Sydney records bullish 80 per cent clearance rate on record February auction day

The soggy start to Sydney’s biggest February auction day on record failed to dampen buyer demand, with umbrella-wielding punters out in force on Saturday.  

After a fairly sluggish 2016 for listings, sellers have rushed to market early this year, with weekend auction volumes up 34 per cent on last year.

Luckily for most of the 940 sellers who put their homes up for auction on Saturday, buyers were there to greet them.

By Saturday evening Domain Group had collected 668 results and put the clearance rate at 80.2 per cent.

Domain Group chief economist Dr Andrew Wilson said we were entering “unchartered waters”.

“We’ve had three weekends above 80 per cent in a row. If we get another 80 per cent next week that will be the first time since the meaty part of the boom in 2015,” he said.

“The big question is where will prices go? I’m not sure buyers have capacity to keep pushing up prices.”

“And if prices do continue to increase that will attract the attention of policy makers.”

One of the first auctions of the day was a sprawling two-bedroom brick home at 12 Tobruk Avenue, Cremorne.

Affectionately referred to as “the bunker” by the vendors – three brothers selling their late father’s estate – the home was built in 1981 and was in original condition.

More than 100 groups inspected the property, with five of the eight registered bidders sticking their hand up on the day.

After a slow start auctioneer Andrew Robinson received an opening the bid of $2 million, which was followed by consistent bidding up until the sale price of $2,622,000 – $272,000 above reserve.

“I didn’t expect it to go that high,” said selling agent Mark Jackson of Belle Property Neutral Bay.

“But I’m not surprised,” he added, citing low stock levels on the lower north shore.

The buyers, Julie Bain and her husband Tony Johnson, were relieved to secure to home, having spent 18 months searching in the Cremorne area. They plan to renovate the home, anticipating it would cost about $500,000 to do up.

“We know there is a risk that the bubble might burst,” said Ms Bain.

“But we haven’t seen any signs of that in our area, the market just doesn’t let up.”

Mr Jackson said the area was “low risk” due to the number of owner occupiers wanting to move into the area.

“If the market went through a wobbly period the lower north shore would remain robust,” he said.

The historic Longueville home of the late obstetrician and gynaecologist Rod Macdonald and his widow Robin was also up for grabs on Saturday.

More than 100 groups were squeezed into grand 1898-built, four-bedroom property when the hammer fell at $5.05 million – a staggering $950,000 above the reserve price.

“It’s just so hot around here right now,” said selling agent Brent Courtney, of McGrath.

The childhood home of ABC Radio presenter Sarah Macdonald home sold to a family from Neutral Bay.

In Kirribilli it was investors who were most keen on a two-bedroom unit at 17/49a Upper Pitt Street, Kirribilli. The small apartment on 67 square metres sold for $$2,382,000 under the hammer – $307,000 above reserve.

“It was an ego-driven price,” said selling agent Hamish Kyle of Raine & Horne Neutral Bay.

“Two parties just kept going, there were 56 bids … it’s an insane market.”

The inner west also delivered solid results for vendors on Saturday, with 20 buyers registering to bid on a two-bedroom house at 83 Albany Road, Stanmore.

The property on 220 square metres sold for a bullish $1,835,000, which was $235,000 above reserve.

“And that reserve was on the high side,” said Michael Harris of Raine & Horne Newtown.

“The amount of buyer interest we are seeing is just incredible.”

Stu Benson of Benson Auctions said the wet weather did nothing to deter buyers across Sydney on Saturday.

“Make no mistake, the amount of bidders and competition out in the Sydney market today, despite the wet weather, truly confirms what we’re all seeing – this is a hot market,” he said. 

But not all homes managed sell under the hammer on Saturday. A renovated two-bedroom terrace at 4 Epsom Road, Zetland passed in at $1.43 million.

The selling agent said the street address hadn’t helped during the campaign.

“This is quite a Chinese-centric area and the number four put a lot of people off,” said Damien West of McGrath Edgecliff.

The property sold post-auction to a local investor for $1.45 million.

In Paddington a doublefronted terrace at 124-126 Paddington Street passed in at $8.1 million.

Damien Steele of McGrath Edgecliff was negotiating with interested parties on Saturday afternoon.

McGrath chief auctioneer Scott Kennedy-Green said he was confident the market would perform well in 2017.

“While money is cheap and people have jobs there will be continued appetite for real estate,” he said.

Principal at My Auctioneer, Will Hampson was also optimistic about the market this year. On Saturday he sold a two-bedroom knockdown at 45 Burgess Street, Beverley Park, for $1.81 million to an investor. It last sold in 2015 for $1.45 million.