Sydney and Melbourne auctions: Harbourside apartment fetches $2,072,000 after marathon bidding war
A two-bedroom apartment with views of Sydney Harbour sold for $2,072,000 under the virtual hammer on Saturday after a marathon auction fought largely in $1,000 increments.
The Milsons Point residence beat its reserve by $112,000 after three parties spent the best part of an hour fighting it out for the keys.
The pad at 1201/30 Glen Street was one of just 42 auctions scheduled in Sydney on Saturday, a relatively quiet day for the property market due to Anzac Day.
Despite a guide price of $1.9 million to $2 million, auctioneer Michael Garofolo of Cooley Auctions had to contend with early bargain-hunting offers.
Multiple optimistic bids as low as $1.45 million were rejected before proceedings got underway with an opening offer of $1.79 million, with Mr Garofolo announcing he was willing to do the auction “the long way”.
And the long way it was, with a whopping 127 bids ultimately placed. Early increments of $10,000 soon shortened, and after $1,951,000 the price rose mostly in $1000 steps.
The pace picked up, with once-reluctant bidders appearing increasingly anxious not to miss out, until it finally sold for $2,072,000.
Selling agent Chris Bell of Milson Real Estate was not surprised by the “opportunistic” early bids in the current economy.
“Everybody’s hopeful,” he said. “You have got to expect that lowball [bidding].”
He is one of many adjusting to conducting an auction online, amid the real estate industry’s shift to comply with coronavirus-linked social distancing rules since physical auctions were banned a month ago.
“Obviously a little bit slower moving than conventional auctions,” he noted. “But obviously gives people a bit more time to think.”
It also allows agents to communicate with buyers better while the auction is underway, he said, deeming the online method “all in all, equally effective”.
Elsewhere, a two-bedroom semi in St Peters sold under the hammer for $945,000 after two parties went head to head.
An opening offer of $850,000 was placed for the entry-level home with scope to update at 19 Frederick Street.
The price rose at first in $10,000 jumps, then in smaller increments until $940,000 when auctioneer James Hurley of Under The Hammer paused for negotiations.
After a break the highest bidder upped his offer to $945,000, and after a second break the home was knocked down to a first-home buyer couple.
The vendor’s reserve had been around $950,000 or in the middle $900,000s, Belle Property Newtown’s Roger Agha said, with the sellers having already moved interstate and bought a new home there.
“The property was priced right and the owners were pretty genuine about selling,” he said.
“It is hard to find something under $1 million [in the same area].”
He has noticed a slight shift in sentiment from a month ago, when buyers were “freaking out” due to the pandemic. Now, some are seizing the opportunity to upgrade, he said.
Another sale was secured in Newtown, where a single-fronted two-bedroom house sold under the virtual hammer.
The home at 19 Camden Street took advantage of its narrow block with a two-storey design that placed the bedrooms upstairs and left room for a study on the ground floor – marketed as suitable for buyers working from home.
Bidding began at $1.1 million and rose quickly.
At $1.43 million the property was very nearly claimed, before two just-in-time bids took the price to $1.44 million at which it was sold.
The sellers managed a $40,000 premium above their $1.4 million reserve through the competitive process, said listing agent Shaun Stoker of Ray White Surry Hills, Alexandria, Glebe, Erskineville.
He had found it a challenge to get prior offers at a lower level.
“People don’t want to pay what the owner wants, but if they see someone else wants it, they’re willing to pay more,” he said.
“If that wasn’t an online auction it would have been hard to get $1.3 million, $1.35 million.”
In Melbourne, a four-bedroom house in Hampton Park passed in at online auction on a vendor bid of $440,000.
The family home at 26 The Parkway on the city’s southeastern edge was listed with a price guide of $440,000 to $480,000.
It was one of only 44 auctions listed in Melbourne on Saturday.
Auctioneer Michael Choi of Area Specialist could not cajole the online crowd to make a bid under auction conditions.
He passed the property in with an announcement that three potential buyers had messaged him asking to make offers subject to finance.
Later, selling agent Dee Kawsar of Area Specialist Keysborough said negotiations continued with two parties.
A mix of investors and first-home buyers had tuned in, he said, including one investor from Sydney.
He said although it was taking time to adapt, online auctions had benefits.
“So far, so good, even though I haven’t had a successful auction today,” he said.
“Through this, we are getting buyers from outside our territory.”
An apartment in Sydney’s Erskineville also passed in on a vendor bid, even after receiving rapid offers from four parties.
The two-bedroom pad at A302/72 Macdonald Street featured 103 square metres of space and a Smeg kitchen.
Proceedings began at $800,000, then bids rose fast in $10,000 increments up to $880,000.
Auctioneer James Keenan of Ray White stepped in with a vendor bid of $940,000, but with no further offers the property passed in.
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