The crowd, many of them neighbours, lined up in the front yard of a Brocka Ave, Belmont property for a free coffee prior to an auction.

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A couple with two kids is preparing to make the most of a Belmont riverside pocket after swooping on a property after auction.

They agreed to a $750,000 sale price for the five-bedroom house on a 586sq m block at 5 Brocka Ave.

But Hayeswinckle, Highton agent Ray Rounds said they’ll demolish the house, with plans to create a new home in the popular neighbourhood.

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The property had earlier passed in on a single $700,000 bid from the eventual buyers after auctioneer Michelle Winckle had called the auction.

Michelle Winckle calls the auction at 5 Brocka Ave, Belmont.

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Ms Winckle resisted kicking off the bidding for the property on behalf of the vendors but warned that unless buyers were willing to make a bid to secure the right to negotiate at the reserve, that a Dutch auction would likely ensue on Saturday.

Mr Rounds said it was a good price in the current marketplace.

“The people who bought it, they’re going to knock it down and build a lovely family home for themselves,” he said.

“They loved the spot.

“I think they bought really well – they’ve paid for land value because the house needed a lot of love.”

5 Brocka Ave, Belmont, sold for $750,000 after auction.

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Mr Rounds said proximity to Roslyn Primary School, and Belmont High School at a later time, were key attractions for the property, which was also close to Barwon River walking tracks and Highton Village shops.

Both Mr Rounds and auctioneer Michelle Winckle said the house needed a lot of TLC.

Interior walls throughout the house showed long, horizontal cracks that showed part of the reason it was a fixer-upper at best.

Mr Rounds said rising building costs hurt a lot of potential buyers.

“A lot of the young ones didn’t have the money,” he said.

“They could buy a house, but they didn’t have enough money to do the renovations as things got dearer, so it’s eliminating a lot of people.”