Sydney online auctions: Investor buys one-bedroom Manly unit for $1.1 million
An investor edged out first-home buyers to pick up a one-bedroom apartment in Manly for $1.1 million, paying $200,000 above the price guide at virtual auction on Saturday.
At just 60 square metres, 1/51C Kangaroo Street drew a dozen parties who were a mix of first-home buyers and investors.
It was one of 746 auctions scheduled in Sydney on Saturday, as the real estate market operates online during lockdown.
By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 73.9 per cent from 487 reported results while 108 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
Bidding for the Manly unit opened on the price guide of $900,000 and rose by $50,000 in the next bid.
It knocked out most of the competition for the Manly unit, with only four bidders participating in the sale.
After just 17 bids, the hammer fell at $1.1 million, selling $50,000 above the reserve to a North Ryde investor.
Unlike last year, the lockdown had spurred on many buyers because of fears the market will pick up again when restrictions ease, said selling agent Morgan Fahey of McGrath Manly.
“As soon as we went into lockdown, buyer urgency went through the roof. The lockdown may have even helped us a little bit,” Mr Fahey said. “People remember what happened last year because, after the lockdown, the market shot up.”
Runaway prices meant many first-home buyers looking for two-bedroom units can now only buy a one-bedroom unit in the area, he said.
“I sold a better property with water views for $923,000 around October,” said Mr Fahey.
The Kangaroo Street unit that sold on Saturday last traded for $339,000 in 2001, records show, meaning the price has as good as tripled in 20 years.
In Kings Langley, a five-bedroom house at 8 Tobias Place sold for $1,508,000 after 25 minutes.
Six of the eight registered parties bid on the property, slowly raising the price in varying increments after bidding opened on the $1.35 million price guide.
It went past the $1.48 million reserve after about a dozen bids and continued to rise in smaller increments as the pace slowed until the hammer eventually fell.
Benson Auctions’ Stu Benson said despite the different nature of online auctions, he was confident properties were achieving the same results.
“I do think it’s the par for the course with the technology.”
The property last sold for $432,500 in 2002, records show. It has more than tripled in value in less than 20 years.
In Petersham, a two-bedroom townhouse at 1/1 Belgrave Street sold for $1,412,000 after the auction ran for more than half an hour.
It also ran at a slower pace than usual despite healthy interest from 16 registered parties, as the virtual auction held up the process.
Six parties raised the price over three dozen bids after the auction opened at $1.05 million.
A final $1000 bid secured the property for a young family who were upsizing from an inner-city unit.
The reserve was $1.27 million.
Ray White Petersham’s Nicholas Arena said buyers were still active as long as they were able to inspect properties prior to auction day.
The property last traded for $1,065,000 in 2016, records show.
In Woy Woy, the vendors of a three-bedroom villa at 2/7 Piper Street made a paper profit of $140,000 after owning the home for less than a year.
Five parties registered to bid on the property with the auction opening at $600,000 – well under the $675,000 price guide.
But it was not an issue as all bidders were active in the sell-off, raising the price in $5000 bids for most of the auction.
It sold for $730,000 –$30,000 above reserve – to Sydneysiders who were making the move up to the Central Coast.
McGrath Ettalong’s Matthew Dawson said the owners were returning to Sydney after they made the tree change when the pandemic hit last year.
“They did just a bit of a tidy up, no major work … it just freshened it up a lot,” Mr Dawson said. “They originally planned to stay longer.”
The property traded for $590,000 at the end of July last year, records show, the price increasing $140,000 in just 11 months.
In Erskineville, a three-bedroom semi-detached house at 42 Pleasant Avenue sold for $2,211,000 to a young Roseville couple.
Nine parties registered to bid, helping the property to smash its $2 million reserve.
The property last traded for $305,000 in 1999, records show, the price increasing more than seven times in 22 years.
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