Sydney auctions: West Pennant Hills house sells for $2.072m
A tightly-held home in the Hills District sold for almost $450,000 above reserve on Saturday in a hot auction that drew more than 30 bidders.
The four-bedroom West Pennant Hills home, on the market for the first time in more than 40 years, sold for $2.072 million.
It was one of 734 homes scheduled to go under the hammer in Sydney on Saturday.
By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 88 per cent from 573 reported results, while a 38 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate. It was the fourth Saturday in a row that the city’s preliminary rate climbed above 85 per cent.
The 911-square-metre block at 102 Eaton Road attracted 34 registered buyers, a dozen of whom threw their hats in the ring.
The auction for the deceased estate opened at $1.6 million – $50,000 shy of the price guide – and spirited bidding then raised the price in varying increments from $50,000 down to $10,000.
By the $2.07 million mark, it was a two-person race between the next-door neighbour and an owner-occupier who shouted across the backyard: “If you stop bidding, I’ll shout you lunch!”
To which the neighbour replied: “I’ll let her have it, I live next door.”
A final $1000 bid secured the home for $2.072 million – $442,000 above the reserve.
The next-door neighbour and underbidder, who only wanted to be identified by his first name, Peter, said he had been hoping to flip the property.
“We were going to fully renovate,” he said. “We were going to spend just over 10 per cent of [its] resale value and then sell it [in] a bit over 12 months. Two months ago would have been better [to buy].
“Sydney’s real estate has always gone up … low interest rates are stimulating purchases … and I think prices will continue to rise.”
Benson Auctions auctioneer Stu Bensons said it was a most pleasant and cordial outcome despite the market’s competitiveness.
“A lot of people are seeing the value in the land and its proximity to schools and arterial roads,” he said, adding that the other 33 buyers who missed out were going back into an already short-supplied market.
The property sold through Jennifer Carr and William Carr of Louis Carr Real Estate.
Mr Carr said the buyers had only inspected the property for the first time on Friday.
“A lot of people have got the view the market is going to continue to rise so they want to purchase now,” he said, adding that many buyers who were priced out of the north shore were turning to the Hills district instead.
West Pennant Hills’ median house price rose 14 per cent to $1.75 million by the end of 2020, Domain data shows.
In North Bondi, a five-bedroom house at 5 Mitchell Street fetched $3.56 million on Saturday, selling $360,000 above the reserve to an owner-occupier who was bidding over the phone.
Three of the four registered buyers raised the price after the auction opened at $2.9 million – bang on the price guide.
PPD Real Estate’s Mary Anne Cronin said a shortage of eastern suburbs homes amid improving certainty around the health situation was fuelling the market’s strength.
“If that was about five months ago, it would have sold for $2.8 million or $2.9 million, so that’s a big jump from where it was,” she said.
The property last sold for $89,950 in 1980, according to the agent.
North Bondi’s median house price rose 11.8 per cent to $3.185 million over the year in 2020, Domain data shows
In Manly Vale, an architect-designed renovation of 42 Parkes Street helped the four-bedroom house sell for $3.471 million.
Six of the nine buyers placed bids on the property, with an opening offer of $2.95 million starting the auction.
It sold to a young Queenscliff family who were upsizing from an apartment.
Cunninghams Real Estate’s Andrew Lutze said there was a huge appetite for well-renovated homes on the northern beaches because of the lifestyle factor.
“We don’t know where the depth of the market is behind that,” he said. “While it’s good to look at comparable sales, we’re breaking new ground each week.”
The property sold for $1.25 million in 2015, records show, with the sale price almost tripling in just six years.
In Lewisham, three first-home buyers registered to bid on a one-bedroom unit at 312/20 Hudson Street.
The auction started with an opening offer at $650,000, and two of the bidders drove the price up to $750,000 – $50,00 above the reserve.
True Property’s Michael Catalano said there was a small pool of first-home buyers looking in the $700,00 to $750,000 price range.
“Usually apartments in that complex are selling between $650,000 and $680,000,” he said.
We recommend
We thought you might like
States
Capital Cities
Capital Cities - Rentals
Popular Areas
Allhomes
More
