Canberra auctions: Mixed results as buyers hibernate

After a hopeful 70 per cent auction clearance rate in Canberra just two weeks ago, last week the sales rate dropped to 50 per cent.

The dark clouds are refusing to budge but there was a glimmer of light during the week and on Saturday with a short string of strong results as first-home and top-end buyers continued to dominate.

On Saturday, Blackshaw Manuka’s Mario Sanfrancesco sold the impressive single-storey residence at 18 Hackett Gardens, Turner, just after auction for an undisclosed price of more than $2 million.

Sanfrancesco said the renovated house attracted three registered bidders on the day with the sale negotiated within an hour of being passed in.

Situated directly opposite parkland and near The Australian National University and shops, the Canberra red-brick house offered three or four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a self-contained studio and a triple carport.

In Curtin, Hayman Partners’ Brett Hayman reported that the three-bedroom house at 22 Collier Street was also passed in and was now on the market for more than $1.15 million.

Weekday auctions continue to gain momentum. On Wednesday, the spacious three-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse at 32 McElhone Court, Belconnen, attracted a strong crowd.

After an opening bid of $560,000, the lively auction attracted increments of $10,000 before selling for $655,000.

MARQ Property’s Sam Taylor said it was a cracker of an auction, and the property sold to a young couple who were first-home buyers and expecting their first child.

The property was in a prized location with easy access to Belconnen Town Centre and the picturesque Lake Ginninderra and offered a well presented interior with scope to update.

Belconnen is a popular suburb for younger buyers as it offers a more affordable median house price of $860,250 and unit price of $565,000.

Also on Wednesday, the well-maintained, three-bedroom 1960s house at 83 Wilshire Street, Dickson, was sold through Greg Ward of Ward Estate Agents for $1,062,500.

It was the first time the property had been offered for sale in 63 years.

On Thursday, Ray White Canberra’s Lucia Marzano sold the five-bedroom, three-bathroom residence at 45 Spalding Street, Flynn, for $1.035 million, while both 31/60 Paul Coe Crescent, Narrabundah, and 17-31 Leah Close, Ngunnawal, were passed in on the same day.

Belle Property Canberra also passed in the four-bedroom house at 8 Deane Street, Yarralumla, on Thursday. The property now on the market with an asking price of between $2.149 million and $2.25 million.