Canberra auctions: First-home buyers nab Lyneham house for $895,000 after mid-auction downpour

A mid-auction downpour was not enough to dampen the competitive spirits in the battle for a three-bedroom Lyneham house that sold to first-home buyers for $895,000 on Saturday morning.

The auction for the property at 30 Glover Street was interrupted just as the bidding started to get heated with a sudden burst of rain forcing the 50-odd crowd to move inside.

Among the crowd were eight registered bidders vying for the home, which sits on a 613-square-metre block.

Bidding for the property kicked off at $740,000, and was countered by a $760,000 bid. This was followed by a $10,000 rise and then a bold bid of $800,000.

At this point, the downpour began suddenly and with force, and attendees were ushered inside to the cosy lounge room.

Instead of stalling the auction, the interruption spurred on the momentum with a bid for $805,000 placed even before everybody had settled in.

The auction progressed in increments ranging from $1000 to $10,000, and when the price reached $850,000 a rise of $500 was accepted.

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Proceedings continued in smaller increments, and towards the end rises as low as $200 were accepted. The crowd was kept entertained by unusually specific offers such as $882,500 and $884,200.

At $888,000, listing agent Ash Costello of home.byholly confirmed to the crowd that the home was on the market, with just seven more bids, including an offer of $893,800, taking the property to its selling price.

Ms Costello said the property “sold well above reserve”, adding the rain interruption may have helped the result.

“That little break gave everybody a little breather and the competitive bidding really began then,” she said.

The house was bought by first-home buyers, Ms Costello said. It comes after the stamp duty abolition for first-home buyers on all properties in the ACT came into effect on July 1.

“We did find that a lot of first-home buyers were waiting until July 1 and there weren’t as many registered bidders in the lead-up to that, but now we have found they are out in full force,” she said.

“There are a lot of young couples trying to buy into the inner north because of the schools, the community and proximity to everything else in Canberra.”

The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed first-home buyer loans in the ACT jumped 56 per cent from June to July.

The property was one of 37 taken to auction in Canberra on Saturday.