An outdated home in Sydney’s north sold for $2.52 million, more than $500,000 above reserve, to a young family upsizing from an Eastwood unit.
It is believed the property last sold as an empty block for approximately £300 in the mid-1950s, according to the owner’s children.
The three-bedroom house at 45 Ford Street, North Ryde, which was in much need of a revamp, attracted nine registered buyers, who were a mix of owner-occupiers looking to build their dream home as well as builders.
It was one of 697 homes scheduled to go under the hammer on Saturday in Sydney. By 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Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 67 per cent from 440 reported results, while 85 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
Bidding for the 556-square-metre block, which was smaller than a permissible duplex site, opened bang on the $1.8 million price guide.
Strong and consistent bids of varying amounts of $50,000 down to $2,000 from five of the buyers helped push the price for the home past the vendor’s reserve of $2 million.
The home drew nine registered bidders, but only four placed bids.Credit: Rhett Wyman
It was a two-buyer race from $2.35 million until it sold under the hammer to the young family from Eastwood.
Cooley’s auctioneer Michael Garofolo said the successful buyers outbid owner-builders and developers.
“It’s a massive result for a fact that it was a knock down rebuild on a block that didn’t allow a duplex, that’s massive money,” Garofolo said.
He said there were not many cheaper alternatives for buyers who want to own a house in this pocket of Sydney.
“There’s not a lot of stock like that at the moment. A lot of [land in Ryde] is a duplex site. If you can have the land to yourself at that price, that’s good buying,” he said. “What’s the alternative? There’s not a cheaper option at the moment.”
It sold through James Sarzano of Stone Real Estate North Ryde.
The median house price in North Ryde rose 6 per cent in the year to March to $2,332,500 on Domain data.
In Belfield, a young family upgrading within the suburb paid $1.74 million for their forever home, outbidding half a dozen others.
The three-bedroom bungalow at 27 Scott Street had a price guide of $1.5 million. Bidding opened at $1.35 million and rose in varying increments thanks to four buyers, all young families hoping to make it in their long-term home. The reserve was $1.6 million.
It sold through Ray White Concord and Five Dock’s Rick Pignetti and Christian Leung.
The result was beyond the agents and seller’s expectations, Leung said.
“That was a very strong result, we weren’t anticipating that. That was well beyond anyone’s expectations,” he said, given that high interest rates were still a point of discussion among most buyers.
“The number of buyers coming through open homes are lower. People who are trying to buy property they’re a bit more cautious … they don’t want to go their complete max [sic] just in case rates go up again.”
But he noted homes did sell well in a competitive environment when buyers could see social proof of a home’s value.
Belfield’s median house price rose 6.3 per cent to $1.7 million in the year to March.
In Hurstville, a four-bedroom house at 27 Edith Street sold for $1,815,000 after four bids.
The property was guided at $1.75 million and drew just two Hurstville buyers – an investor and two brothers, who ended up walking away with the keys.
LJ Hooker Hurstville’s Gengis Kokden said it was a good result that the sellers were happy with.
“We were expecting a bit more than that, but the vendors were happy,” Kokden said. “If you give an honest guide of what the vendors are expecting and what the property’s worth then you’re going to attract buyers at that price range.”
The home last sold for $155,000 in 1992, records show.