Sydney auctions: Surry Hills terrace with self-contained unit fetches $3,605,000
A Surry Hills terrace with a self-contained unit attracted buyers keen to accommodate extended families and pleasantly surprised its owners by selling for $3,605,000 at auction on Saturday.
The four-bedroom home at 348 Riley Street drew four registered buyers, pushing the price past the $3.5 million reserve.
It was one of 345 homes scheduled to go under the hammer in Sydney on Saturday, on a long weekend.
By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 72.1 per cent from 262 reported results, while 42 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
Bidding for the home on its 186-square-metre block, spread across three levels, opened at $3.1 million, rising in steady but tight increments of $25,000 as three buyers vied for the keys.
The hammer fell at $3,605,000 – selling for $105,000 above reserve to a local family who were drawn to the extra residence at the back of the block.
BresicWhitney director and listing agent Shannan Whitney said the self-contained unit was a major selling point for all interested buyers.
“All the bidders were buyers who were looking to utilise the separate two residences to meet their respective family dynamics,” he said. “That really was the driver.”
He said while there is generally a tight wrestle between what vendors expect and where the market lands, this result pleasantly surprised the vendors.
“It was more of a surprise, more than the norm.”
The median house price in Surry Hills over the past year was $1.8 million, according to Domain data.
The property last traded in for $850,000 in 2003, records show.
In Wahroonga, a dozen buyers registered to bid on a tightly-held four-bedroom house at 10 Rutland Place.
Bidding for the 1669-square-metre block started $50,000 above reserve at $1.95 million and rose to $2.1 million straight after. Stiff competition continued to lift the price as all 12 buyers threw their hats in the ring, until it turned into a tight two-horse race.
The property sold for $2.51 million – $610,000 above reserve – to a local family who were planning to knock down and build a long-term family home.
Ray White Upper North Shore listing agent Thomas Merriman said they underestimated the appetite from buyers for land in the area.
After the sales of several premium homes recently, buyers in the $4.5 million-plus bracket are getting priced out of the market, he said, so some are choosing to buy land and build.
“To spend $2.5 million on a block of land to build a $1 million house, it makes sense.”
He said active buyers on the upper north shore recognise the opportunity of current prices.
“They’re seasoned property buyers who are taking advantage of the market now with the opportunity of maybe reselling this stock when coronavirus is over.”
The median house price in Wahroonga is $1,950,000, according to Domain data.
Meanwhile, first-home buyers with varying budgets were out in force across Sydney on Saturday.
In Granville, nine buyers – a mix of mainly first-home hopefuls and some investors – registered to bid on a three-bedroom apartment at 1/50 Clyde Street.
Bidding opened at $340,000, rising in $10,000, $5000 and $1000 increments as six parties threw their hats in the ring.
The hammer fell at $425,000, selling $25,000 above reserve to a young first-home buyer.
McGrath Liverpool listing agent Glen Craigie said government incentives geared toward first-home buyers were working.
“Government incentives have definitely boosted the market and it’s good to see they’re the most powerful buyers out there at the moment,” he said.
Mr Craigie sold four apartments to first-home buyers in the past fortnight, with three of them below $500,000.
The vendors of 1/50 Clyde Street – who purchased the property for $53,000 in 1984, records show – are making a sea change up to the Central Coast.
The median unit price in Granville over the past year was $460,000, on Domain data.
In St Peters, a two-bedroom terrace at 31 Crown Street drew seven registered bidders who were mostly first-home buyers.
Bidding opened right on the guide of $950,000 and rose quickly after a slow start.
It sold after just 10 minutes for $1,135,000 – $85,000 above reserve – to a first-home buyer.
Adrian William listing agent Adrian Tsavalas said his vendors were pleased with the result after setting a reasonable reserve.
“They weren’t expecting to get that sort of money,” he said. “Buyers feel like it’s the right time to be buying and things could pick up any moment now due to low coronavirus numbers and lending laws being relaxed.”
The vendors – who bought the property for $700,000 in 2013, records show – are going into semi-retirement and making a tree-change to Hobart.
In Bella Vista, five buyers registered to bid on a four-bedroom house at 27 Skylark Circuit.
Bidding opened at $1.2 million and, after more than two dozen bids, it sold for $1,329,000 – $79,000 above reserve – to a first-home buyer.
The underbidder was also a first-home buyer, Bensons Auctions director and auctioneer Stu Benson said.
The property last traded for $560,000 in 2007, records show.
The median house price in Bella Vista over the past year was $1,550,000, on Domain data.
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