Canberra auctions: Casey home sells for $1.02 million in swift auction 

A home in Casey has sold under the hammer for $1.02 million in just nine bids as buyers and onlookers flocked to the four-bedroom property.

The residence at 44 Ashton Calvert Street, which sits on 504 square metres and boasts views of the Gungahlin region from the backyard deck, attracted more than two dozen observers, including 10 registered bidders.

An opening bid of $920,000 kicked off the bidding process. Two parties attempted to place a $933,000 and $950,000 offer at the same time but auctioneer Jeremy Grobben of Agent Team Canberra accepted the higher bid.

The opening bidder countered this with a $970,000 offer and the price increased in $10,000 increments until it reached $1 million, at which point, the opening bidder pulled out from the race.

A new bidder then increased the price by $5000. This was countered with another $5000 increase by the second bidder.

The new entrant increased their offer to $1.02 million, at which selling agent Lisa Harper of The Property Collective announced the home was on the market. With no further bids, the hammer fell. The auction was over in less than four minutes.

Harper said she was not surprised by the swift and intense bidding, noting the property had a lot to offer.

“Located at the back of Casey with the reserve at its doorstep and a view of the region at the back, there’s a lot to love,” she said.

“But there’s also potential, whether the new buyers want to extend it, build up or change the structure at the back … they have that option.”

Harper said the sellers had used the property as an investment for the “last year or two”. The new buyers bought the property to upsize, having viewed the home three times throughout the campaign, she added.

Looking ahead, Harper said she expected strong auction results across the board.

“I think now is the time to buy, and if you don’t buy in the next four to five months, you’ll miss the boat,” she said.

Elsewhere, Jason Roses of VERV Property agreed that while auctions were still strong, “things are invariably tougher”.

“Gone are the days of having more than 10 bidders at auction,” he said. “Things are slower now; we need more time convincing buyers and sellers to meet at a certain level.”

Roses recently sold 8 Huddy Street, Forde, after it failed to sell at auction. While the house sale attracted more than 100 onlookers, it was passed in at $2.35 million after 30 minutes. It sold for that price only hours later.

“We had about five registered bidders, which was encouraging to see, and we certainly saw some competitive bidding but it was a long and drawn-out auction,” Roses said.

“It was the most intense negotiation of my life but we got a deal done two and a half hours after [the auction] ended. A lot of back and forth with the sellers and buyer, but it was a great result.”

The sale price was the second-highest in Forde.

“The highest sale in Forde was achieved in 2021, which was peak real estate time, so to achieve that result in 2023 when we’ve had multiple rate rises and uncertainty [in the market] represents an incredible result,” Roses added.

“There are going to be buyers who are quite cautious of the rate rises and the market and, of course, sellers who want to maximise their sale price … so the process of getting an agreement is getting a lot harder but there’s still heat in the market at all levels.”