Standout Ainslie home sets suburb record among million-dollar sales on Saturday

The suburb record for Ainslie was smashed on Saturday by almost $500,000 as buyers competed for the standout home.

Number 53 Duffy Street sold for a staggering $1.8 million on Saturday morning as eight registered bidders fought for the prize.

It beat the previous sales record for the suburb by $467,000.

That record was set just four months ago when 17 Higgins Crescent in Ainslie sold for $1,333,000.

The new record for the popular inner north suburb was just one of a number of big sales on Saturday as August continued the solid auction clearance rate from July.

A home in Reid also equalled the sales record for the suburb when it sold for $1.9 million.

The house at 18 Dirrawan Gardens sold for the same price as a property at 25 Elimatta Street in Reid, which set the record at the end of last year.

Agents are reporting the market is running hotter than during winter last year and the strong results on Saturday support this.

According to APM PriceFinder Canberra’s auction clearance rate was just above 70 per cent.

The ACT is currently sitting at its best clearance rate in about five years.

On Saturday morning a property at 17 Ducane Street in Forrest attracted quite a crowd as it sold under the hammer for $1,575,000.

Agent Richard Keeley from Luton Properties said there had been nine registered bidders for the home.

The bidding started at $1 million and it was called on the market at $1.5 million.

He said five people had actually placed bids during the auction in what was a strong result.

Mr Keeley said the market was performing particularly strongly at the start of the last month of winter.

He said this was a combination of a lack of homes on the market, fewer homes for sale than the same time last year and low interest rates.

“The market seems to be strong at the moment,” he said.

A home at 5 Blakely Row in Yarralumla sold at auction on Saturday for $1,592,000.