Daily Telegraph Real Estate auction blog: rolling updates from the property market

Sydney auctions produced unexpected results for those accustomed to last year's soaring prices, but one type of property remained hotly contested. See this weekend's results

Auctioneer Eddy Piddington at a recent auction in North Curl Curl. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Welcome to The Daily Telegraph’s auction coverage.

This week was one of the first major tests for the market, with just over 600 properties scheduled to go under the hammer – the most of any capital.

It was also an 81.9 per cent increase on the number of auctions held last week. There were only a handful of auctions in the early weeks of January.

The success rate for the smaller number of auctions held last week was 66 per cent, which was roughly in line with the long-term average for Sydney auction clearance rates.

For some perspective, the clearance rate was over 80 per cent at the height of the boom last year, while during Sydney’s last housing market downturn it was about 50 per cent.

This week's auctions produced mixed results. Properties with renovation potential sold well, but other housing categories were often a hard sell and passed in at auction. See some of the most significant results below: 

Updates

3:42 pm February 5, 2022

Developers swoop in on Cabarita block

Aidan Devine

A three-bedroom house on a 486sqm block in Cabarita has sold at a hotly contest auction for $2,915,000 after going to market with a $2.2m price guide.

The price for the Cabarita Rd home was nearly $500,000 over the reserve.

There were 13 registered bidders vying for the home a street back from the water and most were families or couples wanting to knock down the original house and replace it with a modern build.

Auctioneer Clarence White said the original house was dated and the value of the property was in the location and block size.

135A Cabarita Road, Cabarita.

Selling agent Dib Chidiac said the property was attractive to multiple buyers due to the location near Cabarita Beach and local amenities.

Mr Chidiac said it was clear the market was cooling, despite the high result. "Vendors need to understand the heat has come out of the market," he said. "That doesn’t mean it is going to drop … buyers are just a bit more conservative."

2:13 pm February 5, 2022

St Peters time capsule warped into 2022

Aidan Devine

It had wood panelling on the kitchen walls, green bathroom fittings and other hallmarks of the 1960s and 1970s, but a St Peters house was pulled firmly into 2022 with a price close to $1.5m at auction.

It was the first time the dated and tired-looking two-bedroom semi on Goodsell St was up for sale in close to 70 years and the seller, who had lived there most of her life, was reported to be “over the moon”.

92 Goodsell Street, St Peters.

The $1,485,000 price was $235,000 over the reserve and well above early feedback from interested buyers who had indicated a value of about $1.1-$1.2m.

Seventeen bidders registered for the auction with agents Kate Ferrante and Daniel Josevski of agency Adrian William and four competed at the auction.

The buyer was reported to be an investor with plans to flip the home or rent it out after a renovation.

Other registered parties included first homebuyers, upsizers and developers wanting to reconfigure the block.

The kitchen was dated.

Ms Ferrante said the property was popular because it offered buyers a blank canvas. “Properties like this always attract a lot of attention,” she said. “Not being renovated means you can put your own mark on it, rather than relying on someone else’s renovation.”

The agent added that renovators would need to spend a minimum of about $300,000 to bring the home up to a modern standard, but a $500,000 spend would harness the true potential of the block.

“There was space to extend, maybe add a room. You also needed to add in more windows,” Ms Ferrante said.

There was no interior bathroom and residents had to walk a sheltered corridor down the side of the house to get to the toilet.

1:44 pm February 5, 2022

Kellyville house sells for $2.3m

Aidan Devine

Auctions in the Hills district have been among the most competitive this weekend, with a five-bedroom house on Valenti Crescent in Kellyville selling for just over $2.3m.

Four bidders competed for the 700sqm property and the opening bid was $1.9m.

There have been multiple sales around the $2m mark in the region, but $2m prices were rare in much of the Hills until recently.

The Hills was one of the few regions were prices continued to skyrocket over the summer holiday period, with the median house price in the region increasing more than 4 per cent over the three months to February. This was more than double growth in the Sydney market as a whole.

12:44 pm February 5, 2022

Dulwich Hill sellers get $200k more than expected

Aidan Devine

A two-bedroom unit in Dulwich Hill that was expected sell for around the $1m mark has traded for $1.2m.

There were eight registered bidders vying for the property on Williams Pde and the opening bid was $900,000.

1/8 Williams Parade, Dulwich Hill.

Four of the registered buyers submitted auctioneer Alex Pattaro a bid. The buyer was a downsizer.

The sellers were reported to be “cashing on in on the hot market”, according to selling agency Ray White. The result was $200,000 over the reserve.

12:12 pm February 5, 2022

Sellers pocket $745k resale profit after three years

Aidan Devine

A homeowner in Kurraba Point on Sydney’s lower north shore has made a handsome return on the property they bought in 2019 for $2.655m.

The three-bedroom house on Kurraba Point Rd resold at auction Saturday for $3.4m, an increase of $745,000 in three years.

The property, originally built in the 1920s, had already been renovated when it changed hands in 2019. The recent result meant the vendors pocketed about $248,000 for each year they owned the Kurraba Point home.

126 Kurraba Rd, Kurraba Point.

Bidding for the property opened at $3.2m. Only two bidders made offers. The winning bidder, holding the 88 bidder card, made the last two bids.

11:53 am February 5, 2022

Sylvania Waters house sells for $480k over reserve

Aidan Devine

A house in Sylvania Waters has set a new benchmark for non-waterfront properties after selling for $2.38m – $480,000 over the reserve price.

Eleven bidders registered for the auction of the Shoalhaven Rd house and a local family were handed the keys after 25 bids were placed.

Auctioneer Andrew Cooley of Avenue Auctions said the result reflected strong buyer demand across the Sutherland Shire.

5 Shoalhaven Rd, Sylvania Waters.

“The Shire is pumping right now,” he said. “Sylvania Waters prices have been exploding in the last few months. The big thing about the area is that you have easy access in and out of the Shire. It’s become very popular.”

The four-bedroom house on Shoalhaven Rd last sold in 2014 for $1.15m, CoreLogic records showed.

11:17 am February 5, 2022

Underbidder misses out by $500

Aidan Devine

A buyer in Gymea has pipped their competition at auction with just a $500 increase on the underbidder’s last offer.

The 1024sqm property with 17m of frontage – an alluring prospect for duplex developers – sold for $1,634,500. The next highest offer was $1,634,000.

77 North West Arm Rd, Gymea.

Four bidders made offers for the property, but much of the auction was a showdown between two committed parties, who together made nearly 40 of the last bids on the North West Arm Rd property. The buyer owned the next door property and will likely develop the site.

The house itself was dated and drew interest from renovators and developers hoping to knock it down and replace it with a modern build, according to auctioneer Andrew Cooley, the director of Avenue Auctions. The price was about $180,000 over the reserve.

10:51 am February 5, 2022

Bidders slow to move on new build in Castle Hill

Aidan Devine

Irony was on full display at the start of an auction on Womurrung Ave in Castle Hill.

Auctioneer Michael Garofolo had talked up the best features of the property built in 2018, commenting how quiet the location was. The auction then opened to silence from all the bidders.

“It really is a quiet location,” one of the agents could be heard saying.

After much encouragement, bidding eventually opened at $2.3m and nearly a dozen more offers were made before the gavel dropped at $2.86m.

10:45 am February 5, 2022

Sixteen bidders compete for Kirrawee house

Aidan Devine

Sixteen bidders registered for the auction of a house in Kirrawee this morning and the strong competition pushed the price to $961,500.

Selling agent Alex Pitsis of Ray White Sutherland Shire said there was strong interest in the home on Churchill Ave at open for inspections.

33 Churchill Ave, Kirrawee.

“The sellers had owned the property for 10 years, they lived in it then turned it into an investment. They are now upgrading to start a family. The buyers were a young, local family looking to get into the market for the first time,” Mr Pitsis said.

“As soon as we listed the property, we were instantly inundated with inquiry. At the first open we had 32 groups through and then momentum just continued. There was never a moment where we were in doubt of a great result.

“Last December we saw the market begin to taper just a bit, there was a lot of new stock hitting the market post COVID-19 lockdowns, but this year we’ve found it’s opened really strong.”

10:30 am February 5, 2022

Large Ermington house passes in

Aidan Devine

A massive six-bedroom house on a 660sqm block in Ermington has passed in at auction on a vendor bid of $2.1m.

The property on Linder Grove had 38m of frontage, usually a strong draw for developers. The house itself was large, but listing images revealed a dated interior.

Ermington sites with development potential were highly sought after last year and were among some of the hottest auctions.