Canberra auctions: Chapman home sells $330k above reserve

A six-bedroom Chapman home sold $330,000 above reserve on Saturday morning, defying Canberra’s auction slowdown of recent months. 

The house at 25 Beaumont Close had five bidders vying for the keys. 

Peter Blackshaw Real Estate Manuka director Andrew Chamberlain said bidding for the property started at $1.4 million and progressed relatively quickly to $2 million. 

From that point, two bidders fought it out before it sold under the hammer for $2.33 million.

Mr Chamberlain said throughout the course of the campaign 222 groups inspected the house.

“The home really struck a chord with a number of people,” he said.

“The key features were the outdoor entertaining area, and the way the house flowed out from the family and living room.”

According to Pricefinder, the sale is Chapman’s second highest of all time.

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Elsewhere, adjoining blocks in Palmerston were set to go under the hammer on Saturday morning, but one home sold prior and the other was passed in due to lack of bidders.

The home at 56 Sugarloaf Circle sold prior for $720,000.

“There are a lot more buyers sub-$700,000 or mid-$600,000 than there is over $700,000, so when we found someone who loved the property and the terms were right we decided to sell it and confirm it under auction terms,” said listing agent Sam Buchanan, of Independent Property Group Belconnen.

Despite not having registered bidders, Mr Buchanan said there were at least four potential buyers for the home at 20 Bendora Crescent.

“One buyer wanted to wait until their home settles, you don’t necessarily need to do that but being cautious is fair enough,” he said.

“There were three conditional buyers who didn’t have pre-approval … chances are we will strike a deal in the next couple of days and it will sell under private treaty.”

The three-bedroom house is well appointed with a functional floor plan and plenty of oversized windows to capture the sun. The property at 20 Bendora Crescent is now listed with a price guide of $650,000+.

In recent months, conditional contracts have been favouring buyers as the fallout from the financial services royal commission continues to be felt.

“The fact there are fewer bidders at auctions than a year ago is a direct result of the banks’ reaction to the royal commission,” said Christine Shaw, director of Christine Shaw Properties.

“Instead of the banks looking at their culture and behaviour, which was the intent of the royal commission, it seems the banks’ focus is to lengthen the time it takes for buyers to obtain pre-approval during an auction campaign.”

Mr Buchanan said he was making his campaigns slightly longer to give buyers more time.

“My campaigns are five weeks now, not four, just in case you meet those buyers in the first couple of weeks who still have time to get pre-approval,” he said.

“It’s not really taking much longer [to get finance] but I think buyers aren’t preparing early, so they are finding a home they love and they miss out because they haven’t actually got their finance sorted.”