Families push prices above reserves in a big Sydney auction weekend

December 7, 2020
12 Alviston Street, Strathfield, sold well above price expectations. Photo: Belle Property Strathfield

A six-bedroom home in Sydney’s inner west sold for $700,000 above price expectations, despite it needing a lot of work.

The home at 12 Alviston Street, Strathfield, sold under the hammer for $4 million to a buyer who is planning to tear it down and rebuild a forever home, rather than renovate.

Belle Property Strathfield director and auctioneer Norman So said the buyer was the underbidder on a property at 21 Barker Road, Strathfield, last weekend, and was still wanting to get into the suburb.

Inside 12 Alviston Street, Strathfield, which sold for $700,00 above price expectations. Photo: Belle Property Strathfield

“Homes are rarely offered for sale in this street,” Mr So said. “They’re usually passed on to family.”

The home, a deceased estate, attracted nine registered bidders who fought it out for the keys, pushing the price well past the $3.3 million expectations.

The sale was one of the many successful auctions in the harbour city at the weekend.

12 Alviston Street, Strathfield, was advertised as not having any conservation or heritage restrictions. Photo: Belle Property Strathfield

By Saturday evening, Sydney’s preliminary auction clearance rate for the first weekend in December was a strong 78.8 per cent.

The figure followed 781 scheduled auctions and 604 reported results. There were 71 properties withdrawn from auction, which were counted as sold.

Sydney’s auction clearance rate was 69.3 per cent for November, 3.2 percentage points higher than in October, Domain senior research analyst Nicola Powell said. 

“This is only 2.1 percentage points lower compared to one year ago,” Dr Powell said in her November report. “The auction market is proving to be resilient despite buyer appetite being tested by a lift in homes auctioned each Saturday.”

At the weekend, it was families who proved to also be resilient, looking to upgrade their current homes buoyed by low interest rates, agents said.

In one of the biggest sales recorded at the weekend, a family snapped up a five-bedroom home at 35 Ryries Parade, Cremorne.

The home on Sydney’s ritzy lower north shore sold under the hammer for $6,195,000, above the $5.8 million price guide.

A family bought 35 Ryries Parade, Cremorne: the husband had inspected it, but not the wife.

Di Jones Lower North Shore partner Piers van Hamburg said a young Crows Next family looking for a bigger home bought the property. They beat three other registered bidders for the keys.

Although the buyer had seen the home, his wife, who was still in China, had only seen it online, Mr van Hamburg said.

“I said he had to be one of the bravest men alive,” he laughed.

SOLD - $6,195,000
35 Ryries Parade, Cremorne NSW 2090
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The very happy vendor was planning to move five kilometres away to Greenwich to renovate another home he had bought.

Mr van Hamburg said the result was not surprising for Cremorne, which had become very popular with people working in the CBD.  Low interest rates were helping families buy in, he said.

“We’re finding the market above $5 million is the strongest part of the market,” he said. “People can get a loan above $2 million and with 2 per cent interest it doesn’t put a lot of pressure on them.”

In Randwick, seven registered bidders, mostly families, competed at the auction of a four-bedroom home.

The four bedroom home at 20 Pine Street sold under the hammer for $3,561,000 — $100,000 above the reserve — to a couple who worked in the medical field and had children.

SOLD - $3,561,000
20 Pine Street, Randwick NSW 2031
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NG Farah partner Adrian Bo said the couple were keen to be in the pocket, also known as Randwick North, because it was close to Centennial Park and the hospital where they worked.

NG Farah also sold a two-storey, six-bedroom home at 63 Rainbow Street, Kingsford, for $2.76 million, to a young family from Waverley.

“Both buyers were represented by buyer’s agents, who were bidding on their behalf,” Mr Bo said. “They had both missed out on quite a few properties previously. It’s a new trend I’m seeing.”

A European-inspired home in Burwood, in Sydney’s inner west, which included some Gucci and Versace-inspired embellishments, also sold under the hammer.

Belle Property’s Mr So said the pool surrounds and bathroom featured a tip of the hat to the high-end fashion labels.

The four-bedroom home at 1A Appian Way sold under the hammer for $3.03 million to a businessman who imports Chinese medical equipment to Australia.  He outbid two others vying for the home. 

“Buyers loved the home because it had a good range of living and entertaining areas,” Mr So said.

Also in Sydney’s inner west, a three-bedroom home at 21 Arthur Street, Concord, was bought by a family from Newington. They were one of 12 registered bidders on the home which sold for $2,073,000. 

SOLD - $2,073,000
21 Arthur Street, Concord NSW 2137
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All bidders for the property were families looking to buy a bigger home closer to the CBD, Raine & Horne Concord’s George Sorras said. The house had been a huge hit with families because it was so close to Henley Park, he said.

“The buyers had two girls who were playing in the park on the day,” Mr Sorras said.

Raine & Horne also sold a three bedroom home at 58 Wilga Street, Concord West, to a young family. They paid $560,000 above the reserve for the home, which features a sizeable backyard.

“It was a family estate and they hadn’t sold the home in 61 years,” Mr Sorras said. “There was a lot of competition and it has gone berserk.”

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