Developers push price of tightly-held Marrickville home $1.77 million over reserve

A Marrickville home held by the same family for more than 90 years sold for $1.77 million above reserve on Saturday, as developers battled for the prized piece of real estate.

Flanked by apartments, the original-condition, Victorian-style home at 5 George Street was one of about 940 homes scheduled to go under the hammer on what was Sydney’s busiest February auction day on record.

By Saturday evening Domain Group had collected 668 results and put the clearance rate at 80.2 per cent – an impressive result given the unprecedented number of auctions.

A crowd of 80 braved the wet weather to watch as five of the 19 registered bidders, all with plans to redevelop the 860-square-metre block, competed for the deceased estate. 

Unwilling to take an opening offer of $1.8 million, auctioneer Jessie Davidson of AuctionWorks called for proceedings to start at $2 million, before accepting a bid of $1.9 million.

That bid went unanswered for almost a minute before a rival piped up and two parties traded $100,000 and $200,000 bids, until it reached $2.45 million.

At $2.7 million and $3 million, two other bidders joined in, with the eventual winning bidder later joining the fray at $3.35 million.

The hammer finally fell at $3.87 million, almost triple the suburb’s median house price of $1,375,000. Selling agent Michael Marano of Oxford Agency said the $2.1 million reserve was was set by the NSW Trustee and Guardian based on an independent evaluation. 

“We’d had a price guide of $2.5 million,” Mr Marano told Domain after the auction. “I was confident it would sell for $2.5 million to $2.8 million, but there was no way I imagined that it was going to go over by so much.”

“Marrickville is going from strength to strength,” he added. “The market here has been very strong and stock has been a little low.”

It was a big surprise for the vendors as well, who were extremely happy with the result, according to Anthony, the son of the owner.

“It’s been in the family for more than 90 years and passed down through the generations,” he said. “We’re certainly very surprised by the way the auction went, it’s a great result, but it’s certainly very hard to see it go, we’ve got a strong family connection to the home.”

The new owners, who had a family member bid on their behalf, plan to renovate the property, but will look at developing the block in the future, according to Mr Marano.

While he said he had received strong interest from owner occupiers looking to restore the home to its former glory, it was only the developers who threw their hats in the ring on the day.

Among them was local developer Joseph Metlej, who despite declaring mid-auction that he wasn’t “done, I want to get it,” missed out on the property.

“I was hoping to buy it and put some units on it,” he said. “I was thinking I’d stop bidding at $3 million, but I kept going until about $3.6 million, but then I was done unfortunately.”

“I’m really surprised by what it went for,” he added.

Mr Metlej, who owns other apartments in the area, said the increasingly sought-after inner west suburb was undergoing a transformation, with upcoming developments like Mirvac’s Marrick and Co set to increase the suburb’s appeal.

“It’s a huge result,” added auctioneer Jessie Davidson, who noted the inner west had been an incredibly strong market in recent years.

“With a property like this, that’s not heritage-listed or in a conservation zone, it got such a huge scope, which is why there’s been so much interest … if it was heritage-protected it would have been a different story.”

In the eastern suburbs a mixed use strata-titled block with four two-bedroom apartments and two retail spaces was also in high demand on Saturday. It sold for $1.2 million above the reserve price. 

Bidding for 34-36 Macpherson Street, Bronte, started at $4.4 million, with bidding going up in $100,000 increments, before dropping down to $50,000 increments after reaching $5.2 million.

It was after that point, that the eventual buyer – a local investor – joined in the bidding. He secured the property with a winning bid of $6.2 million.

The vendors, who bought the property more than 30 years ago for $136,000, were ecstatic with the result, according to selling agent Edward Brown of Belle Property Bondi Junction. 

“It was an incredible result, that shows that there is really strong demand for good quality investment opportunities and prime real estate.”

Other results from the day:

North

15 Alto Avenue, Seaforth. Photo: Supplied.

SOLD $2.5 million
Seaforth
15 Alto Avenue
4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 car space

When this double-fronted original home hit the market for the first time in 44 years on Saturday, it drew strong interest from both developers and families looking to upsize. Three of five registered bidders competed for the property, set on a 1037-square-metre block, which eventually sold under the hammer for $2.5 million. Matt Brady of Belle Property Seaforth showed about 80 groups through the property, which sold to a local family. The agent declined to disclose the reserve price. 

See more here: domain.com.au/2013358882

South

44 Belgrave Esplanade, Sylvania. Photo: Supplied.

SOLD $3,813,000
Sylvania
44 Belgrave Esplanade
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2  car spaces

Almost 200 people packed into the front yard of this waterfront home when it went up for auction for the first time in more than 50 years on Saturday. Bidding opened at 2.4 million and rose in $50,000 increments as five bidders vied for the property. David Greig of McGrath Sylvania said both the underbidder and the winner had only inspected the property for the first time that morning. He had shown more than 120 groups through the property and issued 31 contracts prior to auction day. 

See more here: domain.com.au/2013355320

East

13 McDougall Street, Kensington. Photo: Supplied

PASSED IN: $3,405,000
Kensington
13 McDougall Street
4 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 2 car spaces

Three of five registered bidders battled it out for this classic period home, which has been owned by the same family for 70 years. Bidding for the four-bedroom property opened at $3 million and went up quickly before stalling at $3,405,000. The property, which was inspected by about 100 groups prior to auction day, was popular with local families looking to upgrade to a larger home, according to Costa Kaparos of Ray White Kingsford. He was negotiating with the interested parties on Saturday afternoon.

See more here: domain.com.au/2013361556

West

27 Myall Street, Concord West. Photo: Supplied.

SOLD: $2.41 million
Concord West
27 Myall Street
4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 car spaces

A crowd of 80 gathered to watch as this much-loved family home went under the hammer on Saturday morning. It was a two-person race for the 600-square-metre property, with bidding starting at $2.2 million and jumping in $25,000 and then $10,000 increments. It sold bang on the reserve price. The property, which sold through Ben Horwood of LJ Hooker Drummoyne/Concord, was snapped up by a local family looking to upsize.

See more here: domain.com.au/2013364216