Canberra auctions: Kingston apartment sells for $1.506 million

A three-bedroom apartment in Kingston sold under the hammer on Saturday morning for $1.506 million in front of a crowded room.

The residence at 414/34 Eyre Street, Kingston, brought in four registered bidders, three of whom competed in a heated bidding match, said selling agent Alexander Anlezark of Belle Property Canberra.

“We were looking at five registered bidders but one party pulled out last night,” he said.

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The home has 149 square metres of internal living space, including an open-plan dining, kitchen and living area, three bedrooms – the main with an en suite and a private balcony – and a spacious shared bathroom. 

Bidding for the home started at $1.1 million and went up in $50,000 increments until the price reached $1.485 million, at which point the stride shortened to $1000 and $5000 bids, Anlezark said

“It was slow to start but once bids started going, it was going at a good pace,” he said.

Anlezark said he was pleased with the result, given it was a unique offering.

“These large, three-bedroom apartments are hard to come by so there was a lot of demand during the campaign,” he said.

“We had about 64 groups through and a handful of people who inspected the home more than once.”

Anlezark said the sellers decided to part with the home in a bid to chase warmer weather, while the new owners were locals looking to remain within the area.

Elsewhere, a three-bedroom standalone house at 127 Nemarang Crescent, Waramanga, also sold at auction for $905,000 – a result that surprised selling agent Mario Sanfrancesco of Blackshaw Manuka.

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“While [the house] was in excellent condition having been under the same ownership for 52 years, it was a modest three-bedroom, one-bathroom home – but it’s a great house and a testament to the demand in the market,” Sanfrancesco said.

“We knew we had a number of parties interested in the property and we certainly weren’t expecting that kind of outcome but I’ve been doing this for a number of years so nothing really surprises me anymore.”

The latest Domain Auction Report revealed Canberra recorded a 52.9 per cent clearance rate in April.

Sanfrancesco said that, while the figures had softened, the auction market had reached a reasonable level.

“We’ve come off the back of a consecutive 95 per cent clearance rate for some time and that’s not level … I think [it] has settled into a normal market,” he said.

Anlezark added that, despite the fall in results, “we’ve reached the bottom and I think it’ll be a steady journey from now on”.

“We’re anticipating more properties to sell, especially unique offerings.”