Auction watch: Aranda home goes under the hammer twice

Due to a set of unusual circumstances, an Aranda property was placed under the hammer twice on Saturday.

The home at 6 Arabana Street originally sold under the hammer for $1.268 million, however, the home was sent back to auction where it eventually sold for $1.209 million.

It was a disputed bid on the four-bedroom home which resulted in the recall of the bidding.

“When the hammer dropped at $1.268 million the bidder thought the number was sitting at $1.168 million,” said selling agent Mark Larmer of Independent Property Group Inner North & City.

“Sometimes the high emotion of an auction and the stress involved can result in bidders bidding the wrong number.”

Larmer acted as the auctioneer on the property that he was co-listed on with IPG Inner North & City partner Chris Uren.

They decided to make the call to put the home back on the market as they thought it was in the best interests of both the vendor and bidders.

“At the time we had to make a choice about legally enforcing the bidder into the contract but if they didn’t have the capacity to go through with the sale the sellers wouldn’t have received the money and it most likely would have resulted in a lengthy legal process,” said Larmer.

“We thought it was more appropriate to accept the bidder had made a mistake and thankfully there were a number of other potential bidders at the auction.”

The judgment was made to put the home back under the hammer, starting at $1.170 million – the limit of the disputed bidder.

“As the auctioneer I had the legal right to market a disputed bid and reopen the auction at the last undisputed figure,” said Larmer.

Larmer recommended buyers bring a second party to auctions where they intend to bid in order to prevent this scenario from happening.

“It’s really important to have someone with you who is not emotionally attached to the purchase and can consult you constantly throughout the auction,” he added.

“Be very clear when you are placing bids, you can be held legally bound for that bid even if you get mixed up with the numbers.

“The agency has discretion and it could have gone the other way. You have to be responsible for your own bidding.”

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When the auction initially begun, bidding was slow to take off on the property and started at $800,000. After reaching $850,000 one eager bidder decided to place a bid for $1.070 million.

There were four registered bidders on the day and it was a hotly contested auction.

It was unsurprising that demand was strong for the single level, well-appointed home with seamless transitions between the indoors and outdoors.

The open-plan design allows for flexible living, dining and relaxing, with crisp white interiors providing the perfect canvas for its next family.

The final sale price of $1.209 million was well above the vendor’s expectations, prior to auction, the buyers price guide was $1,050,000. It’s also significantly above Aranda’s median house price of approximately $840,000.

10 See Place, Curtin, also sold at auction over the weekend for $1.1 million. Photo: Ray White Canberra

Elsewhere in the territory, 10 See Place, Curtin, sold under the hammer for $1.1 million. 

Ray White Canberra selling agent Treston Bamber said the auction was very emotional for all parties involved. 

There were eight registered bidders at the Curtin home and it received five offers prior to auction. Curtin’s median house price is $867,500.

Check out the rest of the weekend’s auction results here!