Records set and reserves smashed at big spring auction weekend in Sydney

A Point Piper apartment listed for sale for the first time in 70 years sold for a massive $13,025,000 at a hotly contested auction on Saturday.

The three-bedroom apartment at 2/124 Wolseley Road in the exclusive Cliff Towers building sold for the eye-watering amount after being declared on the market at $9.9 million.

Sydney Sotheby’s International Realty managing director Michael Pallier said there were seven registered bidders, with three active throughout the sale. 

The ultimate buyer, a woman from the eastern suburbs, started bidding at $10 million, Mr Pallier said.

About 30 people were at the auction of the apartment – owned by Susan Rankine, formerly known as Lady Street – with some having to be turned away due to social-distancing rules.

SOLD - $13,025,000

2/124 Wolseley Road, Point Piper NSW 2027

3

3

2

View property

The sale price was surprising, Mr Pallier said, given Ms Rankine had not undertaken any renovations since the late 1970s when she moved in to the property.

“At first we thought it may be worth $7 million because it was still in its original condition, but it’s very hard to put an exact price on these types of properties,” Mr Pallier said. “It just shows the power of the auction on the day.”

The massive result was one of 719 scheduled auctions in Sydney on the weekend, with the preliminary clearance rate sitting at 70 per cent after 540 reported results. There were 93 properties withdrawn from auction.

Sydney’s spring market continued to attract strong results, many either selling for above reserve or even a record price.

On the lower north shore, a record was set for the suburb when a five-bedroom home at 31 Pengilly Street, Riverview, sold for $5,325,000.

SOLD - $5,325,000

31 Pengilly Street, Riverview NSW 2066

5

3

4

View property

McGrath Lane Cove’s Brent Courtney said the sale was a record for the suburb, beating the old one set in 2017, when a home at 72 Kallaroo Road sold for $4,932,000.

Nine bidders registered for the auction, with an opening bid of $4.8 million setting the scene.

A local buyer snapped up the property, with the vendors now looking to move closer to the waterfront, Mr Courtney said.

“It’s a very strong market at the moment,” he said. “The lack of stock and large number of buyers are keeping prices up.”

Another record was set when a home at 59 Earlwood Avenue, Earlwood, in Sydney’s south-west, sold under the hammer for $2.57 million. 

SOLD - $2,570,000

59 Earlwood Avenue, Earlwood NSW 2206

3

2

4

View property

It was the highest price paid for a single-storey home in the suburb and $220,000 above the reserve, Ray White Belmore’s Dean Vasil said.

Six registered bidders fought it out for the keys, with the vendors “over the moon” with the result, Mr Vasil said.

Hardly any work had been done to the property since the vendors bought it five years ago.

“The house last traded for $1,986,000 in 2015, five years almost to the day, and they only renovated the bathroom in that time,” Mr Vasil said.

The buyers were a couple moving from Avalon to be closer to their grandchildren in Marrickville, he said.

In Sydney’s south-east a two-bedroom apartment came up for auction a week earlier than originally planned following several offers.

The apartment at 6/154 Coogee Bay Road, Coogee, sold under the hammer for more than $1.3 million – above the $1.25 million price guide.

SOLD - $1,340,000

6/154 Coogee Bay Road, Coogee NSW 2034

2

1

-

View property

The buyer, one of five registered bidders for the property, was a local from Coogee.

The vendors were selling because they had moved to rural NSW and were selling up their investments.

The Agency Eastern Suburbs property partner Bernadette Summers said Coogee’s property market had increased in popularity since COVID-19 had hit, with people now looking for a beachside escape.

“I think what COVID has done is make people think about their lifestyle as well as work,” Ms Summers said. 

Also thinking about lifestyle were the bidders at the auction of a four-bedroom home in Sydney’s inner-western suburb Croydon.

Five bidders, all local families, registered for a chance to buy the grand federation-style home at 16 Dickinson Avenue.

SOLD - $2,780,000

16 Dickinson Avenue, Croydon NSW 2132

4

3

2

View property

The home sold for $2.78 million, and although  LJ Hooker Burwood Joe Murania would not disclose the reserve, he said it sold above it.

Like many in the Sydney property market, things were starting to heat up again in the family friendly suburb after “sleeping” for a little while.

“The market has absolutely bounced back,” Mr Murania said. “Properties are meeting and beating reserves.

“People have finally realised there is some light at the end of the tunnel of COVID and interest rates are still really low, at record lows, so there are still plenty of reasons to buy,” he said.