Dilapidated Bronte home sells under hammer for $3 million

Jaws dropped at an auction in Bronte on Saturday, when a dilapidated property sold $210,000 over reserve, for $3 million.

It was one of 549 auctions scheduled to go under the hammer in Sydney on Saturday.

By early evening, with 419 results in, Domain Group put the clearance rate at 76.8 per cent, the highest recorded so far this year.

Domain Group chief economist, Dr Andrew Wilson said the auction market is clearly strengthening easily passing its first significant test of the early autumn season.

“If you were a seller, you’d have to be pretty happy with this result,” he added.

Some vendors chose to sell before auction. At Chatswood, a renovated six-bedroom house was snapped up earlier this week, six days before its scheduled auction.

Adam Wong of McGrath Estate Agents had three keen buyers competing for 11 Stanley Street in the lead-up to auction.

“There are fewer buyers for some prestige property at the moment so it can suit the vendors to accept an offer prior to auction, especially if it’s a strong offer,” said Wong.

His vendors were happy to sell their home of 30 years when a buyer offered $3.35 million to take it off the market.

A Victorian terrace at 20 Chelsea Street in Redfern also sold before its scheduled auction. The three-bedroom house exchanged for $1.42 million on Friday. It hadn’t been renovated since it last traded for $1 million in 2013.

Selling agent, Charles Touma of Belle Property Surry Hills said there was a disparity between the price expectations of the majority of interest parties and a couple of buyers at the pointy end of the price guide which was $1.3 million to $1.4 million.

“After a week or two, if you have a lot of interest it makes sense to sell,” said Mr Touma. “The owners were happy to sell before auction.”

Mr Touma said he’d noticed sellers less willing to take risks and buyers seem to have more commonsense about them this year as opposed to last.

“At auctions, the buyers are wearing their sensibility hats,” he added.

That may not have been the case at the Bronte auction of 59 St Thomas Street which was built in 1898 and had seen better days, with decaying ceilings, peeling walls and crumbling concrete at every turn.

Selling agent Carl Wilson of Home Estate Agents said the property was difficult to price. The primary value was in its sizeable 517-square-metre block, whereas the Victorian-era home required upwards of $100,000 in renovations.

“Something like this is unusual, and to be honest I had thought we wouldn’t necessarily meet the reserve of $2.8 million; this is a great result,” he said.

Bids opened at $2.6 million – about the figure the agent and seller’s family had presumed the auction would finish.

It did, however, climb quickly after rapid bids in $50,000 increments by three of the four registered bidders.

The sentimental value of the home was tangible, with relics from past decades strewn around every space.

For the family of the vendor, the late Paula Bloch and her husband, Patrick, the house is central to their memories of the couple.

“This is where we spent so much of the past 30 years, with Paula and Patrick, who just loved this house,” Barbara Beasley said.

They knew some among the interested parties were ready to take a wrecking ball to the house, and this contributed to tensions before the hammer fell.

“This home will be preserved, the buyer absolutely loves it and it will become, I’m told, a beautiful family home,” Mr Wilson said.

As for the final sum, all were quick to admit that while Patrick “always had his heart set on $3 million”, they were astounded.

“I have never been to an auction ever before – they’re very nervous-making aren’t they?” a relieved Kathy Bloch, sister to Paula, said.

Paula Bloch bought the home in 1984 for $119,000, using it as a space to create and store her paintings.

The artistic connection has been a common thread between owners of the property. The home was previously owned by a prolific painter of watercolours – and according to proud sister Kathy, the tradition may well continue.

“We have heard one of the little ones in the family who will live here is very good with drawing, and Paula would just love that.