An opulent, three-storey, six-bedroom home in Strathfield broke the suburb record on Saturday, selling for a whopping $2.25 million above its $10 million reserve for $12.25 million.
Nine registered to bid on the home at 7 Newtown Road, which was guided at $9 million. Five bid on the property, which featured a north-facing tennis court, home theatre, eight-car basement, gym, infinity pool and wine cellar.
Buyers were a mix of doctors, professionals and entrepreneurs.
Bidding opened at $8.5 million, and buyers used large increments until the price reached $12 million; then, $25,000 bids went all the way to the final sale price when it sold under the hammer to a buyer from a few streets away.
The Agency’s Greg Emerton said the north-facing tennis court was a big attraction, as two in the buyer’s family played the sport. The auction drew a big crowd; Emerton said about 400 people filled the street.
“It seems evident from at least today’s auction that the top end of the market in the suburb of Strathfield is buoyant,” Emerton said.
The previous suburb record was $12.1 million. Credit: The Agency
“The property’s got features that they can’t just go down the road [and] get anywhere else, they’re going to pay good money for it,” he added.
The vendors planned on downsizing locally.
Records show that the address last traded for $2 million in 2003, although the home was rebuilt from the ground up 12 years ago. Pricefinder records indicate that the next highest transaction in the suburb was the $12.1 million sale of 26 South Street in October 2022.
It was one of 686 scheduled auctions in Sydney at the weekend.
By Saturday evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 63 per cent from 408 reported results, while 98 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
A heritage home on a prestigious street in Centennial Park that was left in disrepair after being unoccupied for at least five years sold at auction on Saturday for $7.8 million.
Three buyers registered, and two bid for the house at 41 Robertson Road. The vendors originally paid £22,000 for the period home 62 years ago and raised their six children there.
Bidding opened at $7.5 million, followed by two $50,000 bids. The auction stalled there, but the highest bidder increased their bid to $7.8 million to buy the deceased estate.
Ray White’s Dean Jarman said the rare holding had an early guide of $8 million, which was later revised down. Jarman would not share the reserve price.
“It was a Walter Burley [Griffin] architecturally designed home,” he said. Burley Griffin is most well known for designing the city of Canberra.
Jarman added that an architect had estimated a renovation could cost between $3 million and $5 million to make the home comfortable while staying sympathetic to its original design.
The buyers, a family from the Sutherland Shire, planned to make it their forever home, Jarman said.
In Ultimo, a one-bedroom student housing unit at 4070/185 Broadway sold for $185,000, more than its $160,000 reserve. The unit was right in the heart of the city and opposite Sydney University.
Nine registered, and five bid on the unit, which was guided between $120,000 and $130,000. Two phone bidders contested the auction from regional NSW and Queensland.
Bidding opened at $120,000 and $5000, $1000 and $500 bids were placed until the keys were secured for $185,000. An investor from Marrickville bought the unit.
LJ Hooker’s John Zheng said the unit was a unique and affordable opportunity.
The sale represents a $75,000 loss for the vendor, who paid $260,000 for it in 2019, public records show.
PRD’s chief economist, Dr Diaswati Mardiasmo, said the clearance rate of 63 per cent was low but stable.
Mardiasmo said buyers in the middle of the market were becoming less sensitive to pricing.
“It’s a very interesting phenomena, actually, because you would think that people who are in the middle price range ... want to get the best possible deal,” she said.
“Whereas those in the luxury market, because it’s a much higher income and a much higher price range, they note that if there’s a cash rate hike, it will impact their borrowing power more severely than the middle price market,” she said.