Architect buys long-admired Forest Lodge house in his street for $3m
A Forest Lodge house attracted strong interest from buyers living nearby at auction on Saturday and sold to someone living on the same street for $3 million.
The four-bedroom, one-bathroom property at 11 Arthur Street sold under the hammer to an architect and his family, living a few houses down. They were upsizing and are considering plans to renovate the home in future, the listing agent said.
Bidding was between the architect and his family, another buyer from a nearby street and a couple from Enmore who were downsizing.
In a competitive auction, bidding opened at $2.6 million and rose in $25,000 increments.
The guide was $2.6 million, and the reserve was $2.75 million.
BresicWhitney Inner West listing agent Renae Dickey said the buyer was looking for something special and had admired the home for quite a while.
“They had their sights set on a property they could comfortably live in as a family of four. Being an architect, the buyer may transform the home over time,” Dickey said.
It was one of 1052 scheduled auctions in Sydney on Saturday. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 63.9 per cent from 628 reported results, while 133 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
A deceased estate in North Manly, which included a renovated kitchen, granny flat and outdoor pool, passed in at $2.5 million.
The five-bedroom, three-bathroom property at 140 Wyadra Avenue had two buyers register for the auction, though only one bid.
A bid of $2.5 million was the only offer and was made by a Dee Why doctor, who attended the auction with his wife, who styles properties to sell. The pair planned to use the property as a rental if they bought it.
The other registered bidder was a family of four from the northern beaches who were upsizing. A couple from Ryde arrived late to the auction and said they were keen to purchase a home in the area.
The doctor, who attended another auction in the neighbouring suburb of Seaforth just hours later, said during the auction that he was happy to add $10,000 to “close the deal”. Negotiations between the vendor and doctor were under way at the time of publication.
Novak Properties listing agent Lisa Novak said she was confident the home would sell after auction.
“It has been a busy spring selling season for our agency, and homes sell when they are priced realistically,” she said.
In Warrawee, a St Ives family with upsizing plans was determined to secure a home at auction, bidding against themselves five times to secure the property.
The five-bedroom, three-bathroom property at 5 Boondah Place sold for $5.3 million, above the $5 million guide and $100,000 more than the reserve.
An opening bid of $5.1 million was made in front of a large crowd. Ray White Upper North Shore listing agent Michael Dempsey said he spoke with the vendor and convinced the bidder to offer $60,000 more before again consulting the owner. Offers of $5.2 million, $5.24 million and $5.27 million were made over 40 minutes before a final offer of $5.3 million was accepted.
The vendors have lived at the home for 20 years and were downsizing in Paddington.
Dempsey said the upper north shore was still competitive and unaffected by interest rates.
“In this region, I don’t think interest rate cuts will be a game changer. There are plenty of buyers and active bidding,” he said.
In Miranda, a three-bedroom, one-bathroom home sold under the hammer for $1.55 million to first home buyers, a young couple who were renting in the Sutherland Shire.
The guide was $1.45 million, and the reserve was $1.5 million.
Buyers Nathan Wood and Georgia Cuming had their parents in attendance. They said the home won them over instantly.
“We met in Orange three years ago and to this day, the central west is a special place to us. When we first walked into this house, the first thing we said to each other was that it reminded us of a house in Orange that we lived in.”
Ray White Sutherland Shire’s Matt Debreczeni said two of the five registered bidders had their parents in attendance. Three bidders were active and were all young couples.
The opening bid was $1.4 million, and the auction was slow until the price reached $1.49 million. Bids were placed quickly in $10,000 increments before the winning bid of $1.55 million.
Debreczeni said his agency has had a hectic September. “We’ve had our biggest September in Sutherland Shire on record, in terms of [listing] volumes,” he said. “[But] buyers aren’t rushing in to make rash decisions.”
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