Canberra auctions: New suburb records set in Franklin and Giralang

A growing number of suburb records have been broken in Canberra’s property market over recent weeks, with two new benchmarks set in Franklin and Giralang on Saturday.

The new sales records now sit at $1.745 million in Franklin and $1.25 million in Giralang.

This marks the 11th record broken since the start of the year and the sixth record in March alone.

In Franklin, the four-bedroom property at 11 Jeannie Gunn Street sold to a crowd of more than a dozen people who were keen to watch the auction unfold. 

Bidding for the home started at $1.4 million and quickly made its way to $1.65 million thanks to three of the seven registered bidders, selling agent Mario Sanfrancesco of Blackshaw Manuka said.

“From there, it came down to two bidders and it took a bit of work to encourage them to continue outbidding each other before the hammer fell,” he said.

More than 200 people had walked through the residence during the auction campaign, drawn to the quality of the home.

“This was a builder’s very own home so you can imagine how beautifully constructed it was,” Mr Sanfrancesco said.

“It was built 11 years old but I had a lot of interested buyers ask me if it was built four to five years ago. So it’s definitely in tip-top shape for its age.”

Franklin’s previous suburb record was set in 2017 for 155 Oodgeroo Avenue, which sold for $1.55 million. The recent sale surpassed the previous benchmark by $195,000.

Elsewhere, a five-bedroom house at 42 Baracchi Crescent, Giralang sold for the first time since it was built in 1974. 

More than 100 spectators, and seven registered bidders, showed up to the auction, selling agent Sam McGregor of McGrath North Canberra said.

A $1.1 million offer kicked off the bidding process and increased in $10,000 increments.

“The auction was absolutely energetic with some very strong bids from the participating parties,” Mr McGregor said.

“The final bid was a jump from $1.23 million to $1.25 million, which knocked all the other parties out of the competition.”

More than 70 groups had attended the open for inspections throughout the course of the campaign and 24 contracts were sent out prior to the auction.

“This was a home that had been passed through three generations and the family were ready to let it go to another family to call it their own,” Mr McGregor said.

Giralang’s previous record was set in 2018 for 7 Spigl Street, which sold for $1.205 million. This latest sale surpassed the previous benchmark by $45,000.

The number of suburb records broken so far didn’t surprise Mr McGregor, who said “market conditions are ripe for big sales such as this one”.

“I’ve seen more properties that I would’ve imagined selling above the $1 million and normally that’s a big mental barrier but people are happy to spend that now on the right property,” he said.

Mr Sanfrancesco, who broke Farrer’s record in the last week, said buyers were also willing to spend more money on a property outside the city.

“Buyer activity is showing that people are no longer concerned about location in Canberra,” he said.

“We have people from the Inner North and Inner South looking towards the Gungahlin region because of the quality houses on offer. So that’s something I expect to see continue moving forward.”

The eventual buyers of 11 Jeannie Gunn Street will be relocating from the Inner North.

“General market conditions are pushing interest just a bit further out of the city, which is why we’re starting to see records fall in the outer-city suburbs like Giralang,” Mr McGregor added.

“There’s more value for money further out from the city and I’m confident that will continue over the next few months.”