A rare three-bedroom freestanding Manly home sold for $5.3 million, well above the vendor’s expectations at auction on Saturday.
The house, a street back from the sand at 9 Pine Street, was built in the 1980s by the vendor’s parents. It attracted 12 registrations, and all interested parties had plans to either knock it down or renovate it.
Six actively bid on the property with a guide of $3.75 million. Bidding opened at $3.5 million with $100,000 bids until it approached the $4.3 million reserve, where bids dropped to $10,000, and then $100,000 offers started again.
The final two bids were $50,000 each before it sold under the hammer for $5.3 million.
McGrath’s Kirsten Bertram said a freestanding property – that is, not a semi, on a level plot so close to the beach, and also not on a leasehold, was very rare.
“People rarely on-sell them. They usually keep them in the family.”
Bertram said the interest rate reduction did not have an impact on the competitive Saturday evening auction. “Most people that tend to buy these aren’t really affected by the interest rates; [the] majority or a lot of them are cash buyers.”
The buyer was from Queensland. Bertram said the vendor was grateful for what the sale would do for his family and was now considering where to move.
The sale was one of 1218 scheduled auctions in Sydney this week. By Saturday evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 70.8 per cent from 749 reported results, while 149 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
A four-bedroom Federation family home in Chatswood sold for $7.01 million to an upsizing buyer from around the corner. The large house, with a guided range of $6.3 million to $6.5 million, was located at 29 Neridah Street and came with dual street access.
Eight families registered, and three actively bid on the family residence with manicured gardens.
Bidding opened at $5.8 million and moved in $100,000 bids above its $6.5 million reserve to $6.8 million. From there, it was $50,000 bids until $7 million. The buyer then secured the keys with a final $10,000 bid.
Ray White’s John McManus said the mood around interest rates was “really positive” compared to two weeks ago.
McManus said the percentage of serious buyers has increased dramatically. “It’s double this week [compared] to what it has been. And people seem to be a little bit more positive and upbeat in the way we’re talking to them,” he said.
The vendors will be downsizing to Willoughby. The property last traded for $1.58 million in 2006.
In Killara, a renovated four-bedroom house sold for $3.5 million. The north shore home at 19 Eustace Parade, guided at $3 million, sold above its $3.28 million reserve.
Six registered, and five were active, all young families from across Sydney seeking the school catchment zone.
Bidding opened at $3 million with $50,000 bids, $20,000 bids and $10,000 bids until it sold under the hammer at $3.5 million.
Selling agent Jing Peng from LJ Hooker Gordon said since the RBA announcement, she could feel a change in buyers’ decision-making.
“After Tuesday, you know, Reserve Bank interest cuts, we can feel they were eager to come back for the second look and talk with us [about] how to make, you know, the preparation for the auction, everything, so we can sense that.”
The address last traded for $1.31 million in 2013.
Meanwhile, in Mona Vale, a four-bedroom family home with a swimming pool at 44 Maxwell Street sold for $3.2 million.
Guided at $2.8 million, the property sold at its reserve of $3.2 million.
Four registered, but only two were active due to a strong opening bid of $3,025,000 from a strategic buyer. A mix of $10,000 and $20,000 bids took the price up to $3.2 million “pretty quick”, where it sold within a couple of minutes under the hammer before a local crowd.
Selling agent Marco Cimino from LJ Hooker Mona Vale said market conditions were a lot better than late last year.
The buyers were from nearby Collaroy. The vendors will be downsizing out of the area.
Records show that the house last traded for $1,735,000 in 2019.
PRD’s chief economist, Diaswati Mardiasmo, said Sydney’s clearance rate was stable and not yet reflecting the cash rate cut.
“Probably because the interest rate paperwork and people actually getting all of that sort of stuff together hasn’t quite translated into the auction market yet,” she said.
“We might see a bit more of an uptick next weekend, just as people actually get their gear together in terms of actually talking to their bankers, their mortgage brokers, getting all the paperwork in.”