Investor bidding war sees former stable house in Glebe sell for $1.61 million

A bidding war between investors saw a 91-square-metre block in the heart of Glebe sell for more than $1.6 million on Saturday. 

It was one of 867 auctions scheduled across Sydney. By evening, Domain Group had recorded a clearance rate of 64.8 per cent from 520 reported results. 

While owner-occupiers were out in force at the auction of the two-bedroom house at 58 Derwent Lane, it was investors who dominated the bidding. 

Auctioneer Clarence White had barely finished calling for an opening offer when the proceedings kicked off at $1.3 million. 

It took just three more bids to reach the $1.4 million reserve, after which the bidding continued to rise rapidly in $10,000 and $5000 increments for much of the auction. 

As the bids increased so did the crowd, with the auction capturing the attention of those at the popular Glebe Markets across the laneway.

While there were 10 registered parties, the bidding was left to three investors and a business owner looking for a new premises. 

The home, a converted former stable house built about 1850, sold under the hammer for $1.61 million – $210,000 above reserve.

It was snapped up by Darling Point investor Rosanne Burkhart, who was quick to outbid each offer that came from her competitors. 

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“I was [taking the ill-advised approach of] buying with my heart instead of my head,” she said after the auction. “It’s the design of the place that got me. It’s cute as a button.”

Ms Burkhart said she was delighted to have ended her six-month search for an investment property. 

Selling agent Jack Parry, of BresicWhitney Balmain, said he had been surprised to see such competitive bidding from investors, while owner-occupiers took a back seat.  

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics during the week revealed investor mortgage lending had seen its biggest drop in two years. 

Mortgage lending to investors slumped 6.2 per cent in September, compared with the previous month, while lending to owner-occupiers dropped 2.1 per cent, according to Thursday’s ABS release.

Mr Parry believed the property’s price point – well below the suburb’s $1,922,000 median house price – was a big part of its appeal to investors. 

“It’s reasonably entry-level for a warehouse conversion [style home] and for Glebe,” he said.

Mr Parry said while the market had definitely changed in recent months, the increase in properties passing in at auction wasn’t due to a lack of buyers. 

“It’s not that there’s not much buyer interest, it’s that it’s not at the level the vendors thought it might be,” he said. “Buyers now have more power. Based on the current conditions, they can be a bit more disciplined [in their bidding].

“Vendors are taking some time to adjust [their price expectations] and that’s why some good properties aren’t selling.”

Records show the Glebe house last traded for $870,000 in 2012.

It was a different story in the city’s west, where bidding between two investors wasn’t enough to see a six-bedroom Doonside property sell under the hammer. 

The house at 2 Berrima Place drew interest from families and investors, thanks to a new granny flat with separate access and a driveway.

Bidding on the home, which records show last sold for $760,000 in 2016, started at $900,000. Bids from two of four registered parties saw it climb to $1.1 million, at which point it passed in.

Selling agent Andrew Chrysanthou, of Harcourts Unlimited Real Estate, was negotiating with the two investors on Saturday afternoon and expected the property to sell in the coming days.

Meanwhile in Lakemba, a five-bedroom and a three-bedroom home that went under the hammer together passed in at $4.75 million. 

The two properties, at 20 and 21 The Boulevarde, which records show last sold for $210,000 and $120,000 respectively in the 1980s, drew strong interest from developers due to high-density zoning.  

Bidding on the two blocks, which span 1730 square metres, started at $4.3 million and quickly went up in $50,000 increments. However, it came to a halt about $150,000 short of the reserve and passed in. 

Selling agent Dean Stojanovski, of Quest Realty Group, was in negotiations with  interested parties on Saturday afternoon.

Elsewhere in Sydney:

67 Elliott Street, Balmain. Photo: Supplied.

SOLD $1.41 million
Balmain 
67 Elliott Street
2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1 car space

Fifteen people registered to bid on this terrace on the market for the first time in almost 100 years. However only a third of them were prepared to make an offer at auction, after the bidding opened strongly at $1.2 million. Going up in $20,000 increments, the bidding quickly hit the $1.3 million reserve, and went up another $110,000 before the hammer fell. The home sold through Tim Moltzen of McGrath Hunters Hill to a young local buyer looking to upsize from a unit. With the help of her father, who is a builder, she plans to update the original-condition home. 

8 Lyne Road, Cheltenham, NSW. Photo: Supplied

SOLD $1,775,000
Cheltenham
8 Lyne Road
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 car spaces

Lovers of architecture were drawn to this mid-century modern home designed in 1962 by Towell, Jansen and Rippon architects. Selling agent Douglas Macarthur of Ray White Beecroft had well over 100 groups inspect the house, with buyers coming from right across Sydney. On the day it came down to just two of seven registered bidders who went head to head for the property. After an opening offer of $1.4 million was knocked back, bidding started at $1.6 million and quickly climbed to the sale price. The buyers were a builder and architect, who plan to make the residence their family home.

2 Osborne Road, Greenwich, NSW. Photo: Supplied

SOLD $1,475,000
Greenwich 
2 Osborne Road
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 car spaces

About 55 groups inspected this tightly-held home before auction, but on the day just one family wanted to bid. After the auction opened at $1.4 million, a vendor bid of $1.45 million was made, which the young family from Putney counteracted with an offer matching the $1,475,000 price guide. When the second registered bidder remained silent, the house sold to the family for $50,000 below reserve. They plan to rent out the property in the short term, before renovating it and moving in. The home sold through James Bennett of Belle Property Lane Cove.