First-home buyers battle over ‘The Old Bakery’ in auction splurge

First home-home buyer couples have fought it out over a home in the beloved ‘Old Bakery’ at a hot auction in inner Sydney, the winning bid paying $202k over reserve.

First-home buyer Leanne Pak in her new home in Stanmore after successfully outbidding the competition with her partner Jordan. Photo: Tom Parrish

Meet Leanne, pictured above. She and her camera-shy husband, Jordan, a lawyer, bought their first home for $1,202,000 at auction on Saturday.

The Stanmore auction was one of 970 Saturday auctions in Sydney reported to realestate.com.au with 57 per cent of them selling prior or under the hammer.

At Stanmore, with five other parties registered, the young couple had to pay $202k over the reserve to secure the two-bedroom apartment in ‘The Old Bakery’ at 25/92-96 Percival Rd.

“They were pretty much all young couples,” says Ray White’s Ercan Ersan.

“They love that area and in particular that position, right in the village — it’s like Bourke St, Surry Hills or Moncur St, Woollahra.

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The apartment has 81sqm of internal space.

There were mainly first-home buyer couples bidding. Photo: Tom Parrish

“And it’s in a converted warehouse, they’re a bit quirky and always perform better ... and it’s just a one-minute walk from the station.”

The one downsizer couple that were keen probably liked it because it was opposite the popular Sixpenny restaurant.

The now popular apartment complex operated as a bakery from 1910 until about 1930. This apartment had just one bathroom but double parking.

The guide had been $900k, but with auctioneer James Keenan presiding, bidding opened at $1m and rose quickly in $50k increments, down to $2k bids by the end.

The vendors, who bought the 81sqm pad for $386,000 in 2005, are now looking to buy a family home in Botany or Mascot.

27 Alice St, Newtown sold to a first-home buyer from Marrickville.

It sold $50k below the written reserve.

Over in Newtown, a first home buyer, a woman in her 30s who’d been renting in Marrickville, won the keys at 27 Alice St, which also sold through Ersan.

With four registered parties and three competing, she managed to pick up the two-bedroom house on a tiny 101sqm block for $1.45m, $50k below the written reserve.

The vendors were clearly aiming high, with records showing they’d bought the home just three years earlier for $1,325,000 in June, 2021.

Meanwhile, at 41/4 Alexandra Drive, Camperdown, two single professionals fought over the light-filled, two-bedroom, two bathroom apartment with parking.

41/4 Alexandria Drive, Camperdown sold for $1.98m.

The result was just over the reserve.

The successful purchaser was an artist from Summer Hill, who paid $1.98m to secure it, which was just over the reserve.

Ray White’s Juan D’Arcy and Matt Cavallho had a $1.8m guide.

The vendors had bought it for $656,000 in 2006.

There were a good mix of downsizers and families plus one investor among the 12 who registered for a three-bedroom park-front Torrens Title terrace at 3 Power Ave, Alexandria, where The Agency’s Brad Gillespie and Jack Wimpey had a $2.4m guide.

3 Power Ave, Alexandria sold for $3.11m.

The result was $310k over the reserve.

With auctioneer Damien Cooley presiding, four of the dozen were active from $1.9m. The next bid was $2.8m — $900k more — with $50k offers to follow.

It sold for $3.11m, $310k above the $2.8m reserve, to a local upsizer.

Cooley said good properties such as the Alexandria home were bringing strong results. “Properties that are over-priced aren’t getting enough buyers, people aren’t registering,” he said.

“And properties that aren’t ticking all the boxes are being discounted.”

Originally published as First-home buyers battle over ‘The Old Bakery’ in auction splurge