Auction watch: Solid weekend for spring selling season

The sunshine formed an idyllic backdrop, not only for Floriade, but for the biggest day of auctions so far this spring.

Luton Properties’ spring property auction showcase accounted for almost half of the day’s listings, with the company hosting 30 of Canberra’s 67 auctions.

Director Richard Luton said his agency sold 22 homes under the hammer and three sales broke the million-dollar mark.

“It was an excellent day and I’m really happy with the result,” Mr Luton said.

Number 45 Bertram Street in Fadden attracted about 80 people and nine registered bidders when it went under the hammer.

Auctioneer Dan Cooper conducted the speedy, spirited auction, with the gavel falling at $870,000.

The biggest sale of the day was recorded in Yarralumla, where 42 Macdonnell Street sold under the hammer for $1.61 million.

Luton Properties Manuka agent Robert Westropp-Evans said it was a competitive auction, attracting six registered bidders.

Mr Westropp-Evans said the solid, full-brick house had “excellent bones” and was constructed by a top builder in the 1960s.

Character features of the tri-level home include exposed timber beams, a grand wooden staircase and a secret doorway behind a bookcase.

The accommodation, which includes a self-contained flat, made it a popular home with families, Mr Westropp-Evans said.

The eventual buyers were Yarralumla locals seeking a larger home in the suburb.

Marc Donohue, also of Luton Properties Manuka, sold the other million-dollar-plus homes. An apartment at 136/15 Corranderrk Street in the city sold for $1.55 million, while a rural estate at 276 Valley Drive in Royalla changed hands for $1.15 million.

Peter Blackshaw Real Estate also had three million-dollar-plus sales: a lavish townhouse at 13/28 Black Street in Yarralumla sold for $1.45 million, an original red brick home at 17 Lindsay Street in Narrabundah sold for $1,372,000 and a large entertainer’s home at 32 Beaumont Close in Chapman sold for $1.03 million.

A clearance rate of 64.4 per cent was recorded on Saturday, according to Domain Group data.