Another Yarralumla home breaks Canberra's auction record with $5.475 million sale

The sale of a Yarralumla mansion has smashed Canberra’s auction record by more than $1 million after selling for $5,475,000 at auction on Sunday.

The sale of 12 Hunter Street is also the territory’s third-highest house sale, behind two properties on the exclusive Mugga Way in Red Hill 

The ACT’s biggest sale of the year breaks an auction record – and Yarralumla suburb record – set just five months earlier with the $3.95-million sale of 16 Brown Street.

Peter Blackshaw Real Estate director selling agent Mario Sanfrancesco​ said the five-bedroom, four-bathroom residence near Lake Burley Griffin was snapped up by a young Canberra family.

He said he had not expected the property to sell for as much as it did but had high expectations ahead of the auction.

“We weren’t quite expecting a result as strong as that,” he said.

“It really is not a surprise when you look at the overall package and what the property offered.”

Mr Sanfrancesco said a mix of local families and international parties from as far as China and the UK registered to bid on the property during a lengthy auction, which was watched by “several hundred spectators”.

It features a swimming pool and tennis court on a 2286-square-metre block.

“There were 50 bids placed. It went for about 40 minutes,” he said.

“There was an opening bid of $3.5 million. It then went up to $4.2 million with a number of parties, then quite competitive bidding from thereon.” 

Canberra’s biggest residential house sale of all time was the sale of a property at 27 Mugga Way in Red Hill for $7.3 million in 2010.

Another house on Canberra’s “Golden Mile” at 20 Mugga Way sold for $7.2 million in 2014.

Allhomes data scientist Nicola Powell said Sunday’s result in Yarralumla was “hugely surprising”.

“It just shows how strong the housing market is,” she said.

“It absolutely smashed the suburb record. Yarralumla is really a changing suburb in the context that there have been lots of older properties being knocked down and rebuilt and you’ve got these new mansions in what is a central, established location.”

Dr Powell said sales over the $2-million-dollar mark in Canberra made up only 0.3 per cent of overall residential market activity.

Many properties at the territory’s prestige end of the market are sold by expression of interest or negotiation.

Mr Sanfrancesco said those vying for 12 Hunter Street thought the auction process was transparent and were confident of the value of the property.  

He said he expected more big sales in the new year.

“The best kept secret in Canberra is there are many gems hidden behind big, thick hedges that could smash any record should they come onto the market,” he said.