House with no kitchen or toilet in Sydney's south-east sells for $4.705m at big auction weekend
An uninhabitable home in Sydney’s south-eastern suburbs with no kitchen, toilet or power connected, sold under the hammer at the weekend for a massive $4.705 million.
The home at 25 Duke Street, Kensington, also had no water connected, selling agent NG Farah’s Joe Recep said, but it didn’t put buyers off.
“The roof wasn’t leaking after the recent rain we had, so it was still solid,” Mr Recep told Domain.
Four bidders registered for the auction, with two wanting to restore the original period home, while the others were looking to tear down and rebuild on the 556-square-metre block.
The vendors, who had owned the property since 2005 when they paid $1.1 million, had planned to restore it, before changing their minds, Mr Recep said.
It had sat empty for some years, as agents received hundreds of calls from buyers wanting to snap up the home, even before it was listed for sale.
The winning bidder at the weekend will now be looking to rebuild on the block, Mr Recep said.
The sale was one of the biggest at the weekend, with Sydney’s preliminary clearance rate sitting at 77 per cent after 1048 auctions were scheduled and 770 results reported.
There were 97 properties withdrawn from auction that were counted as not being sold as part of the clearance rate.
The results followed one of the strongest months of clearance rates in Sydney, Domain senior research analyst Nicola Powell said.
“For houses and units, this month’s clearance rate is the strongest May result in six years, with 78.2 per cent of reported house auctions finding a buyer, and 75 per cent of unit auctions securing a sale,” Dr Powell said.
“The difference between house and unit clearance rates does appear to be narrowing, and is likely to be associated with increased investor and first-home buyer participation or overall affordability bottlenecks for those trying to purchase a house in Sydney.”
There were still plenty of home buyers out and about at the weekend, with four families registering to bid at an auction in Sydney’s north-east, where the home sold more than $1 million over the reserve.
The three-bedroom home at 21 Battle Boulevard, Seaforth, had an opening bid right on the reserve of $4.5 million, before competition saw it sell for more than $1 million above the reserve.
It had similar interest to the home in Kensington, with two buyers looking to tear down and rebuild the original home, while two others wanted to renovate it.
Ray White Seaforth principal agent Mark Griffiths said the buyer would be looking to knock down and rebuild the home, which he estimated would cost another $5.5 million.
“A home across the road sold recently for just under $12 million so it is definitely in that price range,” Mr Griffiths said. “The buyer saw it on day one and was pretty committed to buying it.”
The ecstatic vendors, who had owned the home for seven years, were downsizing, moving closer to their family in the lower north shore, Mr Griffiths said.
One of the oldest homes on the lower north shore, or at least in Waverton, also sold at the weekend for $1.775 million — $25,000 above the reserve — to local first-home buyers.
The home, known as Blacksmith’s Cottage at 34 Euroka Street, was built in 1865, with Australian writer Henry Lawson living next door, according to the vendors Natalie and Cameron Gentle.
The couple now live in Coffs Harbour, and sold the home which they had kept as an investment for the past few years.
“Henry Lawson used to live next door, and when the old blokes across the road were young boys, he’d pay them sixpence to drag him home from the pub in their billy cart,” Mr Gentle said.
“He was a frequent visitor to most of the houses in the street and the Blacksmith’s Cottage was no exception.”
The couple bought the property in 2005 for $600,000, records show.
Belle Property Cammeray selling agent Tom Scarpignato said a mix of first-home buyers, investors and downsizers registered to bid.
“The charm, character and history of the old Blacksmith’s Cottage were big drawcards for the four registered bidders, ensuring a strong outcome for the vendors. Waverton remains a very highly sought-after suburb for buyers from all areas of Sydney,” he said.
On the upper north shore, 12 bidders, all young families, registered for a chance to buy a four-bedroom home that sold under the hammer for $2.62 million, well above the $2.2 million reserve.
Not surprisingly, the home at 30 Boronga Avenue, West Pymble, sold to a young family, moving into the area from the Blue Mountains.
Selling agent McGrath Wahroonga’s Alex Mintorn said the buyers had first made an offer on the house when it was off market for $2.2 million, but upped their offer during the auction.
They made just two bids to buy the home. The vendors, meanwhile, were selling up and moving to Melbourne to be closer to family, Mr Mintorn said.
“They were thrilled. They were just ecstatic,” he said.
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