From £430 to $1.3 million: Investor nabs tightly-held Rozelle cottage at auction

In a scene all too familiar in Sydney young aspiring home buyers went head-to-head with an investor couple in Rozelle on Saturday morning. The prize? A three-bedroom cottage on the market for the first time in 90 years.

A crowd of about 30 people gathered outside 1 Callan Street to watch as the home of 97-year-old May Bartlett went under the hammer. 

The property, which last traded in 1927 for £430, was one of 543 auctions scheduled across Sydney on Saturday.

By Saturday evening Domain Group had collected 367 results and put the clearance rate at 84.2 per cent.

Domain Group senior economist Dr Andrew Wilson said it was a “remarkable early season boom-time result.”

Robbie and Elizabeth Allison – a North Bondi couple hoping to secure the Rozelle home ahead of the birth of their first child – kicked off proceedings with an opening bid of $1.1 million, which was quickly met by a bid from the only other registered party – an investor couple from nearby Camperdown.

It may have only been a two-horse race but both parties meant business with the price quickly ascending in $25,000 increments to $1,275,000.

The bidding then slowed to $10,000, $5000 and eventually $1000 bids, until Mr and Mrs Allison were knocked out of the race by a $3000 jump.

The home sold for $1,308,000, which was $58,000 over reserve.

The Allisons, who are expecting their first child in May, were disappointed with the result. This was the fifth auction they had been to since they started looking for a home last year.

“Thanks Sydney, for destroying our dream of owning a home,” Mr Allison said half-jokingly.

“It’s hard when it’s only a two-horse race,” he added. “You can end up feeling bad for the buyer … if we knew he had more cash to spend than us we would have left him with it instead of driving up the price and still missing out.”

“We’re all part of the puppetry of the overinflated prices in Sydney.”

Despite a slightly softer market, investor activity is not showing signs of slowing down. The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that investor loans surged to a near-record high in November, jumping 25.5 per cent to $7.19 billion.

Investors now account for 56.7 per cent of all loans in NSW.

Tony Wong, who bought the property as an investment with partner Sabrina Min, said they had reached their price limit.

“We’re really happy we got it, it’s still sinking in,” he said.

The pair who had been looking to buy in the area for about six months, plan to move into the area one day.

“We’re really happy with the location,” Mr Wong said. “The closeness to the water, the closeness to the city … it’s also been quite well maintained, we might just renovate the bathroom and give it an update.”

Rozelle, which is about five kilometres from the CBD, has a median house price of $1,643,750, which is up 13.4 per cent on last year.

“This property was quite a good price entry point for Rozelle,” said Cobden and Hayson Balmain director Peter Gordon.

He said the property, which was inspected by about 65 groups prior to auction day, has been popular with young couples looking to start a family home, as well as downsizers looking to move closer into the city.

“People are trading bigger house in the outer suburbs with backwards, for convenience,” he said. “The house is on a quiet street, you’ve got Callan Park and the Bay Run close by … you’ve got the village lifestyle of Darling Street and you’re three bus stops from the city.”

For Wendy Vermeulen, the daughter of vendor May, it was a bittersweet moment watching the house she grew up in sell.

“It’s a great street, I loved growing up here, and it was quite an honour for Mum to have lived here for 90 years, she was sort of the matriarch of the street, she looked after everyone over the years and as she got older they looked after her.”

May, who watched Rozelle transform from a working class suburb to a sought-after area, said prior to auction day that she felt very blessed to have called the street home for so many years.

“There’s such a good feeling to living in this street,” she recently told Domain.

“I know [my home] will need changing, but I just hope [the buyers] love it as I loved it.”

A first-home buyer couple outbid a local developer to secure this property at 21 Lamb Street, Lilyfield. Photo supplied.

In the neighbouring suburb of Lilyfield a first-home buyer couple had better luck, knocking out a local developer to secure an original weatherboard house.

The home at 21 Lamb Street was on the market for the first time in 35 years.

Four of six registered bidders battled it out for the deceased estate, which eventually sold for $1,560,000 – $60,000 over reserve – after the young couple knocked out the competition with a final $30,000 bid increase.

“The vendor is really pleased with the result, but it’s bittersweet, as it was his mother’s home,” said Andrew Liddell of BresicWhitney Balmain.

He said the couple were planning to move in to the property and then undertake an extensive renovation down the track.

Other results from the day:

North

SOLD $2.14 million
North Curl Curl
9 Headland Road
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 car space

9 Headland Road, North Curl Curl. Photo: Supplied

A family from North Balgowlah will be moving closer to the beach after snagging this three-bedroom property with their winning (and only) bid of $2.13 million.

Bidding for the deceased estate started at $1.8 million and five of the eight registered bidders battled it out. The final sale price was a bullish $130,000 over the reserve price.

James Eyden of Clarke & Humel Property showed 93 groups through the property and issued 17 contracts prior to the auction. He said there had been strong interest from both local and out-of-area families eyeing the beachside abode for a rebuild or extensive renovation.

See more here: domain.com.au/2013329074

South

SOLD $1,299,000
Kareela
33 Bandain Avenue
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 0 parking car spaces

33 Bandain Avenue, Kareela. Photo: Supplied

A couple from Strathfield dug deep to secure this three-bedroom home for their growing family on Saturday. Two of the three registered bidders, including the couple, were bidding over the phone. Competition was fierce with bids quickly surpassing the $1.28 million reserve.

“For the last $10,000 the bidding was done in $500 increments, as they were all above their maximum,” selling agent Katrina Wright of McGrath Sylvania Wright said. “The buyer’s mum was at the auction and she said he paid more than he wanted to because he really wanted to get a family home now.” She noted the majority of the 70 groups who inspected the property had been out-of-area buyers who wanted to upgrade from apartments to a house.

See more here: domain.com.au/2013325535

East

SOLD $1,365,000
Surry Hills
1/333 Crown Street
2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1 car space

1/333 Crown Street, Surry Hills NSW. Photo supplied.

A crowd of about 40 people gathered to watch this large two-bedroom apartment go under the hammer on Saturday. The auction began with an opening bid of $900,000 and increased in $25,000 increments until it reached the $1.3 million mark.

Six of the seven registered bidders were active on the day, keen to snag the 126-square-metre property.

It was a couple from Woolloomooloo looking to upsize to a larger apartment who made the winning $1,365,000 bid – $265,000 over the reserve. Chris Chung, of McGrath Edgecliff, had more than 100 groups inspect the property, which has been a Sydney base for a family from regional NSW since it was bought of the plan in 2006.

See more here: domain.com.au/2013331595

West 

SOLD $1.4m
Newtown
17A Rawson Street
3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 0  car spaces

17A Rawson Street, Newtown. Photo: Supplied

A young woman’s dream of buying in the suburb she grew up in came true on Saturday, thanks to her winning bid on a three-bedroom terrace in Newtown.

The woman and her partner, who will be relocating from Melbourne for work, went up against three of the eight registered bidders in front of a crowd of about 50. Bidding started at $1.2 million and ended bang on the reserve price of $1.4 million.

Jonathan Viewey of Viewey Real Estate, showed about 120 groups through the property prior to auction and issued 17 contracts. He said the property had been popular with young families and couples looking to buy in an inner-city location.

See more here: domain.com.au/2013320011