A heritage-listed four-bedroom Paddington terrace belonging to the same family for 70 years sold at auction for $3.85 million on Saturday.
Nobody had lived at 43 Windsor Street for at least five years. The home was in a significant state of disrepair with peeling paint, cracks and piles of dusty rubbish. Decades of clutter filled the original home from floor to ceiling.
Eight people registered and five actively bid on the terrace guided at $3.4 million. Bidding was slow to start with the first bid well below the guide at $2.6 million.
Proceedings began in $100,000 bids then slowed to $50,000 and finally $25,000. The final price was $450,000 more than the $3.4 million reserve.
Selling agent John Cannizzaro from Montano Group said the buyer will be modernising and renovating what they can from the facade back, subject to DA, due to heritage and conservation limitations.
The vendors were sisters who had been raised in the home and had been clearing their late father’s hoarded possessions together over a five-year period.
“He started filling the house with a lot of collectibles and antiques over the years, and it got to the point where everything was full from the ceiling,” said Cannizzaro.
The buyer is a young local family who plan to renovate throughout and move in themselves once complete.
“It is very much a prime piece of real estate. Windsor Street is considered one of the best streets in Paddington, this is on the cul-de-sac end as well.”
In Burwood, a simple brick home sold for a whopping $6,150,000, making it the most expensive auction sale in Sydney on Saturday. The four-bedroom house with no swimming pool is located 300 metres walk from Westfield at 20 Livingstone Street.
Seven people registered to bid and three actively bid on the family home. Bidding opened at $4.5 million in varying increments of $50,000 and $100,000 bids, then the stride shortened, then crept up again as the competition became fierce between two parties.
The property was guided between $4.7 million to $5 million. The reserve was $5.4 million.
Selling agent Joe Bousimon from Belle Property Strathfield said the demographic interested wants to be within walking distance of convenience.
It was one of 526 homes scheduled to go under the hammer in Sydney on the weekend. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 69.9 per cent from 329 reported results, while 54 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
The home has been in the vendor’s family for 60 years and comes with two self-contained studios. The buyer plans to rent the property out as is.
“It’s a very rare opportunity that 1000 square metres of non-heritage comes up in that particular patch,” said Bousimon.
AMP chief economist Dr Shane Oliver said the clearance rate of 69.9 per cent is occurring against the backdrop of constrained volumes, consistent with the dampening effect of higher interest rates and signs of an economic slowdown.
“The clearance rates are okay, around 70 per cent. But they’re not spectacular. And we’re down from the previous highs a few months ago when we were pushing into the high 70s,” he said.
LJ Hooker’s head of research Matthew Tiller said springtime is when we will see the true strength of the market due to an expected rise in auction numbers.
“We’re expecting listing numbers to rise in the coming months in the lead-up to spring - we’re expecting an early spring listing period,” he said.
Tiller said the competition between buyers for lack of stock over the past 12 months means when a good property comes on the market it does very well.
In Ashbury, a fire-damaged five-bedroom home sold for $2.3 million.
Twelve people registered and seven bid on the incomplete home at 13 Malleny Street. The home had been freshly renovated before the fire and is now awaiting significant repairs.
Bidding opened at $1.7 million with $50,000 bids taking it up to $2.1 million. Then $20,000 and $10,000 bids took it to the final sale price of $2.3 million.
There was a lot of local interest in the home due to the knowledge and news broadcast of the fire damage. The buyer is a local family.
Selling agent Marco Errichiello from Rich & Oliva declined to reveal the reserve.
Errichiello said he was surprised to see how many people could finance the property.
“Financing is harder for this home [due to] its fire damage. So it goes to show that there’s a lot of people with cash, [they’re] not all borrowing as much as you think.”
The house last traded for $767,000 in 2007, records show.
In Wahroonga, a tidy three-bedroom house at 22 Darri Avenue sold for $2.42 million. The property was purchased by a couple from Rockdale as an investment for their 18-year-old son. They plan to rent it out immediately.
Selling agent James Sutton from McGrath Wahroonga estimates it will rent out for $1100 a week, which is less than mortgage repayments at that level.
“Super clean, super tidy, big block of land on 1200 square metres. So you know, plenty of space for kids and families. It was always sunny and bright. And had really nice views,” he said.
The home last traded for $1.4 million in 2016.
In Catherine Field a three-bedroom home on a 5-acre block of land passed in on a vendor bid of $4.2 million at auction.
Selling agent Gary Tomlins from LJ Hooker Camden Bringelly said land bankers and investors are attracted to this style of property.
“Investors, they’re gonna buy it. If you’ve got a spare four and a half million dollars. You just put it there. And in 10 years my developers reckon it could be anywhere from double to triple depending on what happens. It’s worth anywhere from $2.7 million to $3 million an acre.”