A five-bedroom family home in the inner west sold for $6.05 million at auction on Saturday to a recent arrival in Sydney.
The property at 13 Birnam Grove, Strathfield, was modern throughout and had undergone a renovation eight years ago.
Ten buyers registered, including doctors and local business owners. Six actively made offers, while the four who didn’t weren’t fast enough to keep up the pace.
Bidding opened below its $5 million guide at $4.8 million, and bids started in $100,000 increments all the way to $5.4 million meeting its reserve. Bids then slowed down to smaller $50,000 and $25,000 bids until the house sold under the hammer for $6.05 million.
Belle Property’s Norman So said he thought the auction was about to stop when it reached $5.6 million.
“And then it re-ignited again, that was interesting… normally when it slows down that means it’s towards the finale of the auction,” he said.
“This one was the one worth fighting for. It’s the quintessential Strathfield home and it’s still, in the luxury standard, [of] relatively affordable.”
The property generated so much interest that the auction was brought forward by one week. Each buyer had family in tow so a crowd of 100 watched the action on the front lawn.
The property appealed to buyers due to its location within walking distance of Strathfield station, schools, parks, and shops, So said.
The buyer is a recent migrant to Sydney, while the underbidder was a doctor from Westmead.
The Strathfield auction was hotly contested.Credit: Belle Property Strathfield
The home last traded for $1.35 million in 2007, records show.
The vendors will be downsizing to Concord as empty nesters.
The property was one of 721 scheduled auctions in Sydney at the weekend. By Saturday evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 67 per cent from 440 reported results, while 85 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
It comes as Sydney home values rose another 0.5 per cent in June, CoreLogic figures released on Monday show, for a total gain of 1.1 per cent in the quarter.
In Castle Cove, a five-bedroom classic red brick home at 187 Deepwater Road, in the bush yet near the city, sold for $3.72 million. The property was guided between $3.33 million to $3.63 million and had a reserve of $3.7 million.
Four families registered and actively bid on the deceased estate, all were owner-occupiers looking for more space for their children to play.
Bidding opened at $3.33 million then jumped in $50,000 increments, until a final $20,000 bid secured the keys for a young family upsizing from an apartment in the city.
McGrath’s Craig Ireson has plenty of buyers coming from more dense areas seeking more space.
“They want the open space and they want the family friendliness… and that’s where this area shines through,” he said.
“We’re close to Chatswood, we’re close to the city,” he added, noting the bus lines.
In Cabramatta, a derelict home at 11 Ralph Street, purchased in 2022 for $1.05 million was sold again for $297,000 more for $1,347,000.
The previous owner had purchased it as an investment but wasn’t able to find tenants, renovate or knock it down, and rebuild, so relisted it on the market.
The block of 1073 square metres was guided between $1.2 million and $1.3 million and the reserve of $1.4 million was adjusted on the day to sell.
Two registered and two actively bid on the opportunity. The underbidder was an investor looking to renovate and rent it out.
Bidding opened at $1.2 million with mostly $10,000 and $5000 bids placed until a final $1000 bid sold it under the hammer to a local Cabramatta woman seeking to build her dream home.
LJ Hooker selling agent Ky Chea said the sheer size of the land and the quiet street was the main drawcard.
AMP’s chief economist Dr Shane Oliver said the clearance rate of 67 per cent was up a little bit from the week before, but was still weak.
Oliver said there are more listings than a year ago, “which means there’s more distressed sellers and buyers aren’t keeping up with the rising listings, which explains the downtrend in clearance rates”.
“Sydney is okay but it’s a bit soggy to me. It’s been trending down and the clearance rates are a little bit below average, for this time of year,” he said.
“The fundamentals haven’t really changed. You’ve got a strong population growth which is resulting in a fundamental shortage of housing in Sydney and in most parts of Australia.”