Sydney home sells for $2.67 million as auctions move online during lockdown

Sydney has returned to online auctions for the first time since last year, with public auctions not allowed under COVID-19 lockdown rules.

But there were still some big bids and huge sale prices on Saturday.

That included the sale of a four-bedroom home on the upper north shore, which sold under the virtual hammer for $2.67 million — $170,000 above the reserve.

The property, at 27 Pearson Avenue, Gordon, which had been an investment property for the vendors, saw 16 bidders register for the sale. 

It was a strong number even though the sales campaign was interrupted by the restrictions, as only two weekends of unhindered open inspections were able to go ahead before the auction was held.

Though people could privately inspect the home, Raine & Horne Bexley director John Gymellas said the property had tenants to consider.

As a results, some buyers hadn’t seen through the home at all  because of the lockdown, but were still willing to bid at auction.

Bidders were looking to be owner-occupiers, with some wanting to knock down and rebuild the existing home, Mr Gymellas said. Bidding was slow, but buyers soon got into the groove of online bidding.

“It kicked off at $2 million and then stalled at $2.3 million,” Mr Gymellas said. “From there, it was between two parties that took it all the way to $2.67 million.” 

He said although agents and auctioneers were used to online auctions from the previous lockdown Sydney had been through, it was not their “favourite way to sell”.

“We have to do what we have to do, but you do lose that touch and feel — that human interaction face to face,” he said.

By the end of Saturday, Sydney’s preliminary clearance rate slipped to 69.4 per cent after 792 auctions were scheduled and 507 results were reported.

Not surprisingly, there were 139 properties withdrawn from auction that were counted as not being sold as part of the clearance rate.

It followed a busy month of auctions in June, where Sydney’s clearance rate for houses and units sat at 72.7 per cent. This was the lowest point for the harbour city’s clearance rate since November last year.

Domain senior research analyst Nicola Powell said fewer homes had gone to auction in June compared with May, with a bumper number held in May due to April’s public holidays.

Domain’s auction report card showed there were 4270 auctions scheduled in June, down more than 20 per cent compared with May.

“Despite the monthly drop in auction volumes, it was the busiest June on record for Sydney’s auction market,” Dr Powell said. “A huge milestone, almost double the decade average for the month of June.”

In Sydney’s south, an online auction was described as being “a bit like TV show Gogglebox,” by McGrath St George selling agent Roger Lahoud.

That’s because 27 bidders registered for the auction, with a screen full of families in their own homes, bidding for the three-bedroom property at 25 Brantwood Street, Sans Souci.

SOLD - $2,405,000

25 Brantwood Street, Sans Souci NSW 2219

3

1

2

View property

“They were mainly young families and a couple of builders,” Mr Lahoud said.

The home sold for $2.405 million to a builder who is planning to tear down the existing home and rebuild.

In Arncliffe, a three-bedroom home at 32 Mount Street sold via a Zoom auction for $1.861 million, after 17 bidders registered for the sale.

Prestige Property Group Realty general manager Stefan Bujak said the home had been an investment property, with the vendor, who had owned the home for 31 years, having paid just $205,000 in 1991, records show.

SOLD - $1,861,000

32 Mount Street, Arncliffe NSW 2205

3

2

2

View property

“The vendor is from the eastern suburbs, so he must have seen the potential in the area all those years ago,” Mr Bujak said. “That home returned its investment well and truly.”

While several bidders put in their offers, it came down to two, with a young family making the winning bid.

Sydney’s inner west continued to show its popularity with a two-bedroom terrace home selling under the hammer for $1.71 million, just above the $1.7 million expectations.

Three bidders competed in an online auction for the terrace home at 29 Nelson Street, Annandale, with an opening bid of $1.55 million setting the scene.

An investor was the winning bidder, beating a builder and a first-home-buying couple for the property.

The vendor was looking to downsize to a single-level home, Raine & Horne Leichhardt selling agent Morris Toscano said.

SOLD - $1,710,000

29 Nelson Street, Annandale NSW 2038

2

2

1

View property

“We have done online auctions before in the last lockdown, so it is second nature because we’ve done it before,” Mr Toscano said. 

“I would still prefer a live auction because it can get a little bit awkward when you’re trying to help bidders [with a personal chat] and you’re saying it to everyone at the same time,” he said. “Hopefully, we don’t have to get used to it.”