Sydney auctions: Neutral Bay semi sells for $1.625m, draws 61 bidders
A fixer-upper on the lower north shore sold for more than $500,000 above reserve on Saturday, in a hot auction that drew a whopping 61 bidders, in a sign of the continuing strength of Sydney’s property market.
Neither the ongoing lockdown nor the poor condition of the tightly held home – with cracked walls, peeling ceilings and holes in the floor – was enough to deter strong competition for the two-bedroom Neutral Bay home.
It was one of 872 auctions scheduled in Sydney on Saturday, with the real estate market operating online during lockdown.
By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 75.2 per cent from 576 reported results while 122 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
The semi-detached home at 345 Ernest Street was on the market from the opening bid, with an offer of $1.2 million topping the highest pre-auction offer of $1 million and the $1.1 million reserve price.
The strong start knocked out most of the competition, with only six parties taking part from there, making 15 more bids on the 190-square metre block to push the sale price to $1.625 million.
Selling agent Anthony O’Gorman, of O’Gorman and Partners Real Estate Co, said he was blown away by the result and the online turnout – about 40 of the interest parties only registered to bid within 24 hours of the auction.
A downsizer from the northern beaches outbid a mix of builders and young families and couples looking to upsize from apartments to walk away with the keys.
On the upper north shore, 18 registered bidders tuned in for the auction of a Roseville apartment which sold for $300,000 above the reserve.
The 129-square-metre apartment at 4/5-7 Larkin Street drew interest from a mix of young couples and families, downsizers and overseas buyers.
Bidding got underway swiftly with an offer of $1.2 million, then jumped to $1.3 million – passing the $1.25 million reserve – then $1.35 million, before slowing to smaller increases.
Seven of the buyers took part, placing another 24 bids on the three-bedroom apartment before the gavel fell at $1.55 million. The successful bidder was a local north shore buyer, who swooped in at the tail end of the auction.
The result was well above the $600,000 that records show the downsizing owners purchased the apartment for in 2001.
“It was a good result. It went above the owner’s expectations and was a fair reflection of the fact that the market is still pretty strong despite the lockdown,” said selling agent Andy Yeung, of Ray White AY Realty Chatswood.
In nearby Killara, a five-bedroom house on more than 2000 square metres was passed in at $4.35 million.
Bidding for 5 Norfolk Street began at $4 million and climbed in mostly $50,000 and $25,000 jump as two of the three registered bidders competed.
When the bidding came to a halt short of the $4.5 to $4.95 million price guide, the property was passed in. Selling agent Mary-Anne Fitzgerald of Raine & Horne Lane Cove said all interested parties had been looking to rebuild on the block. The property will be listed for sale at the same price guide.
In the inner city, there was strong interest for another home in need of a serious renovation, with 21 registered buyers tuning in for the auction of a dilapidated 1880s terrace at 110 Morehead Street, Waterloo.
The sale started at the $1.2 million price guide and seven active bidders pushed the price more than $100,000 above the reserve to $1.454 million. This was well above the $1.01 million the property sold for in August 2020, despite remaining unchanged since.
“It’s testament to what’s happened to the market,” said selling agent Patrick O’Brien of BresicWhitney Darlinghurst.
The property sold to an eastern suburbs investor, who plans to renovate and rent out the home.
In the inner west, bidding was slow to start for a three-bedroom California Bungalow at 50 Norton Street, Ashfield.
However, after a vendor bid was made at the $2.5 million reserve, the offers started rolling it from three of the four registered bidders, increasing the price in mostly $20,000 and $10,000 rises.
The property sold for $2.65 million through Tony Andreacchio of Raine & Horne Ashfield to an investor from regional NSW. Records show it last traded for $292,000 in 1994.
On the northern beaches, it was a young local couple who were the winning bidders for an original-condition house that sold for $2.92 million.
All five registered bidders made offers on the two-bedroom house at 2 Keswick Street, Dee Why, with the offers starting at $2.2 million and competitive bidding pushing the price $220,000 above the $2.7 million reserve.
The 515-square-metre block sold through Lisa Novak of Novak.
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