Couple outbid first home buyers for $1.8m Bondi unit at auction

A local couple has beaten first home buyers to win the keys to a $1.8 million Bondi apartment, minutes from the beach, at auction on Saturday.

The two-bedroom, north-facing unit at 8/314 Bondi Road was initially guided at $1.4 million but that was revised to $1.55 million. The reserve was $1.7 million.

SOLD - Price Withheld

8/314 Bondi Road, Bondi NSW 2026

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There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.

The property has beach views and is located at the rear of the block. Selling agent Charlie Beaumont from PPD Real Estate estimated it was a four-minute walk to the beach.

Four bidders registered and three were active. Bidding opened at $1.55 million and rose in varying increments until it sold under the hammer.

“It was just a really good, old-fashioned, strong, well-contested auction,” said auctioneer Clarence White from Menck White Auctioneers.

The property was one of 749 scheduled to go to auction in Sydney this week. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 73.8 per cent from 492 reported results throughout the week, while 85 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.

The buyers were a local couple who had previously owned property, but are currently renting and wanting to re-enter the market. The underbidders were all local, first home buyers, Beaumont said. The vendor was an investor from the North Coast who had owned the property for about a decade.

This is the first weekend of auctions since the federal government’s expanded Home Guarantee Scheme has been in place. Beaumont said he’d experienced an uptick in buyers recently.

“I’ve definitely seen an influx of first home buyers and younger couples coming into the market,” he said.

In Erskineville, a two-bedroom apartment passed in, but sold shortly after the auction for $1,137,500 to a local couple who were looking to buy after travelling.

The two-bathroom property at B216/74 MacDonald Street, a seven-minute walk from Erskineville station, was guided at $1 million and had a $1,175,000 reserve.

SOLD - $1,137,500

B216/74 MacDonald Street, Erskineville NSW 2043

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There were two registered bidders, but neither made a bid, said selling agent Brad Gillespie from The Agency.

“So, we did a vendor bid at $1 million, and the two parties still didn’t make a bid. And then we passed it in on a vendor bid,” he said.

One party left, but the other bidder, a couple living locally, negotiated for the eventual sale price of $1,137,500.

“They’ve just been travelling around the country the last two years,” said Gillespie, noting that the vendor had been living in the property, but was moving out of the area.

Despite the government’s expanded home buying scheme, Gillespie said he hadn’t noticed a jump in prospective buyers.

“Personally, I’ve not seen it, but to me, it just looks like it’s too early to tell,” he said.

An art deco apartment in Manly sold for $2,020,000 at auction to a young couple who already live on the street.

The three-bedroom unit at 2/39 Eurobin Street was guided at $1.5 million and had a reserve of $1.7 million.

SOLD - $2,020,000

2/39 Eurobin Avenue, Manly NSW 2095

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The property had been in the same family for 42 years and was being sold because its owner was going into aged care. The unit, which has lagoon access, is located at the rear of the block of four.

Of nine registered bidders, five took part and all were families. Bidding opened at $1.5 million and rose in varying increments. The auction took place in front of about 100 people, said selling agent Tim Cullen of McGrath Manly.

Cullen said buyers were excited to nab an apartment that was in its original condition and had “massive potential”.

“It went for quite a bit more than I would have expected, which I think shows the strength of the market,” he said.

Some of the underbidders were locals, and the successful bidder, a couple in their 30s, were trading up and considering modifying the home.

“The top two contenders were both locals and the people who ended up securing it actually live in the street,” Cullen said.

A house in Concord which had been in the same family for more than 50 years sold for $3,636,000 at auction to a developer who plans to knock it down and build his dream home.

The three-bedroom home at 8 Ellis Street was guided at $3 million and had a reserve of $3.3 million.

The deceased estate is in a tightly held pocket . It is of solid brick, has multiple living areas, and is close to the Majors Bay Road shopping village, transport and schools.

SOLD - $3,636,000

8 Ellis Street, Concord NSW 2137

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Of 11 registered bidders, five took part. Bidding opened at $2.8 million and rose in varying increments.

Selling agent Steven Devine from The Agency Inner West described the auction as “quite spirited”.

The underbidders were a mix of people who planned to keep the property or knock it down.

The vendors were four sisters who were the co-executors of their late mother’s estate.