By Kate Burke
A first home buyer has spent $2.87 million on an Artarmon house, topping the property’s 2020 sale price by $470,000.
Ten buyers and a large crowd turned out for the auction of the three-bedroom house at 23 Stewart Street on Saturday, which largely drew interest from families and couples wanting to live in the catchment zone for Artarmon Public School.
The bidding on the 353.7 square metre block opened at $2.5 million, below the $2.6 million price guide, and climbed in mostly $10,000 and $5000 increments as five bidders made offers.
The first home buyer, an insurance broker, was the last to raise her hand, entering the race at the $2.7 million mark. She exchanged a further 16 offers with the underbidder before the fall of the hammer.
She had been looking to buy in the area since September, to be close to her Willoughby-based family, who helped her to purchase the home.
Ten buyers turned out to compete for the Artarmon home, but only five made offers.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
The result was $220,000 above the $2.65 million reserve, and above the $2.4 million that records show the vendors paid for the property in mid-2020.
Ray White Lower North Shore Group’s John McManus said the sellers were over the moon with the strong result.
“The sellers are upsizing just around the corner, in the same suburb, because of the school: Artarmon Public,” McManus said, adding the school catchment had been a drawcard for most of the buyers.
McManus said buyer confidence had been improving.
“The market is pretty strong, it’s coming back. There are a lot of buyers ... and if a home is priced correctly, and you’ve got the right floor plan, the property will sell.”
The Artarmon house drew strong interest.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
The property was one of 607 Sydney homes scheduled for auction on Saturday. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 76.6 per cent from 364 reported results, while 58 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
It comes after Sydney’s auction clearance rate increased for the second month in a row, reaching 67.1 per cent in March. That is up from 65.5 per cent in February, and the highest monthly rate since October 2021, Domain’s latest Auction Report Card shows.
Buyer confidence was on full display at an auction in Eastwood, where 32 buyers turned up to compete for a three-bedroom knockdown at 17 Milton Avenue.
The 776 square metre block with two street frontages sold for $3.15 million – more than $1 million above the reserve price.
The house was on the market from the opening bid of $2.6 million, which was well above the $1.9 million to $2 million price guide.
“Everyone just went quiet,” said selling agent Micheal Green, of Green Real Estate Agency, who had a reserve price of $2 million.
With most buyers knocked out of the competition straight away, only five parties made offers, most of whom either lived on the street or had family or friends who did, Green said.
The original-condition house sold to a family who lives around the corner and hopes to rebuild on the block.
Green said developers and families had been interested in the property, but noted a council proposal had previously prohibited dual occupancies on the block at the time of valuation. That had recently changed, but there was still uncertainty about the site’s potential.
“If it was completely clear [that they could do a dual occupancy the guide would have started at] $2.4 million to $2.5 million,” he said. “[But] we couldn’t tell people they 100 per cent can do it.”
In Balmain, another original-condition home – a rundown one-bedroom terrace – drew interest from nine registered bidders.
Bidding on the deceased estate at 13 Clay Street opened at $900,000 and soon passed the $950,000 price guide and $1.1 million reserve price as four buyers made offers.
The 108 square metre block sold for $1.24 million to a first home buyer from the northern suburbs, who works as a builder.
Selling agent Belinda Cassano, from Ray White Rozelle, said the property had drawn interest from first home buyers, experienced renovators and builders from across Sydney.
“[Higher construction costs] are not as prohibitive as they were last year for [buyers]. And with this one because it is very entry level, around that $1 million mark rather than a $2 million fixer upper, it attracted more attention.”