Home buyers stretch budget as prices surge

Marija Neskovski and Josh Coradi outside 15 White Street, Williamstown. (Supplied)

Goya Dmytryshchak

As house prices last month surged at the fastest rate since 2003, one Williamstown home buyer has told why she offered $255,000 more than what the vendor expected.

Marija Neskovski and her partner Josh Coradi last month bought the property at 15 White Street, Williamstown, for $2,655,000.

The house previously sold in October, 2018, for $1,100,000 and had been completely renovated.

Ms Neskovski said she made a high pre-auction offer to ensure she secured the property, with record low interest rates allowing the couple to stretch their budget.

“So many of us who are in the housing market have hit complete panic mode,” she said.

“There’s not that many houses that are going up and whatever is going up, if it ticks almost all of your boxes you’ll basically extend yourself out more than what you need to to have the house that you want and need for your life moving forward.

“We knew that if it went to auction, potentially it could have gone for even more than what we purchased it for.”

House values rose by 2.1 per cent in Melbourne and 1.7 per cent in Williamstown in February, according to CoreLogic data released last week.

Ms Neskovski, who currently lives in an apartment in Williamstown, said the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted her decision to buy a house in the suburb.

“The main appeal of Williamstown, I think, is that if we ever did go into any kind of lockdown, if we confined to our five kilometre radius it’s a beautiful pocket to be in,” she said.

“It’s a seaside suburb, you’ve got spots to walk to, you’ve got your main little shopping area.

“During lockdown, and I was working from home, it was perfect.”