Canberra auctions: Theodore home sells for $1.336 million in a two-horse race

A four-bedroom property in Theodore sold under the hammer on Saturday morning for $1.336 million after two parties fought tooth and nail.

The house at 10 Conlon Crescent  – on more than 1000 square metres and perched on a hill that looks over Tuggeranong valley – attracted more than two dozen onlookers on the weekend, including three registered bidders, of which only two participated.

Bidding for the home started at $950,000 and crept up in $50,000 increments before shortening to $10,000 strides. When the price reached $1.255 million auctioneer, Steve Whitelock of Belle Property Canberra, announced the home was on the market.

Bidding was swift and intense as the two parties upped each bid with $5000 increases. When bids reached $1.275 million, the stride shortened even further to just $1000 and the two parties continued for a few minutes until, eventually, it reached $1.336 million and the hammer fell.

Fifty-five bids were made during the eight-minute auction.

Selling agent Samantha Linsdell, also of Belle Property Canberra, said it had been some time since she’d seen an auction as action-packed.

“To see two competitive buyers in the current market is actually quite refreshing,” Linsdell said.

“We probably haven’t had that in the past couple of weeks. To see a really healthy auction is really reassuring … the right type of home will attract a very competitive auction.”

The sale comes after the Domain Auction Report for the month of February revealed Canberra’s clearance rate hit 58.2 per cent, a 9.2 percentage point rise on the month before but an 18.9 percentage point drop year-on-year – the largest annual fall of all capital cities.

“It’s hard to predict what this season will be; it changes week in and week out,” she said.

“Clearance rates are slowly dwindling and naturally, there are homes passing in at the moment but as long as the presentation is spot on and the maintenance is spot on, there’s no reason you can’t sell.”

This week, given the Canberra Day long weekend, only 43 auctions were scheduled across the capital.

Theodore is in the Tuggeranong region, which is often regarded as Canberra’s affordable heartland, alongside Belconnen. According to the Domain House Price Report, the region recorded a median house price of $852,000, the most affordable in Canberra. 

The sale in Theodore surpassed that by $484,000. 

“Depending on each suburb, there’s a variation [in prices]. When you have a big block on a hill [like this one], there is sometimes a hefty price tag attached but there are affordable pockets of a region,” Linsdell added.