Epic hour-long Melbourne house auction sparks bidding frenzy

There were a staggering 167 bids for this 653sq m home in Melbourne. Photo / Supplied

A standard, brick, single-storey home has sparked a bidding frenzy that stretched for over an hour, with a staggering 167 bids.

The epic auction proved fruitful for the homeowners with it selling well above the reserve.

Five parties battled for the four-bedroom residence in the Melbourne suburb of Burwood on the weekend before a Chinese buyer secured the deal.

The 653sq m block at 17 Banksia St sold well past the A$1.15 million ($1.2m) reserve to A$1,370,716.

Ray White Burwood director Henry Lin said the bids — sometimes as low as A$16 — were incremental during the "very rare" 60-minute auction.

"There is no limit for increment at auction, we accept any bids to achieve the best price for our client," Lin said, adding that it was the longest auction he had ever run.

He said the medium price in the area was about A$1.2m and the market rarely saw properties sold well above the reserve. "But family homes are still hot property," he said.

Lin said all the bidders were families drawn to the property's position in a "prestigious area of Burwood" which has a local golf course, village shops and is walking distance to a private school.

The property has a massive bungalow out the back fitted with cooking appliances and enough room for the kids to play.

EYS auctioneer Brenton Ilicic told realestate.com.au that the auction kicked off about 5pm on Saturday and finished at 6.05pm.

"It went on and on," Ilicic said.

"Two bidders just kept going for the last 20 minutes, in A$50 and A$100 bids.

"There were also some obscure increases — one bidder put in bids of A$616 and A$723."

The property sold for just A$54,000 back in 1981, according to CoreLogic.