A south Sydney townhouse sold for $ 1.75 million at auction on Saturday, much to the surprise of both the public and sellers who expected a more conservative result in the cooling real estate market.
A dozen bidders competed for the three-bedroom townhouse in Ramsgate Beach, which sold for $ 450,000 above the reserve price.
READ MORE: Pippa Middleton buys $ 26 million farm near the family
It was one of 546 Sydney properties scheduled for auction on Saturday.
Bidding for 2/8 Florence Street began at $ 1.3 million. It went up quickly as four parties made about 50 bids and the other eight interested buyers looked.
“I’m still waiting to get in … forget about it,” a registered party said when the bid topped $ 1.6 million. “I’m in shock.”
Auctioneer Stuart Ritchie received bids from four buyers. (Peter Rae / supplied)
From there, it was mainly a two-game race between a local family looking to improve and a couple of Oatley reductions, through about two dozen smaller bids before the hammer fell. The reducers made the winning bid of $ 1.75 million for the 209-square-foot block.
The result was well above the $ 1.28 million price guide and the $ 740,000 that records show the property was last traded in 2012.
Sellers Kate and Sheila, who refused to give their last names, had been apprehensive about selling in the current market and were shocked by the result.
“With rising interest rates and the negativity around it, this has been an incredible surprise,” Sheila said. “We had been conservative about what to expect.”
READ MORE: Extraordinary silo apartment in Sydney for sale
Sales agent Michael Flevaris, of McGrath Brighton-Le-Sands, said the house was popular for its proximity to the beach, shops and cafes, and its position in a small complex of three townhouses. Its size attracted first home buyers, augmenters and reducers.
Flevaris said it was an outstanding result that did not reflect the reality of the market, but noted that desirable properties were still getting good prices.
The winning bidder was downsizing Oatley. (Peter Rae / supplied)
In Annandale, a five-bedroom detached terrace in need of substantial renovation sold for $ 5.5 million.
Bidding for the deceased’s estate at 137 Annandale Street began at $ 5 million and two buyers competed. He won a family from the eastern suburbs.
It will be a large-scale project for buyers, with sales agent Chris Nunn of BresicWhitney Glebe saying most stakeholders planned to build a substantial trophy house on the 664-square-meter block. The property had a $ 4.8 million guide and Nunn refused to disclose the reservation.
The high-end market was still proving to be in high demand, with no shortage of buyers for more expensive homes in the area, Nunn said. Most of the interest is from the eastern suburbs, Balmain and Hunters Hill.
READ MORE: Alexander Skarsgård scores buyer for his $ 3.7 million bed for his bedroom
In nearby Glebe, young couples and singles competed for a two-bedroom corner terrace at 49 St Johns Road, which sold for $ 1,652,000.
Four of the five registered bidders made bids on the 79-square-meter block, increasing the bidding “steadily but in a controlled manner” from an opening bid of $ 1.5 million and exceeding the reserve by $ 1 million. $ 6 million.
Sales agent Shannan Whitney of BresicWhitney Darlinghurst said: “There was more energy in the sale than we are used to right now … but [bidders] they were still careful “.
The terrace was last sold for $ 1,105,000 in 2015 and has since been renovated. It had a $ 1.4 million price guide.
In Strathfield, a three-bedroom home on the market for the first time in more than six decades sold for $ 2.88 million.
The 505-square-foot block at 8 Brunswick Avenue attracted the interest of 11 registered bidders, only six competing, with bidding starting at $ 2.3 million.
The property was sold to a local family for $ 130,000 above the reservation price.
Sales agent Ben Arrowsmith of Laing + Simmons Regents Park said the late estate had seen interest from developers and families who wanted to build the house of their dreams or renovate the existing residence into original condition.
In Darlinghurst, a two-bedroom terrace with development approval for a third bedroom sold for $ 1,365,000.
Bidding for 192 Crown Street began with the $ 1 million price guide, and two of the five registered bidders advanced the price beyond the $ 1.2 million reserve.
The home was bought by a young North Coast professional, who had yet to decide whether to live on the property or sell it after a renovation.
Builders had been looking to spend between $ 700,000 and $ 1 million on a renovation of the home in its original condition, said sales agent Charles Touma of the Ray White Touma group.
The house was last sold for $ 570,000 in 2007, according to records.
This article first appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald.