'An emotional buy': Paddington unit soars $50,000 above reserve at auction

The Sydney market may be cooling but some sellers are still enjoying heated buyer competition at auction.

On Saturday morning, vendor James Watts was pleasantly surprised to see two dozen people huddled in the courtyard of his two-bedroom apartment at 1/10 Cooper Street, Paddington. It was one 385 Sydney homes scheduled to go under the hammer.

There were seven registered bidders among the crowd and three of them were active. Bidding opened at $1.2 million and went up in $5000 increments to $1.39 million. Rapid fire $2000 bids saw the hammer fall at $1.4 million. 

The price was $50,000 above reserve and well above Paddington’s median apartment price of $937,500. It last sold for $895,000 in 2013.

Mr Watts said, given he was unsure of his chances at auction, he was “super excited and happy with the result”.

The level of competition also surprised the eventual buyer, Caroline Crooks, an engineering manager who had no real intentions of buying.

“I felt more confident before I arrived and saw how many people were here. There was a lot more interest than I was expecting,” Ms Crooks said.

“I was actually idly looking and found this place and really, really fell for it so it was an emotional buy,” Ms Crooks said.

She said she was stoked to have nabbed the keys to the property as the hammer fell exactly on her limit: “I wasn’t going another $1000 higher.”

Selling agent and auctioneer Mark Foy, of Belle Property Surry Hills, said it was one of the stronger auctions he had experienced lately in the cooling Sydney market.

“To have seven register on the property and three bid really strongly just goes to show you A-grade properties are still selling for A-grade prices,” Mr Foy said.

He said with multiple offers before auction day, they had considered selling it beforehand but decided to continue to auction.

“If you’ve got a good product that ticks a lot of the boxes then they’re going to be competed for strongly,” Mr Foy said.

It was one of a reported 176 sales at auction on Saturday; Sydney recorded a clearance rate of 59.7 per cent, up on last week’s 51.8. 

Further south, the auction of a three-bedroom home in Eastlakes drew a crowd of 50 people, including five registered bidders, three of them active.

Two young couples and a local investor were vying for the keys to the Federation cottage at 29 Harry Street. Bidding opened at $1.05 million, quickly going up to $1,275,000 in increments of $25,000. It slowed down to $10,000, $5000 and then $1000 bids before the hammer fell at $1,311,000 – $61,000 above reserve.

Selling agent Chris Skarlatos, of Laing+Simmon Rosebery, said the property, which is on a 339 square metre block, garnered lots of interest because it was at “an attractive price point for the suburb”.

For a house with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, nothing comes up in that price range in Eastlakes,” he said.

The median house price in Eastlakes is $1.64 million. The property last sold for $300,000 in 1995.

In Mascot, bidding opened at $1.35 million for a tightly-held red double brick house on 47 Cleland St. It was the first time the three-bedroom house was on the market in 50 years.

Three of the four registered bidders increased the amount in increments of $25,000 until $1,475,000 where it slowed down to lots of $5000 before the hammer fell at $1.51 million – a reduced reserve of $20,000. It sold above the suburb’s median house price of $1,341,000.

The buyer was a downsizing family from the Randwick area. 

Selling agent Marnie Seinor of McGrath Coogee said it was excellent to have four registered bidders in the current market.

“We had the crowd and the buyers and it was competitive,” Ms Seinor said.

Elsewhere in Sydney. . .

SOLD $667,500
4/6 Keith Street
Dulwich Hill
2 bedrooms, 1 bathrooms, 1 car space

Three of the four registered bidders competed for the keys to this apartment in Sydney’s inner west on Saturday. Bidding opened at $605,000, increasing in increments of $5000 before it stopped at $665,000. The vendor and buyer met halfway later at $667,500, after the reserve was revised down from $670,000. Selling agent Adrian Tsavalas of McGrath Newtown said the owners were delighted with the results and “felt they had an honest win in a challenging market”. The property last sold for $590,000 in 2015.

4/6 Keith Street, Dulwich Hill. Photo: Supplied

SOLD $890,000
8/100-102 Wyadra Avenue
Freshwater
2 bedrooms, 1 bathrooms, 1 car space

There were multiple pre-auction offers on this northern beaches apartment but selling agent Domenic Coniglio of Stone Dee Why Collaroy said he felt confident the property could sell for more on auction day. Two first home buyers battled it out against a local owner-occupier with bidding starting at $800,000, jumping in increments of $10,000 down to as little as $2000. It eventually sold to one of the first-home buyers for $15,000 above reserve.

8/100-102 Wyadra Ave, Freshwater Photo: Supplied

PASSED IN
5/12-14 Gallard Street
Denistone East
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 3 car spaces

Despite plenty of interest throughout the campaign with 47 groups through and two registered bidders on the day this property was passed in with no bids. Selling agent Michael Dowling of McGrath Ryde expected the villa to sell in negotiation as the owners are “extremely realistic and want the property sold”. The reserve was $1,050,000, matching the buyers guide exactly. This property last sold for $250,000 in 1997. 

5/12-14 Gallard Street, Denistone East. Photo: Supplied