South Coogee home sells for more than $3.6 million at auction in 'patchy' market

Autumn has arrived, but there was no sign of a cool change at the auction of a South Coogee house on Saturday. 

Rapid-fire bidding from two local families saw the renovated four-bedroom home sell for $115,000 above reserve. 

The property at 100 Bundock Street was one of 801 Sydney homes scheduled to go under the hammer on the first Saturday of the autumn selling season. By evening, Domain Group had recorded a clearance rate of 65 per cent from 482 reported results. 

More than 40 people gathered in the sunny backyard of the 604-square-metre property to watch as two of three registered bidders battled it out.

Bidding opened at $3.3 million and went up in $25,000 jumps to $3.4 million, after which it mostly rose in $10,000 increments as the two families went back and forth.

The house sold for $3,615,000 to a local family who recently sold in the area. 

“For a house with no garage, on a busy street, the price is getting up there,” said selling agent Angus Gorrie of McGrath Coogee. “It’s pretty scary really.”

He said the sale price was a good result, particularly in the current market which he described as “more patchy than last year”.

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The result was a street record and well above both South Coogee’s median house price of $2.4 million and Coogee’s median of $3 million. It was also more than $2.3 million above the $1,306,000 records show it last traded for in 2005.

Mr Gorrie said the big backyard had been a key drawcard for families, and other attractions  included the property’s rear-lane access and previously DA approved plans for a three-car garage and studio. 

The bubbles were flowing after the auction, with vendors Harry and Leanne Kourt pleased with the “fair market price” and looking forward to their next chapter – downsizing. 

While they’ve made multiple improvements to the property over the years, they’re ready to say goodbye to their home of more than a decade. 

“Our view is that the bigger the house … the more expensive it is to run and the harder it is to maintain. It’s more costly and downsizing is more efficient,” said Mr Kourt. 

“Our kids [are in their 20s] and increasingly outside Sydney … we love Coogee and want to stay, but it’s time we got moving to a smaller property.”

Auctioneer Adrian Bo said while the market had certainly “hit a bit of a peak last year”, there was still good demand for high-quality houses. 

“Investor stock has really stalled due to the challenges around lending, house [prices] have held up better,” he said. “The eastern suburbs market for the $2.5 million to $4 million range is still performing well and in the north shore the $2 million to $3 million price range is going good.”

A few suburbs over in Waverly, there was a lengthy two-man race for a two-bedroom terrace on the market for the first time in 33 years. 

Bidding on the deceased estate at 130 Carrington Road, which last traded for $100,000 in 1985, opened on a vendor bid of $1.55 million. 

The bidding crawled up in $5000 increments to $1.59 million as two first-home buyer couples vied for the keys.

The two couples then dropped to $1000 bid increments with the home eventually selling – a whopping 51 bids later – for $1,641,000. The result was $41,000 above the $1.6 million reserve. 

“Both couples had caps at about $1.6 million, and really stretched themselves trying to edge the other out,” said selling agent Richard Movsessian of Coastline Agency. 

“The buyers, a young couple from Pyrmont, will be moving straight in as they have no spare funds to renovate.”

Meanwhile on the lower north shore, two families went head to head for a four-bedroom house at 65 Arabella Street, Longueville which was built in 2002.

Bidding kicked off at $6.5 million and the house was called on the market at $7.31 million. It sold under the hammer for $7.41 million. 

The property, sold through Simon Harrison of Belle Property Lane Cove, set a new auction record for the suburb. The block last traded for $1,605,000 in 1999.

In the city’s south, a tightly-held home in Beverley Hills sold for $235,000 above reserve to an investor who had never set foot inside the property. 

Four of five registered bidders battled for the four-bedroom home at 3 Jordan Avenue, on the market for the first time in 65 years. 

Bidding opened at $900,000 and three bids later hit the $1 million reserve. The house was nabbed by a buyer’s agent for an investor in Hong Kong, for $1,235,000. It sold through Hayden Duncan of McGrath St George. 

It was a different story in nearby Belmore, where another tightly-held house, on the market for the first time in 30 years, passed in on a bid of $830,000.

Bidding on 17 Belmore Avenue opened at $750,000 and three of four registered bidders made offers on 334-square-metre block before it passed in. 

Selling agent Trevor Le Breton of Tim Mutton Estate Agents was negotiating with multiple parties post auction and confident the property – which has R3 zoning – would sell in the coming week.

Elsewhere in Sydney

It was a battle of the first-home buyers for this deceased estate on the market for the first time in almost 35 years. Bidding started at $1.1 million and all three registered bidders made an offer, with the price rising $40,000 above reserve before the hammer fell.

The house, sold through Catherine Murphy from The Agency North, last sold for $86,000. It was snapped up by a growing family from Kilara, keen to get into the local school catchment. Ms Murphy said the 746-square-metre block was entry-level buying for the area. 

SOLD $1,394,000
Pyrmont
803B/24 Point Street
1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1 car space

Buyers hooked on harbour views pushed the price of this 64-square-metre apartment almost $300,000 above reserve. Bidding opened at $1 million and reached the $1.1 million reserve two bids later. The strong start saw just four of 12 registered bidders make offers before the hammer fell. 

While selling agent John Zheng of LJ Hooker Pyrmont received strong interest from overseas buyers in Sydney for Chinese New Year celebrations, it was a local couple who secured the keys. The property last traded for $534,000 in 2000.

A first-home buyer couple who recently returned home from Europe beat out investors and established home owners for this 221-square-metre property. The auction kicked off with a bid bang on the $1.2 million price guide and went up steadily in $20,000 and $10,000 jumps, as four of six registered bidders went back and forth.

The house sold through Rhonda Yim of Belle Property Annandale for $55,000 above the $1.26 million reserve. Records show the house last sold for $545,000 in 2006. The vendors sold asbecause they are relocating to the Central Coast.