bids. All saw merit in this townhouse-like offering a virtually rebuilt Edwardian home occupying a half-size block following a backyard subdivision. The property is near Eglinton Reserve, buses, trams and private schools, which were the things that protect property prices, Mr Shrimpton said. The bidding kicked off at $1.1 million and rose briskly to $1.34 million when the house was selling . After 27 bids, a family secured the keys for $1.35 million. Chris Tolhurst


Sold $770,500 Agent Biggin Scott Asking price $650,000-plus
A 30-minute long auction usually means one thing: plenty of $500 rises. In the case of this two-storey three-bedroom terrace, it meant 50 of them. A young man standing with his parents opened the bidding at $650,000, and a young couple competed with him, offering low rises until the $743,000 mark when they told auctioneer Chris O Shaughnessy they were out. An older couple replaced them, but would only offer $500 increments. The Victorian was on the market at $741,000 and sold to the older couple for $770,500 after a further 53 bids. Jayne D'Arcy


Sold $721,000 Agent Nelson Alexander Asking price $580,000-$630,000
The auction of this two-bedroom semi-detached house was held in its sunny north-facing backyard. Auctioneer Matthew Febey elicited an opening bid of $580,000 from a man at the rear of the crowd of 30, and a woman didn t waste much time making her interest known with a bid. After hearing that the art deco house was on the market at $650,000, the woman dropped out, and a couple took her place. At $721,000, the original man politely announced that he was out, thank you , and the couple scored the keys. Jayne D'Arcy


Passed in $1.075 million Agent Hodges Asking price $1 million-plus
Agents were expecting three parties to throw up their hands when the contemporary beachside house, looking the part with a pool and palm trees, went under the hammer. All prospective buyers who had indicated to agents they were eager to bid were in the crowd, but two kept their hands pushed deep in their pockets. Auctioneer Andrew Plousi invited an opening bid and one contender offered $1 million. Plousi responded with a vendor bid of $1.075 million but would-be buyers kept their strategy and budgets close to their chest, preferring to negotiate for the four-bedroom home after the hammer went down. Emily Power