By Tawar Razaghi
A Queens Park house has sold for $3.5 million to an investor who placed just two bids to knock out competition from 14 other buyers.
The auction for the three-bedroom house at 22 Rawson Avenue opened bang on the $3 million price guide, and bidding rose quickly thanks to five active buyers, some of them first timers flanked by the Bank of Mum and Dad.
It looked like the bidding had come to an end at $3.35 million when a Burwood investor entered the fray, offering another $50,000.
The underbidder placed another $50,000 bid before the investor quickly countered that with a bid of $3.5 million, at which the hammer finally fell. The reserve was $3.2 million.
The neighbouring property sold off-market for $3.25 million in September last year.
Cooley Auctions’ Damien Cooley said it was an outstanding result and noted the strong buyer interest was indicative of the state of the market – with low supply driving strong competition for quality homes.
The Queens Park house drew 15 registered bidders on auction day.Credit: Nikki Short
“There’s not a lot of choice at the moment,” Cooley said. “[Buyers are] definitely going to get an opportunity to have more choice [in spring]. But they’re going to have competition.”
The home was sold through Brad Gillespie of The Agency Eastern Suburbs. It last traded for $1.65 million in 2004, records show.
There were 636 homes scheduled to go under the hammer in Sydney on Saturday. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 72.2 per cent from 410 reported results, while 69 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
In Mosman, a four-bedroom house at 9 Ourimbah Road sold for $3.14 million to a young family upgrading from the eastern suburbs.
Ten buyers, a mix of upsizers, downsizers and first-timers, registered to bid on the home, which was guided at $2.6 million.
The opening offer of $2.7 million from a buyer’s agent knocked out a lot of competition, said Megan Thomas of Belle Property Mosman.
The home looked set to sell to first home buyers, before the eventual buyers entered the contest at $3.1 million. The home went on to sell for $240,000 above the $2.9 million reserve.
“We certainly weren’t expecting that result today with where interest rates are, but that hasn’t stopped buyers from inspecting and bidding on property,” Thomas said. “We have so many buyers leftover from this one, there are a lot of keen buyers left in that bunch.”
The home last traded for $1,975,000 in 2015, records show.
In Guildford, a house on the market for the first time since it was built more than 70 years ago sold for $1.27 million.
The four-bedroom house at 36 Constance Street last traded as an empty block for £550 in 1952.
On Saturday, the 847-square-metre parcel of land was guided to sell at auction for $1.1 million.
It drew nine buyers – a mix of locals looking to upsize, investors and builders – but only three participated in the auction, which started with an opening bid of $900,000.
It didn’t take long for the hammer to fall, as bidding quickly passed the $1.15 million reserve.
A Guildford family, who have a business down the road and relatives living on the street, were the winning buyers.
The selling agent, Steven Khawam of LJ Hooker Granville, Guildford and Merrylands, said it was a strong result for a block that would be redeveloped by the successful bidders.
“It was a very good price for what it is. I hear about [rising rates being a concern] every day, but they still bid with confidence. They’re getting their money from somewhere,” Khawam said.
“The supply of properties on the market is still minimal. We might have a correction if there is an oversupply once owners come off fixed rate [mortgage periods] but who knows what will happen.”
In Sydenham, a two-bedroom terrace at 42 Railway Road sold for $1.28 million to first home buyers from out of the area.
The winning couple outbid four others, three first home buyers and one investor – who was the direct underbidder.
Bidding for the 145 square-metre-block opened bang-on the $1.15 million price guide and was done within minutes after 15 bids. The reserve was $1,185,000.
Raine&Horne Newtown’s Duncan Gordon said buyer demand remained resilient in the face of rising rates.
“There is certainly a concern at the back of their mind, but they seem to be out in force, happy and confident bidding at auction,” Gordon said. “Buyers are hopeful they are at the end of the rate rise cycle, and some are banking on that.”
The vendors bought the home as an investment property for $557,500 in 2012, records show.