Derelict eastern suburbs home sells for $835,000 over reserve at auction
A derelict Bronte home without a front door has sold for $835,000 over reserve.
Although on its last legs and empty for at least 20 years, 41 Palmerston Avenue had qualities attractive to builders. They turned out in force for the well-worn, three-bedroom property, which has never been on the market before, driving a sale sum of $3,835,000.
The 325-square-metre block, walking distance to the golden crescent of Bronte Beach, was its most endearing feature.
“The main thing is you are getting a freestanding house in Bronte, although it was land value,” agent Angus Gorrie of Ray White Eastern Beaches said. “It’s raw and it’s ready.”
The property was one of 1517 scheduled to go to auction in Sydney this week. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 62.4 per cent from 965 reported results throughout the week, while 257 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
Twelve parties registered for the auction. Competition among six bidders – all owner-builders or small-scale developers – rocketed the price well above the $3 million reserve (which matched the $3 million campaign guide).
Bidding began at $2.7 million and ran in rises of $100,000 until $3.6 million, at which point it tapered. The buyer, a father embarking on a new home project with his son, was “over the moon”, Gorrie said.
The timing of the auction compelled high-stakes bidding.
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“People think prices may go up next year, and so it’s a bit of a perfect storm,” Gorrie said. “There is not a lot of stock on the market right now.”
In Darlinghurst, the ownership of an art deco apartment went from one first-home buyer to another, a generation later, selling for $727,000. It slightly exceeded the $725,000 reserve.
Five first-home buyers registered to bid on 15/44 Hardie Street, and three participated.
The vendor had purchased the apartment 40 years ago, and it was her first home. She was “delighted” to sell it to a first-home buyer, agent Dalton Stewart of Ray White Touma Taylor said.
The auction was held on the communal, city-view rooftop. “People really fell in love with that,” he said.
Bidding for the one-bedroom, one-bathroom pad opened on the $650,000 guide, and two bidders traded sporadic offers of $10,000, $5000 and $3000. A third entered the contest late.
There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.
On the highest floor of a neat brick block of 16, the apartment radiated period character, in a lively location, at a price that attracted debutant buyers.
“I’d call it the quintessential Darlo pad,” Stewart said.
In Concord, a property for sale for the first time since it was built in 1920 fetched $3,850,000, against a $3.6 million reserve.
The vintage 27 Flavelle Street was originally guided at $3.3 million, but that rose to $3.6 million in the week of the auction, as interest intensified.
Six parties registered for the auction and four joined in, launching at $3.15 million. Auctioneer Edward Riley filed 43 bids, surging in $100,000 and $50,000 increments at the height of the battle.
Agent Dib Chidiac, of DibChidiac & Co., said that at almost 700 square metres, the block was ideal for duplex development, and that it is destined for.
A family bought it and will live in one of the townhouses they develop. “It was an incredible parcel of land,” Chidiac said.
Riley said buyer demand is buoyant.
“While there’s plenty of chatter about economic headwinds, the Concord market remains resilient,” he said.
In North Sydney, a middle-aged couple secured a $2.2 million, north-east facing Victorian.
The three-bedroom brick terrace at 37 Neutral Street – one in a row of four – drew two bidders from the four who registered. Guided at $2.25 million, the home sold for the same price as its reserve, after agents pivoted decisively.
Bidding opened at $2 million and climbed in units of $20,000 and $25,000.
The pace was such that to secure a sale, they adjusted the initial $2.3 million reserve to $2.2 million during the auction, and dropped the hammer to a husband and wife who are living in Willoughby. They edged out a young couple from Woolloomooloo.
The property’s well-lit interior and proximity to the new Metro rail, parks and cafes was appealing, agent Jesse Zammit of DiJones Neutral Bay said.
“Terraces can be dark in some areas, but this one is lovely and bright, and in an elevated position where the light fills the north-eastern side.”
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