A tightly held beachfront home in Clontarf has sold for $9.75 million to cashed-up empty-nesters.
The property at 8 Sandy Bay Road last sold as a parcel of land for $60,000 in 1977. On Saturday, the now five-bedroom house with a pool had a price guide of $8 million to $8.8 million.
The 1152-square-metre block attracted four registered bidders; a mix of downsizers and upsizers.
Bidding started at $8.3 million and three parties competed, placing 21 bids before the hammer fell at the $9.75 million, right on the adjusted reserve. The initial reserve was $10 million.
The successful buyers and underbidders were empty-nesters. The purchase will mark a return to the suburb for the winning bidders.
“They sold their house [in Clontarf] about eight to 10 years ago, bought in Cremorne and decided apartment living wasn’t for them,” Rowe said.
The beachfront home is set on 1152 square metres.
It was a strong result for a price bracket in which buyers have more choice than last year, he said.
“Between $8 million to $12 million, there’s about 28 properties, the market is flooded with prestige houses whereas last year there was nothing. A lot of people were sitting on their hands last year and not sure what to do.”
It was one of 847 Sydney homes scheduled for auction on Saturday. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 71.2 per cent from 539 reported results, while 112 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
Further up the northern beaches, a young local couple will upsize from a unit after buying an Allambie Heights house for $2.06 million.
The three-bedroom home at 1 Corkery Crescent had a $1.8 million guide and drew four registered buyers, including someone who had seen the property for the first time on Saturday and a father helping his daughter buy.
Bidding opened bang on the guide and rose in $50,000, $25,000 and $10,000 increments as three of the buyers competed. The reserve was $2 million.
Cunninghams Real Estate’s Georgi Bates said all interested buyers were young couples and families looking to upsize.
“It’s a popular price bracket for people trying to buy their first house. It had setbacks, like it was near the main road, but at the end of the day, it’s a sweet home for your first house,” Bates said.
The median house price in Allambie Heights slid 0.2 per cent to $2.32 million last year, on Domain data.
Meanwhile, the auction of a three-bedroom house at 1 Oak Avenue, Lane Cove was done and dusted with a single bid of $2.2 million, right on reserve, from the sole registered buyer who was upsizing from a unit within the area.
The property was guided at $2.2 million as well, had four pre-registered buyers and several contract changes, but only one person showed up to buy the deceased estate.
Belle Property Lane Cove’s Tim Holgate was perplexed by a drop-out of buyers.
“I couldn’t tell you [why],” Holgate said. “It was an open and transparent process, we had 107 groups through and at least 20 contracts issued.”
He suspected buyers may have anticipated a runaway price at auction, but said improved stock levels meant there were more homes to go around and therefore less competitive than last year.
The home last sold for $120,000 in 1992, records show, the price increasing more than 18 times in 32 years.
Lane Cove’s median house price slid 1 per cent to $2.6 million last year.
There was only one registered bidder at the Lane Cove auction and he walked away with the keys.Credit: Nikki Short
In Eastwood, a turn-key house at 25 Acacia Street is still on the market with its price guide of $2 million to $2.2 million after it was passed in at auction.
Two buyers from the Ryde council area registered to bid on the house, but only one participated, making a single offer of $2 million. That was topped with a vendor bid of $2.1 million, at which the property was passed in.
Selling agent Chris Pennisi of Pello Northern Suburbs said while some buyers were waiting for the next interest rate move, others had tapped out of the running prematurely.
“Some people in this current market are expecting it to fly over the price guide when they realise the seller is prepared to sell for the price guide they come back … and have a discussion.”
The property, where the house was recently re-built, last sold for $400,000 in 1999, records show.
Eastwood’s median house price rose 4.3 per cent to $2.4 million last year.
In Eastlakes, first home buyers with a baby bought a renovated three-bedroom unit for $858,000.
The home at 18/62 Hillary Crescent had a guide of $750,000 to $800,000 and drew eight buyers, who were mostly first timers and an investor.
The auction started with an opening bid of $730,000 and half of the bidders made offers before the fall of the hammer. The reserve was $800,000.
It was sold through Christian De Nigris of Ray White Eastern Beaches who said there were a handful of buyers who had the help of their parents to participate in the auction.
The property last sold for $657,000 in 2015, records show.