Daily Telegraph Real Estate auction blog: rolling updates from the auction market
A dated red brick house on a strip known to some locals as the 'golden mile' has topped Sydney home prices on what was a bumper weekend of sales. See the latest property results with our rolling auction coverage
There were about 350 virtual auctions scheduled across Sydney. Picture: Julian Andrews
Extended lockdown has ramped up competition at property auctions this weekend as frustrated buyers scrambled for a depleted supply of available homes.
It came as housing experts warned the biggest impact of the Covid restrictions on property was a massive drop in listings due to nervous sellers withdrawing their homes from the market or postponing auctions.
There were just under 350 auctions scheduled for Sydney this week and another 100 in regional NSW, while there were 22 per cent fewer homes on the market compared to this time last year.
The drop in listings did not coincide with any major fall in buyer demand, leaving home seekers battling with each other for the few properties up for sale in their areas. It's these conditions that have pushed prices up even further.
Agents reported strong bidding at auctions this weekend, with a mix of properties attracting more than 10 registrations. Many of the buyers competing for the homes had been looking since well before the lockdown.
Read on for The Daily Telegraph's rolling coverage of real estate auctions as they happen:
A buyer based in Singapore beat out nine other registered bidders for a Blakehurst house when it went to online auction.
The home on Cooleen St sold for $2.49 million under the hammer and the expat buyer is expected to move in once international borders open.
Ten bidders competed for the Blakehurst home.
Auctioneer Andrew Cooley, director of Avenue Auctions, said it was one of the few homes in the area that actually went under the hammer over the weekend.
Most of the scheduled auctions in the region sold prior to going under the hammer. “A lot of agents are trying to get deals down quickly considering the uncertain times we’re in,” Mr Cooley said.
One of the last remaining original waterfront homes in Drummoyne – a dated brick house – has sold at auction for just over $7.57 million.
The inner west home first hit the market with a guide of $6 million, which was later revised to over $6.5 million. And despite the higher price, there were still 15 bidders prepared to vie for the property.
Selling agent Chris Wilkins of Ray White-Drummoyne said the sellers were “ecstatic” with the price considering they had owned the home on Burnell St for more than 50 years.
The Drummoyne house offered scope for improvement.
“It was one of the only homes where you could do it up and add value,” he said. “Everything else in the area is modern housing … a few doors down, some of the houses are $15 million.”
With a position overlooking the water, Mr Wilkins said this stretch of Drummoyne was known in the area as the “golden mile”.
Anyone thinking of buying land in the Hills region will need to spend big to get an empty block based on a sales result this afternoon.
A vacant block in the Hills suburb of Glenhaven sold at a hotly contested online auction for $2.04 million – nearly $440,000 over the reserve.
The block in Glenhaven.
More than two dozen bidders had to battle it out for the block on Jersey Pl and they placed 54 bids between them. The final 44 bids came from two bidders over a 30-minute period.
It was such a drawn out auction that auctioneer Stu Benson said he didn’t think it would end.
“The low supply has driven demand to another level. Land in Glenhaven, one of the Hills’ most aspirational suburbs, is a rarity,” he said. “We hit the reserve on the fifth bid, so it was clear from the outset that things were going to get competitive.”
Following on from that big auction in St Marys, it is worth noting the western suburb has appeared in multiple research reports for areas expected to boom.
Realestate.com.au included the suburb among the top 50 suburbs for property investors, based on a range of metrics including capital growth potential, return returns and tenant demand.
Units in the suburb are among the few in Sydney where the rents are high enough to cover the typical mortgage costs on property. In fact, realestate.com.au analysis showed the average investor would actually make an extra $500 a year from their properties after paying down their mortgage obligations.
Sales volumes nearly doubled over the past year, indicating more home seekers were turning to the area for property deals.
You can see more about the Sydney suburbs forecast for growth here
A dated fibro house next door to a housing commission estate in western suburb St Marys has sold at auction for $1.25 million.
The house described by the agent as “rundown” attracted 20 bidders, mostly developers and investors hoping to capitalise on major gentrification projects in the area.
The price was $50,000 over the reserve and close to double the $690,000 median house price in the suburb. The buyer was understood to be a land banker.
The St Marys house attracted 20 bidders.
Selling agent Wiltar Jajaw of Ray White-Mt Druitt said the property on Chesham St had valuable R4 zoning but the 691sqm block limited what could be built on site.
“There has been a huge influx of investors and buyers wanting to get into the area before everything is built and prices go up,” Mr Jajaw said.
An uninhabitable wreck on the north shore left vacant for a decade has sold for close to $900,000 above reserve after attracting a whopping 45 bidders.
The Waverton home built in 1902 came with no working bathroom or shower and a patched up ceiling requiring immediate repair.
It was reported the long-time resident, who moved out long ago, cooked his food in a camping stove because the kitchen was unusable.
The home attracted 45 bidders.There was no kitchen – only an old gas stove that doesn't work.
Despite the condition, the three-bedroom house on Tunks St sold for $2.71 million at what selling agent Lisa Novak of Novak Properties described as a “fast and furious” auction.
“It was a phenomenal result, everyone was just blown away,” she said.
The buyer was a family who had missed out on multiple sales in the area and were adamant they would not let the opportunity slip by, Ms Novak said. They will be undertaking a renovation and will move in, she said.
“It’s dilapidated, there is paint peeling everywhere, and no one could live there at the moment … but it was seen as a rare opportunity to get into the area. Tunks St is an amazing location.”
A Clovelly unit with prized ocean views attracted a bidding war when it went under the hammer, resulting in a price $700,000 over the reserve.
The sellers, who owned the home for five decades, had set their reserve at $2 million but got a price of $2.7 million for their apartment on Eastbourne Ave.
Seventeen bidders registered for the auction with selling agents Haynes Wileman and Jason Pantzer of PPD Real Estate – mostly couples seeking an upgrade from their current home.
The Clovelly unit attracted 17 bidders.
Auctioneer Clarence White received an opening bid of $1.8 million and the auction was also over in minutes. The price guide was $1.9 million.
Mr Wileman said the home offered scope for improvement and buyers liked that they could put a personal stamp on the home.
One of the real estate industry’s biggest players has warned homeowners to be careful with the timing of their property sales.
In a recent webinar, Ray White group chief executive Dan White said the consensus among would-be sellers was to wait until after lockdown to list, but this may not be advised.
“There is a risk in waiting till later,” he said. “We don’t know what the future market conditions will look like but right now the market is trading strongly … these are really strong reasons to transact.”
Mr White added that sellers shouldn’t assume the market would bounce back just like it did after the first hard lockdown in 2020 considering prices have already climbed 20 per cent in a year.
Sellers who listed after the lockdown may also face more competition to attract buyer attention, Mr White said.
“There will be more properties coming on in the spring months based on what we're seeing, with people waiting for the traditional selling season. If you want to transact, now is a great time but you also need to be actively looking for your next property.”
Cricket commentator Michael Slater and partner Melanie Livesey sold their Randwick at online auction this morning securing $5.65 million.
With an AuctionNow computer glitch there was an anxious-ridden 20 minute delayed start for the three bidders. There had been initial $4.7 million guidance given by Goodyer Real Estate agent Pauline Goodyer for the four bedroom, single level home. Auctioneer Briannan Davis advised there had been a pre-auction offer of $5.1 million, which is where the opening auction bid came.
Michael Slater's Randwick home sold for $5.65 million.
The mid-1990s modernist property was announced on the market at $5.45 million with it knocked down 10 bids later.
The couple bought it for $3.8 million just as the pandemic disrupted the Sydney real estate market early last year. Set on 600 sqm, the cul-de-sac home has a resort-style heated pool and cabana.
The right-handed batsman played in 74 Test matches and 42 One Day Internationals for Australia. Following his 2004 retirement, he has had a high profile career in the media.
A late Ryde resident has used Sydney’s soaring home prices to help the greater good – the proceeds from his $1.87 million home auction will be donated to charity.
The long-term resident, who recently passed away, stipulated in his will that he wanted his home to go to a good cause, with the Primrose Rd house located on a prime strip for developers. The executers of his estate wished his identity to remain private.
The Ryde house will likely be knocked down.
A dozen bidders registered for the auction and selling agent Phillip Allison of Belle Property-Ryde had initially expected a price around the $1.5 million to $1.6 million mark. The reserve was set at $1.5 million.
Auctioneer Chris Scerri, director of Scerri Auctions, received an opening bid of $1.4 million and said the giveaway was a “beautiful gesture” from the owner.
“This was a quality real estate offering,” he said. “There was huge potential for redevelopment.”
The price $370,000 over reserve was a sign of how difficult it was for buyers, Mr Scerri said. “Not many vendors are coming onto the market and lots of buyers want to get something before the lockdown ends. The market is on fire.”
The hot pre-Easter weekend auction action kicked off with a cottage selling for seven times what its owner paid, one of more than dozens of homes set to change hands today as strong demand continues across South East Queensland.
