Auction watch: Three suburb records broken across Canberra

Three suburb records were broken across Canberra on Saturday and more than $2 million raised for charity.

Aranda, Chifley and Gungahlin recorded new top sales amid a busy day of 79 auctions and 13 million-dollar-plus transactions.

A five-bedroom house designed by renowned architect Roger Pegrum became Aranda’s biggest standalone house sale of all time, selling for $1.4 million under the hammer.

More than 200 groups inspected the property at 38 Mirning Crescent, which broke an original record of $1.187 million for a standalone house set in August, 2015.

A residential block at 52-58 Bandjalong Crescent sold for $2.3 million in 2013 however, this was a muti-dwelling site.

The property, situated on the suburb’s southern edge, has been seamlessly updated over the years, with Pegrum overseeing every renovation and extension. 

Ray White Belconnen selling agent Andrew Lonsdale said the home was a rarity.

“Aranda is the smallest suburb in terms of the number of houses in Canberra,” he said. “It’s very similar to Curtin, centrally located to everything.

“Some of the longest-held properties in Belconnen are a lot of the houses sitting along the ridge, in Aranda, Cook, Hawker … and Weetangera.”

Across the lake, an almost 3000-square-metre property at 14 Warren Place in Chifley was snapped up for $1,495,000, pipping the Woden Valley suburb’s earlier record of $1.27 million, set in September, 2015.

Peter Blackshaw Real Estate Manuka selling agent Mario Sanfrancesco said it was the first time the property had been on the market since the mid-1960s.

The Pettit and Sevitt-designed four-bedroom house features a tennis court and swimming pool and has been showcased as part of Open Gardens Australia.

The third suburb record of the day was broken in Gungahlin. A four-bedroom house at 21 Kettle Street was snapped up for $1,255,000 under the hammer.

The property, located opposite Yerrabi Pond and sold through Luton Properties Gungahlin, just broke the suburb’s previous top sale of $1.25 million, recorded in July, 2015.

Despite the trio of record-breaking sales on Saturday, Canberra recorded a fairly low clearance rate of 64 per cent, according to Domain Group data.

At an auction with a twist, two houses in Deakin at 63 and 65 Buxton Street pipped the $1 million-mark, with the proceeds of each sale raising a combined total of more than $2 million for charity.

The properties were built and sold as part of the Deakin Charity House Project, raking in $1.65 million and $1.38 million respectively in front of a crowd of about 100.

Across town, a renovated house at 80 Creswell Street in Campbell also attracted a big crowd, with about 130 people watching the house sell for $1.66 million through Peter Blackshaw Woden and Weston Creek.