Neglected Redfern terrace with a backyard like a deserted wasteland sells at auction for $1.25 million

A terrace in Sydney’s Redfern with a backyard like a deserted wasteland sold at auction on Saturday for $1.25 million.

Listed by Charles Touma and Hayden Richards of Ray White Touma Group, the three-bedroom property at 18 Turner Street had a buyer’s guide of $1 million. There were ten registered bidders.

Domain’s House Price Report for the September quarter reveals that the median house price for Redfern is $1,735,000, a decrease of 4.9 per cent over the past year.

The terrace had been positioned as one of the worst houses in one of Sydney’s coolest suburbs.

18 Turner Street, Redfern, Sydney, NSW

SOLD - $1,250,000

18 Turner Street, Redfern NSW 2016

3

1

-

View property

Agents Touma and Richards did not sugarcoat the condition of this terrace, overlooking parkland in trendy Redfern.

“Neglected”, says the listing of the property, sans upper-floor balcony, but the address, in a vibrant suburb, makes up for it.

The backyard, with a Hills Hoist from the earliest days of modern Australia, is as dry as a bone, with a tree stump and a forlorn pot hanging on the fence. There is not a speck of green to be seen.

One of the suburb’s tallest terraces and ten minutes’ walk to Redfern train station, it occupies a north-facing 156-square-metre block.

The auction result comes as the nation’s clearance rate leaps to a seven-month high, indicating the market is growing more balanced as prices continue to decline.

October’s 61 per cent clearance rate for the combined capital cities was further evidence of an improving collegiate nature between buyers and sellers, who are increasingly meeting on price expectations and cushioning the clearance rate.

The clearance rate has been in recovery mode as the market finds a new harmony – in June, clearance rates around Australia were at their lowest level in two years, hovering 53 per cent.

However, in October, every capital with the exception of Brisbane (at 44.5 per cent) recorded a clearance rate of more than 60 per cent.

In Sydney, the clearance rate increased for a third consecutive month, hitting 61.2 per cent, despite vendor activity dropping hand-in-glove.