Soaring architect-designed home in the treetops fetches $5.4m at auction

Downsizers secured the keys to an architecturally designed Lane Cove home in the tree tops for $5.4 million at auction on Saturday when the sellers adjusted their reserve to strike a deal.

Two registered and actively bid on the five-bedroom property guided at $5 million at 12 Delta Road.

SOLD - $5,400,000

12 Delta Road, Lane Cove NSW 2066

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Bidding opened at $4.8 million with $100,000 bids to $5.1 million, then $50,000 and $25,000 bids took it to $5.4 million. The reserve was originally set at $5.5 million but was adjusted to $5.35 million towards the end of the auction until it sold under the hammer for $5.4 million.

Tim Holgate from Belle Property said the home came with a stunning studio, great privacy, and was unique as it was “right on the bush”.

“It’s a very hard-to-replicate home. It’s a stunning 24-year-old home, architect-designed that was just very thoughtfully designed, and you’re sitting right in the treetops,” he said.

Holgate said the spring market has brought a traditional rush of listings.

“And it’s happened quickly. Last year it was a late spring, but… the numbers were nowhere near what we were expecting, whereas this spring looks like it could be something a little bit more promising,” Holgate said.

The buyers had just sold a waterfront locally while the vendors were moving further out of Sydney.

The house last traded for $4 million in 2019, records show.

The property was one of 792 scheduled auctions in Sydney on Saturday. By Saturday evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 67.6 per cent from 472 reported results, while 100 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.

A classic 1940s three-bedroom house at 45 Tindale Road in Artarmon sold $207,000 above its guide and reserve of $3.5 million for $3,707,000.

SOLD - $3,707,000

45 Tindale Road, Artarmon NSW 2064

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Six registered and four actively bid on the conservation home, close to the city.

Bidding opened at $3.2 million with $10,000 bids made for most of the auction before it dropped to a final seven $1000 bids.

Ray White’s John McManus said the homely feel of the property was the main drawcard.

“It’s a perfect young family start,” he said.

The buyers won’t be permitted to knock the house down.

“That’s what the attraction is of Artarmon – that you can’t knock it down and rebuild it. So people there are appreciating what’s been built 100 years ago, which is really, really nice.”

The buyers are a young family upsizing from Neutral Bay. The vendors have owned the home since they built it in the 1940s, and it has been tenanted for the past 20 years.

Meanwhile, a three-bedroom freestanding house in Dulwich Hill with an adorable garden studio perfect for a home office sold for $2,085,000. The home at 1a Grove Street was guided at $1.89 million.

SOLD - $2,085,000

1A Grove Street, Dulwich Hill NSW 2203

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Four registered, and three actively bid, mostly consisting of young families and downsizers.

Bidding opened at $1.95 million and was erratic, with fairly small bids ranging from $1000 to $25,000. Nobody was willing to make a knockout bid, and it eventually sold for $85,000 above its $2 million reserve.

BresicWhitney’s Rhonda Yim said she was expecting an additional two registrations; however, they did not feel comfortable as they had not sold their own properties yet.

“It was really good in terms of lifestyle, close to light rail, close to the Dulwich Hill village,” she said.

The buyers are an upsizing inner west couple looking for a backyard. The vendors will be upsizing to Lewisham.

The house last traded for $675,000 in 2009, records show.

LJ Hooker’s head of research Mathew Tiller said the clearance rate of 67.8 per cent is a solid result for the start of spring, especially since there has been a rise in listings.

“Buyers have more choice at the moment because listings have started to rise and will continue to rise over the next couple of weeks as spring really starts to kick into gear,” he said.

Tiller said solid price growth and high interest rates are the main drivers of the property market at the moment.

“Household budgets are still a little bit stretched. So that is one of the reasons why some people are considering selling up, to downsize their mortgage.

“But also we have had quite solid price growth over the past 12 to 18 months. So there are people out there at the moment looking to capitalise on that.”