Source : the age
By Kristy Johnson
A first-home buyer couple from Paddington with a baby on the way, paid $1.3 million at auction on Saturday for a renovated two-bedroom unit in the suburb.
The property at 9/204-232 Jersey Road was guided up to $1.2 million, which was also its reserve. Interiors feature an updated kitchen and timber floors.
All five registered bidders were active. Bidding was quick to start with an offer of $1.1 million, rising in varying increments.
The couple had their neighbour, who is a buyer’s agent, bid on their behalf. They outbid a couple from Melbourne who planned to use the unit as a Sydney pad, another first-home buyer, an owner-occupier and a couple whose daughter lives in the building.
Records show the home last sold for $212,500 in 1996. The vendor returned to Australia after living in Switzerland with her husband for 18 years. She was now living in Erskineville.
A first-home buyer couple from Paddington paid $1.3 million at auction on Saturday for a unit in the suburb.Credit: Steven Siewert
McGrath Paddington’s Georgia Cleary said good properties will always attract good interest.
“With Trump’s tariffs, half of the bidders could have said ‘we’re worried … we’ll buy better if we wait,’ but there’s a bit of a sentiment now that they still need to find somewhere to live. There’s that drive of just getting on with things,” she said.
Paddington’s unit median price rose 12 per cent to $955,000 in the year to December 2024 on Domain data.
In Lane Cove, a home that was offered for the first time in more than 40 years sold for $3,945,000 to a young family from the suburb.
The four-bedroom, two-bathroom property with a pool and gazebo at 12 Hart Street was guided at $3.5 million and its reserve set at $4 million. Interiors feature cathedral ceilings and oak floors.
All four registered bidders were active. The buyers outbid another Lane Cove family and two families from the inner west that wanted more bang for their buck.
“You play Tetris with these small blocks in the inner west, whereas the average block size in Lane Cove is close to 600 square metres,” Belle Property Lane Cove’s Patrick Lang said.
The opening bid was $3.3 million and rose in varying increments. The vendor relocated to the Southern Highlands where her daughter lives.
Lane Cove’s median house price rose 19.2 per cent to $3.1 million in the year to December on Domain data.
In West Ryde, a busy main road was not enough to deter 20 registered bidders from hoping to buy a 1920s Federation-style home. A young couple from Putney placed the winning bid of $1,916,000.
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom property at 1/115 Constitution Road was guided at $1.49 million, a tad under the $1.5 million reserve. Interiors feature leadlight windows, decorative cornices, contemporary lighting and timber floors.
There were 20 registered bidders, with 10 active. Bidding started at $1.4 million and rose in varying increments. The couple from Putney won the keys with a final bid of $1000, outbidding locals from West Ryde, Meadowbank and Concord.
Di Jones Northern Suburbs’ Ali Pericak said 20 registered bidders is the largest number she’s had at an auction in her career.
“It’s a unique home. It’s only on 378 square metres, it’s strata titled but with no strata levies, and it’s a beautiful 1920s Federation-style home that’s in walking distance to the ferry and station. All of those factors just made it go crazy,” she said.
There were 20 registered bidders for a 1920s Federation-style home in West Ryde at auction on Saturday.Credit: Di Jones Northern Suburbs
Pericak said she was “quite conservative” with price due to its location on a busy road and had to compare it to villas.
“It’s strata titled so you can’t knock it down. But for first-home buyers or those moving from a unit, it’s a sweet spot for price.”
In East Killara, a renovated four-bedroom home with two alfresco zones sold for $3.95 million, smack bang on the reserve, to a family from Concord who intend to knock it down and rebuild.
The property at 78 Koola Avenue was guided at $3.8 million. The double-brick home is on a premier street within the school catchment zone, and features a stone kitchen and timber floors.
All three registered bidders were active. The opening bid was $3.6 million and rose in varying increments. The Concord family outbid a developer from East Killara and a family from the lower north shore.
The vendors have downsized on the lower north shore.
Ray White Upper North Shore’s Jessica Cao said while there are uncertainties in the market with the federal election and Trump’s tariffs, good properties are still selling.
“There are uncertainties in the market and hopefully in the next few weeks we’ll have some clarity, but there are always buyers needing to buy and sellers needing to sell. The market is always there.”
