Canberra auctions: Crace home sells for $1.535 million in lengthy auction

A four-bedroom property in Crace sold under the hammer on Saturday morning after a lengthy auction in front of three dozen people.

Interest for 96 Samaria Street was strong in the lead-up to the auction, selling agent Sophie Luton of Luton Properties Manuka said.

“We had 80 groups through and sent out 17 contracts, and to have five registered bidders out of it is really great,” she said.

Bidding for the residence started at a strong $1.3 million, which drew gasps and applause from onlookers.

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This was countered by a $1.4 million offer before the opening party placed another $1.45 million. From here, the stride shortened, with the second bidder placing a $1.48 million offer.

A new bidder then entered the race at $1.49 million, which auctioneer Richard Luton, also of Luton Properties Manuka, was reluctant to accept at first. 

The opening bidder dropped out of the race, but the second and third bidders went against each other until the price reached $1.51 million in favour of the last entrant. At this point, the auction entered a long lull while the agents negotiated with the highest bidder and the sellers.

After 20 minutes, with many onlookers leaving, the highest bidder then increased their bid to $1.535 million, at which the auctioneer announced the home was on the market and dropped the hammer.

“Richard and I are happy to take our time to ensure that we get the right result for our sellers,” Sophie Luton said.

“It’s a big decision to sell and buy and we want to make sure we get the best result possible.”

The new buyers, Tremendo Dong and his wife, were adamant about walking away as the new home owners.

“I came with my wife, and upon first inspection, she knew this was the one and she told me to go to the auction and buy it and I just said, ‘Okay.’ So I’m here now and we won it and she’s very happy,” he said.

The couple moved to the capital three months ago from Shangai after spending several years in the UK.

“I don’t have a specific reason why we chose to live in Canberra but it reminded us of Leeds in the UK,” Dong said.

“I like the atmosphere, the environment, the nearby parklands, the trees and everything. And Crace is also a really good suburb.

“Leeds is quite like Canberra so when I moved here, I just knew this was my home and this is where my family belonged.”

The sale comes after the Domain House Price Report for the March quarter revealed Canberra’s median house price had fallen by 2.5 per cent over the quarter and 8.4 per cent year-on-year to $1,047,112.

Sophie Luton said she wasn’t surprised by the results, noting that “obviously, there’s not always going to be heat in the market … that was always going to be taken out at some point”.

“This difference at the moment is that everyone is more confident in the market … I think buyers know that they’re not overpaying on a property,” she said.

“We’ve seen price adjustments in some areas more than others but I don’t think it’s going to go down further from here.”