Canberra Day long weekend brings a crowd to Forde auction

The Canberra Day long weekend did not deter people, mostly families, from the auction of a four-bedroom house in Forde that sold for $912,000 in a short and swift bidding war.

Only a five-minute walk to Forde shopping centre and nestled within the suburb’s leafy streets, 13 Buscombe Street was one of 27 auctions held during the long weekend.

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To draw opening bids, auctioneer and listing agent Jeremy Maher of Harcourts Brindabella attempted to entice the 10 registered bidders with a box of chocolates. But with no takers, Maher then pulled out a roll of toilet paper in an effort to lure in an opening bid.

That tactic worked: bidding kicked off at $800,000 and countered shortly after at $820,000. Bidding increased slowly with two increments of $20,000, and two $10,000 raises to make it $880,000.

Bids then shortened to $5000 and then $1000 with four bidders participating until a fifth bidder entered the race with a $1000 rise, pushing the price to $891,000.  From there, the price increased with one $5000 bid and several $2000 and $1000 increases until it reached $911,000.

The first bidder then placed a $500 rise, which Mr Maher accepted. This was countered with a $1000 increase by the fifth entrant. After a brief moment, Mr Maher declared the house was on the market and encouraged more bids but with no forthcoming replies, the hammer fell at $912,000.

Mr Maher said it was a busy campaign with “no less than 20 groups through every open home”, and described the auction as “sensational”.

Allhomes data showed the house was last purchased in 2014 for $772,000. 

According to Domain’s auction report card for February 2020, the Gungahlin region recorded the most substantial monthly clearance rate  – 82.9 per cent – since records began.

Mr Maher said the region was a highly sought-after area, especially for families.

“While the market is very competitive now, there is a big lack of stock at the moment. In Forde, for example, four months ago there were 30 homes on sale and today there’s seven,” he said.

The vendors sold to move to Queensland, Mr Maher said, while the new buyers were a family looking to upsize and live in the Gungahlin area.

Elsewhere, a three-bedroom Pearce home sold for $955,000 under the hammer.

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Listing agent Rick Dickson of Blackshaw Woden, Weston Creek and Molonglo said the property at 10 Clarkson Street had four registered bidders with two of them vying to take home the keys.

“Bidding opened at $750,000 and increased quickly, reaching $805,000 very soon after proceedings began. The hammer fell in a matter of minutes,” Mr Dickson said.

The new homeowners were a young first-home-buyer family.

“Surprisingly, during the very short two-week marketing campaign, there wasn’t [as] much interest as I had anticipated but people who did come through were genuine buyers.”

Mr Dickson said Canberra’s clearance rates in February were a reflection of the lack of stock in the market, “that’s driving prices up and selling houses”.

“In my 19 years of real estate, the current property market is the strongest I’ve seen in a long time … there are a lot of buyers looking for good quality homes and not enough homes on sale,” he said.