‘Gobsmacked’: unit with no kitchen or doors sells for ‘crazy’ price
A unit in Sydney with no doors or kitchen has sold for a staggering multimillion-dollar price, over $1m more than everyone expected.
An apartment with no kitchen and doors has sold for a whopping $3.31m, attracting 14 bidders and selling more than $1m above expectations.
The unit at 1/53 The Esplanade in Mosman had a price guide of $1.8m, with six of the 14 registered actively bidding.
Auctioneer Clarence White said he was “gobsmacked,” by the rapid auction and result.
He said the property was on the market on the first bid, which opened at a strong $2m, suggesting the vendors could have scored an extra $1.3m more than they had hoped.
“Its quite a run down small apartment of only 64 square metres,” Mr White said.
“It was fanatic fast bidding.”
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“Things are tough at the moment there’s a lot of slow bidding people are reluctant … but that was crazy,” he said.
“This is the reason we take things to auction, because it is impossible to predict what competition might do on the day and when things go well, the process can achieve a price that no one thought possible.”
The property was a deceased estate and listing agent David Buttel from Aurora Property said the unit was in much worse condition before heading to market.
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“You don't get a lot in this condition … we stripped the old kitchen, window coverings that were falling apart and it immediately gave the apartment more appeal,” he said.
“(Buyers) can see how they might design a new kitchen.”
Mr Buttel said it was emotion that drove the unexpected result.
“If you’ve got the money to live there you’ll take whatever it takes to live there
It was an emotional outcome,” he said.
The location of the Mosman apartment was the biggest factor, with Balmoral beach within vision only a short walk away.
“ (It was) mainly people that could see themselves living there now or at some point in the future with that Balmoral lifestyle, the opportunity to walk down the street going down to the beach and the cafes,” he said.
“This also had parking, there’s a couple other units for sale neither which have parking and to get a parking spot within a few hundred metres of your apartment on a day like today is really hard.”
The auction attracted a mix of local and out of area buyers, including a buyers agent from Melbourne.
“Anywhere else in the world, you’re not going to buy something right on the beach for $3m,” he said. “It sold well beyond our wildest expectations.”
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Originally published as ‘Gobsmacked’: unit with no kitchen or doors sells for ‘crazy’ price