Sydney auctions: New dad wins with quirky bidding technique

“You don’t see that everyday.” A new Dad has come out on top with a unique bidding style in his “first time ever bidding.”

It could be baby brain, it could be a smart tactic – a new father, who bid two separate $1,000 bids against himself, has come out on top at a North Shore auction on Saturday morning.

The renovated East Killara home at 14 Redfield Rd sold for $2.711m, $111,000 over its reserve and $300,000 more than its price guide.

Listing agent Jessica Cao from Ray White said the home was considered entry level for the area, where the median is currently at $3.4m, according to PropTrack.

Winning bidder Oscar Wong and his partner had just welcomed their first child exactly 56 days earlier.

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The crowded East Killara auction. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

When asked about the $1,000 bids Mr Wong revealed he didn’t come in with a tactic.

“This was my first time ever bidding, I didn’t know what I was doing,” he said.

Mr Wong jokingly tried to start the bidding at $1 which auctioneer Jason Keen jovially offered him a leaf in exchange for the bid.

There were two separate occasions where Mr Wong confidently bid against himself with a $1,000 bid.

“A bit of personality there, throwing in a couple of $1000 bids against himself, you don’t see that everyday,” Mr Keen said.

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The couple were upsizing and were drawn to the location for the good schools and proximity to the beach.

A bidders interesting bidding technique helped him score the home. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“The draw back is there is no train station, so I’ll have to take buses,” Mr Wong said.

“I wish the council would upgrade the Killara train station car park.

“They’ve done a great job of the metro, but the upper north shore really misses out and the traffic is ‘choc-o-block’ on week days,” he said.

Despite his dismay with the council and traffic, the couple were excited.

The home was completely renovated and the vendor Claire Williams, who was “relieved” that the sale was over, was downsizing.

Property records show it last sold for $1.65m in 2016.

The auction had four registered bidders, all which were active and young families except one developer.

The beautifully renovated home sold for $2.711m. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Mr Keen had 21 other auctions scheduled that day and said “stock levels are rising sharply, there’s definitely a lot more out there,” he said.

Spring selling season was attracting more buyers too, and the auction was one of 1,017 scheduled across Sydney this week.

A dated Hurstville home has sold at auction for $2.73m, “a couple hundred thousand dollars over reserve,” attracting eight bidders.

The corner block at 147 Gloucester Rd was popular with developers and four of the eight registered bidders were active.

Michael Curtis, principal at Ray White Hurstville, said the corner block was rare so developers jumped on it.

Dated Hurstville home sold for $2.73m.

The large block would soon be two homes.

The winning developer planned to knock down the old home, divide the block and build two separate stand-alone homes after renting the property out.

“Our stock levels are still high but new listings are slowing down,” Mr Curtis said.

“(The area) sits in that medium range between $1.6m-$2.5m, a lot of buyers have that budget, we have a large buyer pool.”

Another property popular with developers has sold in Rooty Hill for $1.136m, attracting 15 registered bidders and selling almost $200,000 above its reserve.

Out of the 15 bidders that registered for 72 Victoria Rd, seven of them were active.

The tired home sat on a large 702 sqm block with development potential.

Ray White’s Peter Diamantidis said the winning bidders were looking to knock down the existing home and rebuild their dream family home on the site.

Attractive to developers.

Rooty Hill sold for $1.136m.

“It's a great block with a lot of potential, which really attracted buyers,” he said.

“The market has been really busy, we’ve been smashing suburb records and there’s more stock than this time last year.”

In North Ryde, a home has sold to a local upgrader for $2.37m, attracting five bidders, selling more than $300,000 over its price guide.

Property records show the home last sold in 2010 for $770,000.

The home sold to a single gentleman planning to renovate the property, who outbid a young family.

North Ryde sells for $2.37m.

Listing agent James Sarzano at Stone Real Estate said some interested buyers wanted to knock down and rebuild, despite the home being in great condition.

The home sat on a generous 556.4 sqm block with a large backyard.

“The auction started quickly at $2.15m, it started really strong,” Mr Sarzano said.

“Good properties that are renovated and able to be lived in with minimal work are doing really well.”

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Originally published as Sydney auctions: New dad wins with quirky bidding technique