Sydney auction frenzy: Ryde couple stunned by house sale

A couple who had owned their four-bedroom home for 30 years were blown away by what occurred when a massive crowd showed up at their auction.

A Ryde couple who had owned their four-bedroom home for 30 years were left stunned after getting more than $200,000 above their expectations at auction.

Their much loved house on Willow Crescent sold under the hammer for $1.476 million in front of a crowd of about 90 people, including 17 registered bidders.

The price was $226,000 above Frank and Christine Slade’s reserve and about 12 times higher than the $122,000 they paid in 1989.

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“It just shows how much things have changed,” Mr Slade said. “I never thought we’d see so many people (at the auction). We thought there would be four or five interested buyers but seeing so many enthusiastic people come was amazing.”

There was a large turn out at the sale.

Even the neighbours were surprised at the turn out. One told the Sunday Telegraph he had never seen so many cars on the street. “It’s a cul-de-sac. I don’t think we’ve ever had a traffic jam like this,” he said.

Mr Slade and wife Christine are moving to the north shore and were paying close attention to the market. They said they doubted they would have got the same price six weeks ago.

“We’re really happy. The result was sensational,” Mr Slade said.

Auctioneer Chris Scerri received an opening bid of $1.2 million.

Selling agent Phillip Allison of Belle Property-Hunters Hill said there was considerable interest from the first open for inspection.

“Eighty groups came for the first one and 55 came for the next,” he said.

The property was sought after due to the rare 790sqm land allotment and location near multiple schools and West Ryde station, Mr Allison said.

“Probably about half the buyers wanted to knock the home down and rebuild while the rest wanted to keep it,” he said.

Auctioneer Chris Scerri of Scerri Auctions received an opening bid of $1.2 million — level with the price guide — within about 20 seconds of launching proceedings.

Six of the registered buyers submitted bids, with the initial offers increasing in $50,000 increments.

One of the buyers attempted a knock out bid of $1.4 million when the price was at $1.37 million but she was unable to keep up with the intensity of biding from the underbidder and eventual buyer — a middle-aged couple.

Seventeen buyers registered for the auction, an unusually high number.

Six of the 17 registered bidders were active in the auction.

The two bidders slugged it out with mostly $1000 increases from the $1.41 million mark, with the underbidder declaring himself maxed out at $1.476 million.

“We haven’t seen confident bidding like that for some time,” Mr Scerri said. “A few months ago there were only about two bidders at most auctions and the bidding was (slower).”

The home was one of only 260 properties to go under the hammer today in what has been a quiet winter for the auction market.

“Winter is usually quiet for auctions, but this year it has been especially quiet,” CoreLogic auction analyst Kevin Brogan said, adding that many would-be sellers may be waiting for the market to improve further before listing.