Canberra online auctions: Campbell home sells for just short of $2 million during Anzac Day weekend

A three-bedroom home in Campbell sold under the virtual hammer on Sunday after three parties spent almost an hour vying to claim the keys, pushing the sale price to $1.96 million.

The home at 3/50 Jacka Crescent was one of just two auctions held over the Anzac Day weekend. 

The double-storey home featured two outdoor terraces, a generously sized main bedroom and a four-car garage.

According to listing agent Mario Sanfrancesco of Blackshaw Manuka, the newly built home is one of three properties crafted by Sydney-based architects CO-AP.

“It took some time to build but the detail in the house is superb … everything about it was bespoke and top end,” Mr Sanfrancesco said.

Bidding for the home kicked off at $1.4 million and was then countered at $1.7 million. The opening bidder then increased his bid by $10,000 before a third bidder entered the race with a $40,000 increase.

Bidding continued in increments of $20,000 and $10,000 with the odd $5000 raise until the price reached $1.9 million, when bidding halted.

After some encouragement from Mr Sanfranscesco, one bidder put in a $10,000 increase before the second bidder put in a $25,000 raise. 

In the end, the second bidder pushed the price to $1.96 million and, with no further bids, the hammer fell. In total, 19 bids were made for the home.

The sale surpassed Campbell’s median house price by $730,000, according to the latest Domain House Price Report.

Mr Sanfrancesco said the auction went “reasonably well … considering the process is still fairly new”.

“We had four registered bidders and some fairly active bidding until the $1.9 million mark. From there, it took a bit of extra negotiating with bidders to put a sale together,” he said.

The house had 20 inspections throughout the campaign with half of the parties having a keen interest in the property, Mr Sanfrancesco said.

The new buyers are moving from the Belconnen area to Canberra’s Inner North.

Elsewhere, a five-bedroom home in Mawson passed in at $2 million.

Mr Sanfrancesco, who also listed the home at 69 Wilkins Street, attempted to entice bidders to kick proceedings off but after a vendor bid of $2 million was placed and there were no further offers, the home was passed in.

“I’m slightly disappointed that it didn’t sell … but we are still in discussions with three different parties for the home,” he said.

The house, on 1469 square metres of land, was inspired by the vendor’s trip to Japan. 

“It had a real zen feel about the home … the qualities of the house are exceptional and the architecture is fantastic. It’s just out of this world,” Mr Sanfrancesco said.

Some features of the home include a zen pebble garden, firepit, a gourmet vegetable garden and a custom basketball court. Privacy is enhanced by plantings of star jasmine and formal hedging. 

Speaking on the market, Mr Sanfrancesco said demand for quality homes was still high. However, new listings were low.

“We don’t have a lot of property coming to market in the next few weeks but there’s a good depth of buyers,” he said.

“There’s still an appetite for good homes at the moment and we’re certainly finding that it’s pretty active … [with buyers] taking advantage of those low interest rates.”