Sydney online auctions: Top jockey's house soars $950,000 over reserve

Champion jockey Darren Beadman’s Northbridge home sold for almost $1 million above its reserve on Saturday as homeowners across Sydney capitalise on the booming auction market.

Bidders competed hard for the few homes for sale, although listings are starting to tick up and offer more choice, with 602 auctions scheduled in Sydney on Saturday, the most in two months.

By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 85.0 per cent from 467 reported results, while 43 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.

SOLD - $5,950,000

25 Euroka Street, Northbridge NSW 2063

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The lower north shore home of the two-time Melbourne Cup-winning jockey and author and his wife, life coach Kim Beadman, was on the market from the opening bid of $5.1 million — which topped the $5 million price reserve.

More than 60 bids were made on the five-bedroom property in what was largely a two-person race. The 645-square-metre block was eventually sold to local upsizers for $5.95 million.

Selling agent Rick Woodward of The Agency North said the home had drawn interest from both north shore and eastern suburbs buyers, with the shortage of stock on the market prompting many house hunters to cast their net wider than they might have otherwise.

The Beadmans, who built the stylish home after purchasing the block for $1.52 million back in 2009, plan to downsize to Sydney’s east.

SOLD - $2,806,500

13 Nelson Street, Annandale NSW 2038

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In the inner west, 20 house hunters registered to bid on a converted warehouse at 13 Nelson Street, Annandale, which sold for $2,806,500.

Almost 70 bids were placed on the three-level warehouse on a 129-square-metre block, with offers from seven of the bidders pushing the price more than $500,000 above the $2.3 million reserve – and smashing the $2 million price guide.

The industrial warehouse residence set in the former Australian Contingent Hotel, built in the 1800s, sold to an inner-west couple through Chris Nunn of BresicWhitney Glebe. They hope to transform it from a mixed-use space with one bedroom into their dream family home.

A shortage of stock on the market meant properties of all different calibres were drawing strong buyer interest, said auctioneer Stu Benson, of Benson Auctions.

“I’m averaging at least 15 registered bidders per auction, an indicator that we’re still nowhere near the supply that we need to satisfy the demand,” he said.

SOLD - $910,000

27 Kolodong Drive, Quakers Hill NSW 2763

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Mr Benson had nine auctions in the city’s northwest on Saturday, including a dilapidated three-bedroom house in Quakers Hill that sold for $910,000 – $160,000 above the reserve.

“It doesn’t matter whether a property is a single-level home, a dilapidated house to be knocked down, purely nothing but land or a prestige property, every sector of the market right now is activated,” he said.

“And the number of viewers we’re getting online is very strong; people are really monitoring the market. I had an auction earlier today with over 300 people watching it live.”

It was more of a mixed bag for auctioneer Clarence White, of Menck White Auctioneers, who had two of five properties pass in on Saturday.

“We had a couple of situations today where vendors weren’t at the same level of where buyers were,” he said, though he noted the bulk of sellers’ expectations were still being exceeded.

Mr White said there had been a noticeable pick-up in listing volumes in the past 10 days, with strong auction bookings coming through for October and some days starting to book out. He suspected that, with the end of lockdown in sight, sellers were keen to take advantage of the strong market conditions while they lasted.