Canberra auctions: Good competition sees Crace home sell for $1,572,500

A home in Crace sold under the hammer for $1,572,500 on Saturday after a competitive but friendly battle between two bidders. 

The four-bedroom home at 2 Jutland Street attracted a crowd of onlookers both on the street and in their cars as the two would-be buyers fought tooth and nail to purchase the home. 

“We never really had less than eight groups through each open home, and the end result today was definitely around where I had expected,” said selling agent Theo Koutsikamanis of Bastion Property Group. 

The sale started when the first of the two active bidders placed an offer of $1.4 million dollars. 

The second bidder quickly placed an offer of $1.425 million, and bids increased in increments of $25,000 until $1.5 million was reached. 

The offers then increased in increments between $10,000 and $20,000 until they reached $1.56 million, when the offers slowed to increments of $5000. 

When the price for the home stood at $1.57 million, bidding paused, and shortly after the home was announced on the market. 

One more increase of $2500 took the price to $1,572,500, and the hammer fell. 

Koutsikamanis said the popularity and the eventual price of the home were a testament to the vendors themselves.

“The vendor pushed their comfort zone when they built this home seven years ago, and there are still things in the home that other people are only just considering doing now,” he said. 

“From the rendered walls to the high ceilings and polished concrete, it was a brave thing to do then and everyone else is only just starting to do it now.

“Not only were people coming through open homes to potentially purchase the home, but there were people coming through to get ideas too.” 

The sellers were a young family who “are chasing the sun” and moving elsewhere, while the buyers were another young family who already lived in the area, Koutsikamanis added. 

Elsewhere, a dual-occupancy block at 48/48a McTaggart Crescent, Kambah, sold at auction for $1.35 million, said selling agent Christine Bassingthwaighte of Blackshaw Manuka. 

The auction drew a large crowd and 10 registered bidders, with seven of those actively competing for the home. 

“The atmosphere was so positive today; there was lots of sunshine and a really big crowd watching on,” Bassingthwaighte said. 

Around 12 groups came through during each open home for the property, and “even in the pouring rain of last weekend the open homes were very well attended”, she added. 

“The sellers were a lovely, gentle family that were looking to downsize, and they presented the property beautifully every time, getting everything right and following the recipe for sale.

“The buyers bought the home for them and their grandfather, so [it] will be filled with grandchildren – I think there’s about five of them. Everybody’s living together on a single-level block in their own spaces.

“The property was very well maintained, and felt really nice the moment you walked into it.”