Bruce home sells for the first time in more than 35 years for $1.221m

A four-bedroom home in Bruce sold for the first time in more than 35 years after a hard-fought bidding war pushed the selling price to $1,221,000 on Saturday morning.

The residence at 8 Goldsworthy Place has been owned by the vendor since 1982, listing agent Sharon Schnyder of LJ Hooker Belconnen said.

“The sellers moved to Canberra from South Australia in 1981, purchased a block of land and built the property a year later,” Ms Schnyder said.

“The couple raised their children there and, now that they’ve all left the nest, they’ve decided to sell it and will be moving back to their hometown in South Australia where they met.”

Located at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, the property brought in 14 registered bidders and more than 50 spectators keen to see the auction unfold.

Bidding kicked off at $900,000 and quickly made its way up to the $1.19 million mark, when it was announced on the market, thanks to four active bidders countering each other with $10,000 rises.

A new bidder then entered the race with a $1.2 million offer, followed by three more $5000 raises until the price reached $1,215,000.

From here, it came down to a two-horse race with the stride shortening to $1000 and $500 bids. Auctioneer Frank Pompeani of LJ Hooker Belconnen eventually dropped the hammer at $1,221,000.

“This suburb is a tightly held area so when a house goes on the market interest is always high,” Ms Schnyder said.

She said the auction campaign ran longer than usual in a bid to “give everyone as much opportunity as possible”.

“A usual auction campaign runs for about three weeks but we ran this campaign an extra week and I think that paid off,” she said.

“The market is as strong as ever, buyers are out in droves and separate-title homes on a good slice of land [are] really hot in Canberra right now.”

Jeremy Maher of Harcourts Brindabella echoed Ms Schnyder’s comments after selling a property in Waramanga for $1.1 million at auction, saying Canberra house hunters are “almost panic buying”.

The house at 6 Bidia Place had more than 180 inspections in three weeks, Mr Maher said.

“It was a very busy campaign despite the gloomy weather that Canberra has had recently. It was a very sought-after property,” he said.

“People have braved the snow, rain and strong winds for this property so it was great to have some sunshine come auction time.”

Bidding for the home kicked off at $800,000 and quickly made its way up to $1 million, thanks to five active bidders out of the 10 registered. The house eventually sold for $1.1 million.

“There’s a scarcity of properties in the capital right now, so it’s no surprise that we’re seeing a huge turnout out at auctions and any house on the market at the moment,” Mr Maher added. 

“It’s great to see the Canberra property market is trekking along nicely.”