A Surry Hills home sold for $1.945m on Saturday. Picture: Sam Ruttyn
It was a quiet weekend for auctions in Sydney but a three bedroom terrace in the city’s fringe attracted strong interest that pushed the sale $145,000 over the seller’s minimum price.
A crowd of around 30 people fit into the small concrete patio of a Surry Hills home where a bidding battle took the price from $1.7m to $1.945m after a whopping 53 bids.
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70 Cooper Street is a three bedroom, one bathroom terrace home. Picture: Sam Ruttyn
Six bidders registered for Saturday’s auction but two came out in front as they crept towards the final price with bids as small as $1,000.
An unexpected third bidder entered the game when they placed the 30th bid, looking completely unfazed by the competition.
The professional builders made a late start but Lu Mi and Bing Lu walked away triumphant and beat out the underbidder by only $3,000.
Mr Mi said they wanted to measure up their competition before they started bidding and are now looking to renovate the property.
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Winning bidder Bing Lu (R) and husband Lu Mi (L). Picture: Sam Ruttyn
Auctioneer Damien Cooley (L) and agent Hayden Richards (R). Picture: Sam Ruttyn
“We’ve worked on a few terraces and we find it quite interesting to do extensions,” Mr Mi said.
“Terraces all have their unique character and if you have a terrace that is facing north, that’s a good one,” he said.
Auctioneer and director of Cooley Auctions, Damien Cooley said the strong interest in the property came down to it being unrenovated and on a good street for a good price.
70 Cooper Street was last sold to Bridgit Browne in 1994 for $295,000 who said she was happy to sell it but that she was still sad to see it go.
Her daughter, Anne Martin had been living in the home with her cousin while they were at university but it had been sitting empty in recent years.
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Vendor Bridgit Browne with her daughter Anne Martin. Picture: Sam Ruttyn
“I bought it in the 90s for myself and I used to live here back when I was (Anne’s) age and then we went overseas so we’ve rented it out since then,” Ms Browne said.
“I think once we made the decision (to sell) we were happy to see it through.
“Obviously in this market, it probably wasn’t the right time but compared to what it would have sold for six months ago and given I’ve had it for over 30 years, I can’t complain,” she said.
The median property value in Surry Hills is $2.13m but has fallen 11.2 per cent in the last 12 months and has grown by only 0.1 per cent in the last five years.
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The buyers plan to renovate the home. Picture: Sam Ruttyn
The median asking rent in Surry Hills is $1,300 per week. Picture: Sam Ruttyn
Sellers agent Hayden Richards from Ray White Touma Taylor said he thought the property had good fundamentals and that most interested buyers were builders or investors.
“There’s not your traditional investors in the market at the minute … but there are still cash heavy investors that are looking for good opportunities,” Mr Richards said.
Mid-week figures from realestate.com.au showed there were only 694 auctions scheduled this weekend, down 24 per cent compared to last year.
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Other auctions
SOUTH
A young first homebuyer has put an end to his 10 month property search with a two-bedroom apartment in Alexandria.
Sellers agent Brad Gillespie said he thought the property had sold well because it was a recently renovated home in a well located, medium-density building.
A first homebuyer snagged a two-bedroom apartment in Alexandria for $1.305m after a 10 month search.
Partner Brad Gillespie of The Agency NSW said the buyer was renting nearby in Erskinville and determined to get the property.
While the rest of Sydney was struggling, 2/145 Belmont St attracted registrations from 11 bidders, five of which actively placed bids.
“It was a bit of pleasant surprise to see after what we’ve been seeing of late,” Mr Gillespie said.
The reserve was $1.25m and the property last sold in 2015 for $755,000.
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NORTH-WEST
30 Pretoria Parade, Hornsby, NSW 2077 sold for $2.82m on Saturday.
Principal agent Daniel Dennis said the home sold for a little more than he expected.
A Hornsby home sold to a local family for $2.82m on Saturday, attracting five registered bidders with three actively placing bids.
Principal agent for Belle Property Upper North Shore Daniel Dennis said 30 Pretoria Parade was attractive because of a “lack of good quality homes on the market”.
Property records show major renovations were done to add a pool and second floor for around $100,000 after it was last sold in 2016 for $1,342,500.
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SOUTH
17 Wollun Street, Como, NSW 2226 sold for $3.140m on Saturday.
The five bedroom, three bathroom home was bought by a young family.
A five bedroom home south of the city sold for $410,000 over the reserve price after at least 50 bids.
Auctioneer Andrew Cooley from Avenue Auctions said 17 Wollun St, Como attracted a crowd of 60 with nine registered bidders.
He described it as a “really generational” home where “the kids grow up there and you never sell it”.
Como’s median home price is $1.72m, making this one of the priciest sales in recent years at $3.14m but just shy of the record.
