A local downsizer paid $12.12 million for a luxe Bronte home at auction on Saturday – $870,000 above the reserve price – defying the weak Sydney market.
The five-bedroom house at 160D Macpherson Street came with updated interiors in a coastal palette, a sought-after north-facing aspect, knockout beach views including from an al fresco terrace, a Caesarstone kitchen with walk-in pantry, a main garden and a separate courtyard.
The property was one of 845 scheduled to go to auction in Sydney last week. By Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 52 per cent from 501 reported results throughout the week, while 154 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
The result is higher than the preliminary read of 46 per cent last week, which was the lowest this year. But the auction market remains well below the 60 per cent threshold that would indicate a market balanced between buyers and sellers. The preliminary figures are also likely to be revised lower as more results are reported.
Three parties registered for the Bronte auction – all locals – and two participated.
Bidding began at $10 million and rose at first in $250,000 bids, then $100,000 rises.
The price surpassed the guide of $10.5 million and reserve of $11.25 million, and once it reached about the $12 million level, the increments narrowed until the hammer fell at $12.12 million.
There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.
A downsizer from the same suburb bought the residence, beating a family from the neighbourhood.
The vendors also hope to stay in the area and are downsizing from their home of more than three decades. The home last traded for $1.12 million in 1994, records show.
“We are definitely running a lot more auctions,” Ray White (Phillips & Co) selling agent David Tyrrell said. “The majority are selling at the guided price, maybe just above. For it to smash the reserve like this was an exceptional result.
“We are selling most things, although we have seen it [the market] soften, and it softened quite fast over the last three months. We have seen probably a 10 per cent change although people are still downsizing, moving, upgrading in our area.”
He said there was a low volume of homes for sale in this price range and properties set to come to market now would be among the last to go to auction this year.
“It is good to see a strong result in what people are calling a weaker market,” he said.
In West Pymble, a young family from the Hills District paid $2.3 million for a full-brick house on a 904-square-metre block.
The three-bedroom home at 15 Edenholme Street had a price guide of $2.2 million and drew two registered bidders, both of whom participated.
Bidding began at $2 million and was countered with an offer of $2.05 million. The price then rose in a mix of $10,000 and $50,000 bids.
The home – a deceased estate – sold under the hammer for $2.3 million, its reserve price, to a family who may knock it and rebuild on the block. The underbidders are a young couple.
The Marshall Group RE selling agent Ahmad Basam said there were newer homes on either side. He handled the sale of number 17 a few months ago for $3.9 million.
“It is a good street, good quality homes, good pocket, close to the schools,” he said.
He described the market as “segmented”. “The higher price points are struggling. This price point is definitely better – early $2 millions is still a decent price point,” he said.
In Homebush, a renovated family home sold under the hammer for $4,151,000 to a young family upgrading from Eastwood.
The five-bedroom house at 30 Abbotsford Road on a 940-square-metre block came with a swimming pool, lawn, high ceilings and outdoor dining area and a price guide of $4.1 million.
Two parties registered and both competed at auction, starting with a bid of $3.9 million.
The price rose at first in increments of $50,000, then in a mix of smaller rises including $25,000, $20,000, $10,000 and $5000.
A final bid of $1000 won the day. The reserve had been $4.2 million.
The vendors were looking for more space for their family and would upsize in the area.
McGrath Strathfield selling agent Tarun Sethi described the market as good, adding he sold another home by auction on Saturday with seven registered bidders.
He thought Abbotsford Road appealed because of its renovation, as it did not need any work done.
He said the most active part of the market was “turnkey propositions and instant solutions, in terms of a house”.