In highly competitive auction, $500 secures Bardon house for couple

It was another steady week in the Brisbane auction market with 76 scheduled auctions and a reported clearance rate of 34 per cent.

A charming Bardon cottage on 395 square metres sold in an incredibly tight race, with only $500 separating the top and the under-bidder.

A crowd of 70 watched for about 20 minutes as five registered bidders competed for the chance to walk away with the colonial home.

Bidding opened at $820,000, then climbed in lots of $50,000 and $20,000. When the price hit $920,000, the process slowed. After several more bids, the property was ultimately sold for $947,500.

Agent Judi O’Dea, of Ray White Paddington, said the auction was exciting.

“It had the right amount of tension that makes an auction fun. It was spirited bidding, it was consistent, there were really three strong parties there, and [they] pushed it very quickly,” she said. “They only won by $500.”

O’Dea said much interest was shown in property over the course of its campaign.

“We were opening that property two or three times a week during the five-week campaign. There was strong interest all the way through,” she said.

The buyer, who attended the property’s first open house, was incredibly happy with the result.

“The person who purchased it is someone coming from Toowoomba, downsizing, and she’s on her own,” O’Dea said. “She employed a buyer’s agent, which was a very smart move. She was in it to win it.

“She had been to several auctions, and she had lost her way in the auction process. She didn’t feel confident. I think there’s a lot of people who feel like that. A buyer’s agent is a wonderful partner to have.”

O’Dea said despite reports of a sliding market, this result painted a more optimistic picture.

“The market in Brisbane is very, very consistent. I am not seeing a slowdown here,” she said.

Elsewhere, an open-plan house in Sinnamon Park, in Brisbane’s south-west, sold under the hammer. About 30 people piled into the property’s spacious living area to watch two registered bidders duke it out.

Bidding started at $900,000, and jumped in lots of $25,000 to $950,000. At that point the auction was paused so the agent could negotiate between the owners and eventual buyer.

After negotiations, the property was brought back to the floor at $1.1 million. The buyer then raised his paddle and the house was sold.

Agent Robert Dean, of Dean Property Team, said the buyer was intent on securing the property from the beginning.

“[He] had actually come to the property two hours before the auction. So, that was obviously a very good sign that he was determined to buy this property,” he said.

Dean said the location and surrounds were what ultimately sealed the deal.

“They are very keen lovers of walking and parklands, and one of the attractions for them, with the Windermere Estate, was that it has a lot of parkland running through it,” he said.

“His wife had wanted that property. He’d actually submitted an offer earlier, but it wasn’t unconditional. The auction brought the best out in him.”

The sellers, who were downsizing and moving closer to the CBD, were thrilled with the result.

“The husband, of course, was smiling ear to ear. He was very, very happy,” Dean said.

“The wife had mixed emotions because she said, ‘this is a beautiful home, and it’s a little bit sad to be leaving it’. At the end of the day she was happy as well, but she just kept saying ‘I’m going to miss this beautiful home’.”