Two first home buying brothers picked up a gutted, Rushcutters Bay apartment for $1.67 million.
It was the first time the two-bedroom home in the Salamanca building at 28/53-55 Elizabeth Bay Road had hit the market since 1977, and last sold for $48,600 when construction was completed.
On Saturday, the 72-square-metre blank canvas had no price guide and attracted 16 buyers, a mix of first timers, downsizers, builders and investors including one who was bidding from Greece.
The main draw card: the double car space that is “priceless” in the city suburb where parking is seldom available with some investors hoping to rent the unit out and keep the car spaces for themselves.
The auction started at $1.15 million and eventually sold for $1.67 million to two brothers from the eastern suburbs who plan to renovate the home and live in it. The reserve was $1.35 million.
“It was two buyers who were going hammer and tongs in the end. [The brothers] will put it back together,” said Renee Cross of Ray White Elizabeth Bay. “There were a number of young guys who had some trade experience and saw the opportunity to do the project, but they walked away from the $1.3 million.”
It was the first time the unit had hit the market in more than four decades.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
“To have two car spots, I can’t even tell you the value of those. It’s gold, they’re priceless, that’s the main attraction.”
The last sale for a unit in the building was $1,257,000, and it was in livable condition.
It was one of 577 homes scheduled to go under the hammer in Sydney on Saturday. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 73 per cent from 373 reported results, while 62 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
A Westmead family has upgraded to a five-bedroom house in nearby Greystanes for $2.7 million.
The extensively renovated home at 61 Beechwood Avenue also had no price guide and drew eight registered buyers, all young families hoping to upsize.
Bidding opened at $1.7 million and climbed to $2.3 million as five buyers threw their hat in the ring. It then jumped in $100,000 increments in quick succession until the hammer fell at $2.7 million. The reserve was $2.4 million.
Selling agent Jason Gebran of LJ Hooker Greystanes said it was a hotly contested home in a tight market.
“There is a shortage of stock which is buyer demand. But we are expecting potentially the spring rush to collide with people going onto higher interest rates after coming off low fixed rates,” Gebran said. “So we are expecting a lot of stock to come on later this year.”
The home last sold for $1,112,000 in 2016, records show.
In Rosebery, a young couple bought a three-bedroom house at 92 Harcourt Parade for $2.8 million.
They outbid three other registered buyers, but only had to contend with one other active bidder on the property, which was guided at $2.5 million.
The auction kicked off at $2.3 million and went back and forth between the two buyers for half a million dollars until the hammer fell. The reserve was $2.75 million.
The Agency South East Sydney’s Chris Skarlatos said the suburb’s house prices were holding up because it was a tightly held area.
The home last sold for $1,145,000 in 2011, records show.
A six-bedroom house at 15 Clarendon Drive, Stanhope Gardens is still up for grabs after it passed in at auction at $1,675,000.
The 526 square metre block was one of the original Clarendon display homes built in the suburb some two decades ago.
While it had no price guide, four buyers registered to bid on the property with a $1.6 million offer opening the auction. It rose just three times in $25,000 increments before it passed in. The reserve was $1.85 million.
Cooleys auctioneer Michael Garofolo said the home of that size was good value.
“Things are starting to stabilise. It’ll be steady as she goes with the amount of stock hitting the market. We probably have seen an influx and an early spring selling season.”
The home last traded for $710,000 in 2010, records show.