Canberra auctions: Yarralumla house passes in at $1.6 million

A three-bedroom house in Yarralumla passed in at auction at $1.6 million on Saturday morning in front of a crowd of 40 people.

The residence at 22 Rodway Street has a large open-plan dining and living room, a main bedroom with an en suite, and mature gardens. From the tree-lined street, one can easily see Telstra Tower in the distance.

Neighbours, families and developers, including four registered bidders, flocked to the auction. Many were keen to develop the 780 square-metre block.

Auctioneer Andrew Chamberlain of Blackshaw Manuka asked for opening bids of $1.5 million or above, but had no takers. One party then offered a $1.2 million bid, which Chamberlain accepted.

While he said it was a “gentle start”, another party came to the table with a $1.4 million counter-offer. The opening bidder then increased their offer to $1.5 million. 

Another bid took the price to $1.6 million, at which point the auction reached a lull as selling agent Christine Bassingthwaighte, also of Blackshaw Manuka, negotiated between the sellers and potential buyers.

At one point, Chamberlain told neighbours, “Don’t worry … we’re not selling at $1.6 million.” With no further bids, the property was passed in.

Bassingthwaighte said post-auction negotiations took the price up to $1.77 million but a sale could not be reached. The property is now on the market with a price guide of $1.888 million.

The latest Domain House Price Report revealed Yarralumla’s median house price was $2.25 million, down 0.9 per cent over the year.

“This is a sound investment in Yarralumla,” Bassingthwaighte said. “We had several offers prior to auction from developers … this is a great cottage and parcel of land and there’s less and less of them these days.”

The auction came after the latest Domain Auction Report – May 2023 revealed the Inner South’s auction clearance rate for the month was 59.1 per cent, down 0.5 percentage points from the previous month.

While the property failed to reach a sale, Bassingthwaighte said she remained optimistic about taking properties to auction.

“We didn’t have very great numbers through during the campaign, about eight to 10, but this is the market at the moment,” she said.

“It’s not forever, though, this [period] will come to pass … auctions are still the most transparent way for the seller and buyer. I’m a firm believer in auctions because it’s a fair method of sale.”