Sydney auctions: Spring listings shortage sees bidders go ‘a little crazy’ for good properties

The days of going up against just one or two other house hunters at auction are well and truly over, with properties across the city inundated with bidders on Saturday.

With a shortage of new homes on the market this spring, double-digit bidder registrations look to be on the rise at auctions for good properties.

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In the city’s inner west, 16 house hunters — mostly young couples — registered to bid on a two-bedroom Camperdown home on Saturday morning.

34 Roberts Street, Camperdown
There were 16 registered bidders at the auction of 34 Roberts Street, Camperdown.

Bidding for 34 Roberts Street kicked off at $1.4 million and went in a steady stream of odd increments as five of the 16 parties made offers.

It was more than half an hour before the hammer fell, with a young couple upsizing from the eastern suburbs securing the keys with a bid of $1,667,000 – some $267,000 above reserve and well above the $610,000 it last sold for in 2007.

Selling agent Nicholas Viewey of The Viewey Brothers said the property’s popularity came down to its location on one of Camperdown’s best streets, its 6.1-metre frontage and its north facing backyard. It was also only one of five houses for sale in the suburb, he added.

It was one of 468 properties that went under the hammer on Saturday, down 15 per cent from the 552 auctions scheduled for the same Saturday last year.

By evening, Domain Group had recorded a clearance rate of 77.5 per cent from 300 reported results.

178 Lilyfield Road, Lilyfield
A tightly-held house at 178 Lilyfield Road, Lilyfield, sold for $1,301,000.

In nearby Lilyfield, 11 bidders turned out for the auction of 178 Lilyfield Road, on the market for the first time in about 50 years.

Bidding started at $1 million, with eight of the house hunters making an offer before the hammer fell. The two-bedroom house on 234 square metres sold through David Carrozza of Cobden & Hayson Annandale.

Meanwhile in the city’s north west, buyers “went a little crazy” for a three-bedroom house at 59 Glanmire Road, Baulkham Hills.

59 Glanmire Road, Baulkham Hills
More than two dozen people registered to bid on 59 Glanmire Road, Baulkham Hills.

More than two dozen parties — mostly first-home buyers and young families — registered to bid on the 722-square-metre block, which records show last sold in 2015 for $1,105,000.

Bidding opened below that at $875,000, just short of the $900,000 price guide, with a dozen of the 26 bidders pushing the price to $1,186,000.

The house sold through Daniel Sarzano of Ray White Baulkham Hills to a young local family upgrading from a townhouse. He said a lack of stock was a key reason for the big buyer turnout.

The auction of 11a Barney Street, Drummoyne, on Saturday 14 September, 2019.
Close to 100 people and 10 registered bidders turned out for the auction of 11a Barney Street, Drummoyne. Photo: Peter Rae

But bidders aplenty is not always a guarantee of a hot auction. Back in the inner west a four-bedroom duplex at 11a Barney Street, Drummoyne, failed to sell under the hammer despite 10 registered bidders among the crowd of close to 100 people.

Bidding for the brand-new duplex was quick off the mark, with an opening bid of $2.2 million made by a young couple just a matter of seconds after Ray White auctioneer Peter Matthews kicked off proceedings.

Peter Matthews
Peter Matthews in action at the auction. Photo: Peter Rae

A young woman and her father hit back with a bid of $2.25 million and the race was on. The two parties quickly passed the $2.3 million price guide as they traded $25,000 and $50,000 bid increases. While the bidding slowed to smaller increments after $2.4 million, it did not come to a halt until $2.53 million.

It was set to pass in at that price when a third party — a young local family looking to upsize — joined the fray. They and the young couple pushed the price up another $90,000 to $2.62 million, at which the 356-square-metre home was passed in.

Records show the property last sold for $2,805,000 in 2017 – back when it was a four-bedroom house on a 720-square-metre block. The cost of the knockdown and duplex rebuild was estimated at $715,000, in a development application submitted last year.

It sold in post-auction negotiations to the young family, with the underbidders likely to buy the property next door, which was not previously on the market. Agent Chris Wilkins of Ray White Drummoyne would not disclose the sale price, but said it was not much higher than the $2.62 million at which the property passed in.

It was a different story in Alexandria, where competitive bidding pushed the price of an three-bedroom terrace $355,000 above reserve.

174 Lawrence Street, Alexandria
A three-bedroom home at 174 Lawrence Street, Alexandria, sold for $2,105,000.

The auction for 174 Lawrence Street opened at at $1.5 million and quickly passed the $1.75 million reserve as four of six registered bidders threw their hats in the ring.

By $1.81 million the bidding had come down to two young couples, who went tit for tat — and right down to bid increases of $2000 — before the hammer fell at $2,105,000.

The 151-square-metre block sold through Brad Gillespie of The Agency Eastern Suburbs. Records show it last sold for $990,000 in 2008.

article by domain.com.au