Neutral Bay home sells for $1.75 million above reserve in huge auction weekend
A five-bedroom home in one of Sydney’s most exclusive harbourside suburbs sold for an eye-watering $1.75 million above the reserve, after 12 registered bidders — all desperate to buy — fought it out for the keys.
There was so much interest in the home at 32 Holdsworth Street, Neutral Bay, the auction was brought forward by a week. It sold for $7.25 million under the hammer, well above the $5.5 million reserve.
Atlas Lower North Shore selling agent Jaqui Wansey said the home had been on the market for only 17 days when it went to auction.
The original home on the block had been torn down and rebuilt in 2017, and the modern new home attracted a lot of attention from buyers.
“It was really popular because it had studio accommodation out the back, which is perfect if you have family visiting, or parents, or older children who can utilise the space,” Ms Wansey said.
The ultimate buyer was a couple who were very keen to close the deal.
“The buyer was there to buy it and was going to buy it at any cost,” she said.
The result was one of the biggest at the weekend, with Sydney’s preliminary clearance rate sitting at 80.5 per cent at the end of Saturday.
This was after 934 auctions were scheduled and 693 results were reported. There were 83 properties withdrawn from auction, which were counted as not being sold as part of the clearance rate.
The home at Neutral Bay was not the only property to sell under the hammer for more than $7 million.
Another home — at 8 Nyora Street, Killara — was snapped by a local family wanting a bigger house, for $7.1 million.
It sold well above expectations, with a price guide between $6.25 million and $6.75 million for the four-bedroom property on Sydney’s upper north shore.
Originally built in 1921, the home had been renovated twice in recent years — once in 2005 and again in 2017, McConnell Bourn North Shore partner Scott Farquhar said.
Killara was popular with families, because it was close to schools and to the nearby train station making it a short trip into the CBD for work, with many of them out looking at properties in the area at the weekend.
“There’s lots of buyers out and about keen to buy a property,” Mr Farquhar said.
Back on the lower north shore, a completely original home sold for a massive $700,000 above the reserve after 10 bidders registered to compete.
The three-bedroom property at 8 Wangalla Road, Riverview, was snapped up for $3 million – above the $2.3 million reserve – by a family from Lane Cove.
Belle Property Lane Cove director Tim Holgate said although more properties were being listed for sale, there was still more demand from buyers than the supply of homes to buy.
“Stock is increasing. However, it is predominantly still a vendor’s market at present,” Mr Holgate said.
In Sydney’s south, a three-bedroom home was snapped up by a buyer who had been the underbidder at an auction for the same property five years ago.
He was one of nine registered and five active bidders on the property at 44 Belgrave Esplanade, Sylvania, which sold under the hammer for $4,685,000.
This was almost $1 million more than the vendors bought it for in 2017, when they paid $3,813,000.
Selling agent McGrath Sylvania’s David Greig said the buyer, a builder, was now planning to tear down the home and rebuild his dream house on the waterfront block.
“The vendors are moving back overseas, they have been separated during COVID-19 with the husband and one child back in China and the wife and another child in Australia,” Mr Greig said.
In Sydney’s east, a four-bedroom home, which had been owned by the same family for more than 50 years, sold for $100,000 above the reserve. The hammer came down on a $4.6 million winning bid.
The home at 84 Tunstall Avenue, Kingsford, was in mostly original condition, Ballard Property’s Maxwell Munro said. It had received some upgrades to the kitchen and bathrooms as it had been rented out.
The buyer, who was one of five registered bidders, is now planning to do a full renovation to make it their own, Mr Munro said.
It was a strong result given that the home had previously been put on the market in 2018 but was withdrawn after receiving an offer of just $3.5 million.
Other renovated homes on the street had also sold well above the $4 million price range, he said.
“There’s definitely a benchmark being set on the street pushing the value up,” Mr Munro said.
Another long-held home, at 18 Acres Road, Kellyville, in Sydney’s west, also sold for substantially above the reserve.
The three-bedroom home, which had had the same owner since 1975, sold under the hammer for $1,292,000, which was $392,000 above the reserve.
The vendor had paid $39,000 for the property.
Lumby Hampson principal and auctioneer Will Hampson said the vendor was ecstatic with the result and was now planning to make a sea change to a smaller home.
“It was quite the investment,” Mr Hampson said. “You’d never think it will be worth that much 46 years later.”
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