By Kate Burke
A Cabarita house with water views on sale for the first time in almost six decades fetched $4.72 million at auction on Saturday, and the new owner plans to knock it down and rebuild.
Three bidders competed for the original-condition house at 12 Dorking Road, flanked by modern luxury homes, pushing the price $470,000 above the reserve. The same three buyers had competed for the block next door six years ago.
The original-condition house at 12 Dorking Road, is surrounded by luxury modern homes. Credit: Rhett Wyman
Successful buyer Bruce Turner, managing director of blinds company Wynstan, spent about $500,000 more than he had hoped to secure the 399-square-metre block on Saturday.
“We want to redevelop it, move in and die here,” he said with a laugh after the auction. “It will be our forever home.”
Turner kicked off the bidding for the three-bedroom house with an offer of $3 million, well below the $3.8 million price guide.
Bidding then jumped to $3.25 million, then climbed in mostly $100,000 raises up to $3.9 million before slowing to smaller increments, as he and another local buyer went head-to-head pushing the price past the $4.25 million reserve.
Bruce Turner, right, and wife Bi, are congratulated after the auction.Credit: Rhett Wyman
At the $4.35 million mark, the next-door neighbour entered the competition, but eventually lost the keys to Turner. It was a role reversal for the pair, with Turner having lost out on 10 Dorking Road back in 2016, which records show sold for $2.5 million.
Selling agent Ben Horwood, of Horwood Nolan, said the result was well above expectations.
“It’s certainly more than we thought, but it doesn’t surprise me with it being such a good quality parcel of real estate,” Horwood said.
“It’s not often at the moment that you’re seeing blowout results like this where it’s getting well above the reserve and there is a lot of active bidding.
Auctioneer Ed Riley, of Riley Auctions, prepares to sell the Cabarita home for $4.72 million.Credit: Rhett Wyman
“In saying that, the rest of the market is still in good shape but [most auctions are] just not running as hard as this one did.”
It was a bittersweet moment for the sellers, the Sanders family. The four siblings grew up in the home on a block their late father, a local boat builder, bought in the 1960s. Records show it last traded for £6500.
“[Cabarita has] changed massively,” said John Sanders. “We had a fantastic upbringing in the area, all families knew each other … and [almost] all our family lived in the same street.”
The property was one of 752 homes scheduled for auction in Sydney on Saturday. By evening, Domain had recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 56.1 per cent from 488 reported results, while 142 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
In Guildford, eight buyers registered to bid on a house that was destroyed in a fire in 2016. The property was reportedly abandoned at the time.
The auction for the 670-square-metre block at 7 Bright Street started with a bid of $750,000, and climbed in $50,000 and $25,000 increases to start, quickly passing the $900,000 reserve.
The deceased estate sold for $1,241,000 to a young couple looking to build their dream home.
The home was sold by Michael Ristevski, of McGrath Bankstown. Records show it last traded for $365,000 in 2003.
In West Pennant Hills, seven of 11 registered bidders competed for a five-bedroom house at 20 Bishop Avenue.
The bidding began at $2.1 million, and increased in $50,000 increments to $2.25 million, after which one party attempted to knock out the competition with a $150,000 bid increase. Bidding continued, eventually dropping to $10,000 increases before the gavel fell.
The home sold for $2.56 million through Giuseppe Murace of Ray White West Pennant Hills. The result was short of the initial $2.6 million written reserve but the vendors, who were downsizing to Wahroonga, adjusted their expectations on the day.
The 752-square-metre block sold to a multi-generational family from Arncliffe. Records show it last traded for $587,500 in 2004.
In Mosman, a three-bedroom townhouse sold for $5.3 million to a local downsizer.
Bidding opened on the $4.7 million reserve, and three of the seven registered bidders competed for the 317-square-metre block at 1/77A Muston Street.
The deceased estate sold through Claudia Portale of McGrath Lower North Shore. It last traded for $1,055,000 in 1996.
In Rhodes, a four-bedroom penthouse sold for $2.4 million, $400,000 above the reserve price.
The two-level apartment at 703/42 Rider Boulevard spanned 307 square metres, and also offered exclusive use of a 200-square-metre rooftop.
It sold through Norman So of Belle Property Strathfield to a local family upsizing from the neighbouring apartment block. It last traded for $1.1 million in 2005.