Tightly-held homes a winner at auction, selling hundreds of thousands above reserve

Bidders were out in force on Saturday at auctions for homes that had not been on the market for decades, pushing prices hundreds of thousands of dollars above reserve.

In the city’s inner west, 10 potential buyers and a crowd of more than 40 turned out for the auction of an Annandale terrace on the market for the first time in about 28 years that eventually sold six figures above its vendor’s expectations.

The four-bedroom home at 2/149 Trafalgar Street was one of 622 properties scheduled to go under the hammer on Saturday.

By evening, Domain Group had recorded a 59.5 per cent clearance rate from 353 reported results.

A local mother of two  — who had a friend bidding on her behalf — kicked off the auction at $1,325,000 and the bidding climbed in $25,000 increments, then smaller $10,000 and $5000 jumps, as five of the bidders competed for the keys.

After a few “cheeky” $500 bids were exchanged at the pointy end of the auction the local mum, who did not wish to be named, offered an extra $4000 – ultimately nabbing the three-level terrace for $1,705,000.

The result was $105,000 above reserve and more than six times the $255,000 records show it last sold for in 1991.

“I bought it brand new back in June 1991, they’d had trouble selling it,” said vendor Judith Montano, who raised her three boys there. “It was during the recession, it had passed in at auction and I got it after.”

With Sydney again in the midst of a falling market Ms Montano said the result was above what she had expected.

It was also a pleasant surprise to agent Santos Sulfaro of Richardson & Wrench Leichhardt, who noted the three-bedroom terrace next door sold for $1.55 million back in 2017.

“We were expecting that to be the high end of [the bidding] but because we had 10 bidders we decided to push the reserve a bit higher, but we exceeded that too,” Mr Sulfaro said.

Ms Montano’s decision to upgrade the home before sale had paid off, Mr Sulfaro said, particularly the new cinema room, which proved to be a major draw card.

He added that with vendors continuing to hold back from the market he expected prices to stabilise, and maybe even rise, during the year.

“I feel it’s a tighter market … and I think the second half of this year will be better than the last 12 months,” he said.

Over in the city’s eastern suburbs, two other houses – for sale for the first time in decades – both sold for more than $300,000 above reserve.

In Kensington there were five registered bidders at the auction of 32 Mcdougall Street, a three-bedroom Federation house held by the one family for more than 100 years.

Auctioneer Matthew Shalhoub, from Under The Hammer, had barely finished calling for an opening offer when two parties simultaneously jumped in, offering $2.6 million and $2.65 million.

Mr Shalhoub took the higher offer and a two-man race ensued, with a Kingsford couple — the eventual buyers — joining in at the $2.9 million reserve after a lull in the bidding.

The 690-square-metre block went on to sell for $3.2 million through Costa Kaparos of Ray White Kingsford. The couple plan to do a sympathetic renovation of the historic house.

The underbidders — a young family from Bondi Junction — were in tears after they missed out. “No, we’re done, ” they had shouted out moments before the hammer fell, when a keen relative went to keep bidding on their behalf.

Vendor Anne Ball was “elated” with the result, but noted it had not been an easy decision for her family to sell the house her grandparents  — Georgina Belshaw and former Randwick mayor Silas Paine — had built back in 1913.

“It’s starting to cost a bit of money to maintain and we thought with the market going down, it was a good idea to do it before it goes down further,” Ms Ball said.

“I was really worried [during the lull in the bidding] … I was just hoping it would clear $3 million. I thought in this climate, we might not get it.”

In neighbouring Randwick, a four-bedroom house, last on the market 59 years ago, drew in five bidders who pushed the price $470,000 above reserve.

Bidding on 47 Meymott Street started at $2.75 million, with four bidders making more than 60 bids before it sold for $3.37 million.

The house sold through Stephen McMorrow of McGrath Edgecliff to the next-door neighbours.

Also up for auction in the eastern suburbs was the five-bedroom Vaucluse house of businessman John Shaw, the boss of Magic Door Industries.

The house was put up for grabs for $15.5 million earlier this month, following an expression of interest campaign, but passed in at $12.5 million. Agent Brad Pillinger said he was still negotiating on Saturday afternoon and declined to comment further.

Mr Shaw bought the three-level property with harbour views for $425,000 back in 1981, from the late architect Tom O’Mahony, husband of renowned concert pianist Mary O’Mahony.

Closer to the city, in Pyrmont, a two-bedroom apartment at 64/1-29 Bunn Street, sold for $1.3 million when it hit the market for the first time in almost 23 years. Bidding opened at $1 million, with three of five registered bidders pushing the price $175,000 above the $1,125,000 reserve. The apartment sold through Robert Lee of Raine & Horne City Living.

In the city’s north a young couple form Chatswood beat five other registered bidders for the keys to a two-bedroom apartment at 35/1 Jersey Road, Artarmon. Biding started at $800,000 and climbed up in $20,000, then $10,000 and $5000 jumps, passing the $850,000 reserve. It sold through Catherine Ong of Laing+Simmons Artarmon for $888,000.

Further north in Manly, a two-bedroom semi at 39 Whistler Street sold through Jake Rowe of Rowe Partners Real Estate for $1,625,000.

With both of the two registered bidders remaining silent, the auction started with a vendor bid of $1.6 million. From there one bidder, a young man from Mosman, made an offer of $1.61 million, which he then increased to $1,615,000 and then $1,625,000 – at which the owners were happy to sell despite being $25,000 short of reserve.