Auction watch: Quiet Easter long weekend in Canberra after recent boom

Just one property went under the hammer in Canberra on Saturday; a far cry from the bumper 86 properties listed for auction just one week earlier.

Many Canberrans presumably travelled interstate to visit relatives or soak up the NSW South Coast’s warm waters – a last hurrah before the cooler weather sets in.

But the Easter weekend didn’t deter buyers entirely with 110 properties open for inspection on Saturday, including a number of display apartments.

A small crowd gathered to watch Saturday’s sole auction of a property at 19 Woronora Street in Kaleen.

The home passed in after an opening bid of $550,000 and a vendor bid of $580,000 and is under negotiation.

The property compromises a three-bedroom-plus-study brick house and a separate renovated, self-contained flat.

The current owners have recently rented the house for $600 to $650 a week, and the flat for $350 a week.

LJ Hooker Dickson agent Stephen Bunday said many people underestimated the value of buying in Kaleen.

“I think the big thing for me was the prices that have been achieved in Lawson,” he said.

“It’s really surprised me that people haven’t come over here and knocked down and rebuilt and been in an established suburb. The blocks in general are bigger and you’ve got street trees, all the infrastructure is already in place. 

“When I first started 20 years ago, Downer and Kaleen were probably $5000 or $10,000 apart. Now, entry level for Downer is $650,000 and you can still by in here for $500,000 or less.”

Mr Bunday said Saturday’s auction was the first he had held on an Easter weekend.

He was surprised there wasn’t more given the number of properties open for inspection on Saturday and Sunday.

“It doesn’t seem to matter, school holidays or other long weekends, there’s usually lots of people around,” he said.

“Sometimes you get more because you get people travelling from interstate.”

The quiet long weekend comes off the back of Australia’s biggest week of auctions this year, with 117 properties listed in ACT alone from March 14.

Close to 100 of these went under the hammer last Saturday, sparking strong sales across Canberra.