Hovel in Surry Hills sparks bidding war

A DILAPIDATED Surry Hills terrace has fetched almost $200,000 over reserve, and experts say to expert more of the same in the suburb.

Surry Hills

A DILAPIDATED Surry Hills terrace has fetched almost $200,000 over reserve, and experts say to expert more of the same in the suburb.

The three-bedroom terrace on a tiny block and with no hot water in the kitchen sparked a bidding frenzy, with the hammer finally falling at $894,000.

The elderly owner had paid less than $50,000 for it in the 1970s.

The property at 74 Sophia St is on just 105sq m and sold at the weekend after 38 registered bidders all expressed interest in the pricey dump.

But with Sydney’s continuing inner-city property boom and a pent up demand for DIY houses on the city fringe, the  price tag for the “renovator’s delight” might have been a steal.

At a real estate seminar this month, property expert John McGrath named Surry Hills as “the hottest suburb in Sydney”.

And the proof is in the prices. This year alone, 28 Surry Hills terrace houses have sold for more than $800,000.

hile only one house in the suburb has sold for less than $800,000; a tiny 51sq m terrace house which was snapped up for $782,000 at auction.

In April, another Surry Hills home on Devonshire St, which was advertised with price hopes of $975,000, sold under the hammer for a whopping $1.355 million.

Despite these high Surry Hills purchase prices, renovators can see the financial light at the end of the tunnel with several renovated terraces selling in recent months between $1.2 million and $1.6 million.

According to RP Data statistics, the median house price in Surry Hills is $900,000 and even ten years ago the median house price was already steep at $616,500 while the Sydney-wide median sat at just $410,000.

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