Canberra auctions: Dual-occupancy block in Fraser sells for $1,211,500

A dual-occupancy block in Fraser has sold under the hammer for $1,211,500 on Saturday after more than 25 bids, and back-and-forth negotiations took the home to its final sale price. 

The dwellings at 36 & 36A Dowthwaite Street attracted single-digit groups throughout the open homes and two registered bidders on auction day, according to selling agent Jonny Warren of Jonny Warren Properties. 

“Considering the market, this was one of the better-performing ones … we got it sold, and that is the main thing,” he said. 

Bidding started between an over-the-phone investor and a family group when one placed a starting bid of $980,000. 

From there, bids increased in increments between $1000 and $5000 until bidding paused at $1.19 million. 

Slow bidding then pushed the offer for the homes to $1.198 million before proceedings were paused. 

Warren then moved between the highest bidder and the seller until a sale price of $1,211,500 was reached, and with two happy parties, the hammer fell. 

The inclusion of the extra dwelling in this home is what pushed it over the line, in the end, Warren added. 

“There is another home with five bedrooms down the street from this one that passed in, and the last I heard was they were struggling to sell it and had to push down the price,” he said. 

“Just having that extra dwelling really made this home stand out … I’ve got other really nice homes on the market right now, and they’re just not getting any interest.” 

A multigenerational family group ended up buying the property and intends to make the most of both dwellings. 

“They are currently living in Florey, and their daughter and her partner have just moved back to Canberra from interstate … they bought the place so they could all be together,” Warren said. 

“They have been looking for quite some time, and they were just waiting to find the right home.” 

The sellers were a couple and their niece, who were using the home for similar purposes and are parting ways. 

Elsewhere, a two-bedroom townhouse at 73/60 Kingsland Parade, Casey, also sold at auction for $641,000, said co-selling agent Stacy Otero of Blackshaw Gungahlin. 

Otero said the auction was over in a matter of minutes, increasing in even increments between two registered bidders until the eventual sale price was reached.

“There was a very good crowd there; lots of neighbours as well as family and friends. A great atmosphere all-round,” she said. 

Twenty-four groups came through the home during the campaign, and the eventual buyers were a young couple who had also placed a pre-auction offer on the home. 

“We actually had two pre-auction offers, so it did make sense to go to auction, in the end, knowing there was that competition,’ she said. 

“The property was perfectly presented and styled, and the owners just let us run the campaign as we saw fit, which also attracted the right number of groups and friendly competition.”