Source : the age
A first home buyer couple paid $1,804,000 for a renovated, two-storey Glebe terrace at auction on Saturday, in a week when just over half the scheduled auctions sold.
The two-bedroom home at 12 Gottenham Street dates to about 1890 but features stylish updates and an entertaining courtyard with a copper outdoor shower.
The property was one of 715 scheduled auctions in Sydney last week. By Saturday evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 51 per cent from 424 reported results throughout the week, while 163 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
The Glebe home was listed with a price guide of $1.7 million and drew five registered bidders.
Bidding began at $1.6 million, and three parties competed, narrowing to a two-horse race later in the auction.
Ray White Erskineville/Alexandria/Glebe/Surry Hills selling agent Matthew Carvalho said towards the end of proceedings the bidding was “pretty slow going”, as the contestants appeared to approach a ceiling around $1.8 million.
He said the interest had been from young couples and first home buyers, and the winners were renting in the Centennial Park area. He did not have investors interested in the property.
He said the market, broadly, was mixed.
“Under $2.5 million, the market is still reasonably good. That $2.5 million to $3.5 million, people are just being a little more selective and fussy,” he said, adding buyers were mindful of the budget, interest rates and global events.
“This [home in Glebe] might have got closer to $2 million 12 months ago,” he said.
Elsewhere, a dual income property, generating $1100 a week in rent, sold below reserve in Chester Hill.
The “investor’s dream” at 2 McClelland Street – with a four-bedroom house and two-bedroom granny flat – had a reserve of $1.32 million and sold under the hammer for $137,500 less than its reserve for $1,182,500.
Two buyers registered to bid and after one eventually opened the auction at $1 million, the second buyer increased the price by $50,000. Then the opening bidder who had plans to flip it, promptly got in his car and left.
An investor from South Granville continued to negotiate and after a vendor bid at $1,150,000 he bid until the vendor agreed to sell at $1,182,500.
Selling agent Jordon Le Breux from Ray White Bankstown said the auction “was a bit of a shock. It was like pulling teeth to try and get an opening bid.”
As for the $1.5 million guide, Le Breux said, “that estimated selling price was done about two months ago, before I suppose all these things were happening in the market. This kind of property, respectfully, six months ago would have got $1.4 [million] and $1.5 [million], no doubt about it.”
“A property with … a granny flat, in these kinds of areas, close to the station. Obviously, it’s an investor’s dream, but we’re not really an investor’s market,” he said, adding that the proposed federal tax changes had reduced investors’ borrowing capacity.
The address last traded for $400,000, in 2012, records show.
In Tempe, a two-bedroom unit guided at $750,000 drew 10 registered bidders, most were first home buyers. Four actively competed for the top floor apartment, close to the station at 5/81-83 Samuel Street.
Bidding opened at $750,000 and jumped all over the place in $10,000, $15,000 and $5000 increments before slowing towards the end and continuing in $1000 bids until it sold for $117,000 above its $780,000 reserve for $897,000.
There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.
Selling agent Louise Mitchell from BresicWhitney Inner West said, “It was a good little starter apartment, and had parking, which is quite important with properties in the inner west.”
“Tempe itself doesn’t have many units, it’s predominantly houses … so the price point is very good compared to something like Marrickville,” she said.
She added that she would not have expected investors to be interested in this type of property, saying they would be more likely to buy a house in the suburb because it offered a stronger rental return.
The vendor was a Northern Territory-based investor cashing out. The purchasers are a first home buyer couple from Tasmania.
The unit last traded for $265,000 in 2007, records show.
With Elizabeth Redman
