Sydney home sells for $550,000 over reserve as clearance rates hold strong

Homeowners are being rewarded for scheduling auctions in the heart of winter as buyers compete for a dwindling supply of available properties.

A Hills Shire home attracted what could have been the wildest result of the weekend, selling for $550,000 over its reserve price on Saturday.

Auctioneer Stu Benson said about 200 people turned up to the auction at 21 Westminster Drive in Castle Hill, with a total of seven bidders placing 100 bids.

Mr Benson said it was a hotly contested auction that went for 25 minutes.

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21 Westminster Dr, Castle Hill sold for $550,000 above its reserve price.

“It was remarkable,” he said. “There were people across the road, down the road –– it felt like somebody was having a festival.

“It’s got a lot of us thinking about if it’s an indication of the market picking up.”

Mr Benson said the four-bedroom home attracted so many buyers thanks to its “blue chip” location, close to shopping and public transport in a growing area.

The final sales price was $3.45 million, over $1 million more than the Castle Hill median house sale price.

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Stu Benson conducted a packed out auction.

He also said it was a “wonderful result” for the vendor, a widow who built the family home almost forty years ago.

The sale comes during an intriguing week for auctions in Sydney, with preliminary indicators showing about three quarters of scheduled auctions delivered a sales result. This clearance rate was about 10 per cent higher than over the same week last year.

Auctioneers reported seeing a steady increase in buyer turnouts and confidence as we head into Spring.

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10 Cuthbert Ave, Kellyville sold at auction this weekend for $100,000 above reserve.

“This is my fourth straight week with a clearance rate of 75 per cent here in the Hills Shire,” Mr Benson said. “There certainly seems to be an air of confidence (in property) in the marketplace.”

Also in the northwest, a Kellyville home sold for $2,600,500 this weekend –– a price $100,500 over the reserve.

Auctioneer Michael Garofolo said their were 12 registered bidders with an eventual 72 bids on the day.

Closer to the CBD, a local couple snapped up an apartment in their dream location for their kids at auction on Saturday.

The auction at 3/276 Bridge Road, Forest Lodge saw four registered bidders, with all four being active.

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The Fryer family walked away as auction winners in Forest Lodge.

Buyer Sally Fryer told Ray White she and her husband wanted to secure something in the inner west area for their sons to help them get on the property ladder.

“We really wanted to purchase somewhere for the boys to live, which could also be a bolt hole for us in the inner west,” she said.

Bidding opened at $975,000, with the hammer coming down on a winning bid of $1.088 million.

Ray White Surry Hills agent Matt Carvalho said the property was an 1880s terrace which had been converted into apartments.

3/276 Bridge Road, Forest Lodge.

He added that auction activity has begun to uptick through the winter in the inner west.

“Through winter the number of bidders has improved,” he said. “Around Easter we were averaging about two to three bidders on most things but now we’re averaging three to five.

“Most properties are meeting the reserves or surpassing them.

“I think there’s still some uncertainty in the market, so I think people are enjoying the transparency and social proof of an auction.”

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24 Plimsoll Street, Sans Souci.

Also this weekend, two keen bidders battled over 24 Plimsoll Street, Sans Souci.

The two registered bidders competed for the four-bedroom home in a lengthy auction process.

The eventual buyers were a local family, who won the auction with a bid of $3.375 million, over $1 million more than the suburb’s median house price.

McGrath Sans Souci associate director Liam Tsaprazis said the home was a “phenomenal build”.

“Sans Souci doesn’t have many homes in this style so it’s unique in the area,” he said.

Across Sydney overall, Ray White NSW and ACT head of auctions David McMahon said their bidder numbers were down marginally on the week prior.

“We averaged 3.4 registered and 2.6 active bidders this week, which is down from 5.3 and 3.3 last week,” he said.

“This shift in buyer behaviour is one to monitor and is perhaps a delayed response from the recent RBA decision to hold the cash rate at 3.85 per cent.”

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Auctioneer Chris Scerri.

According to Scerri Auctions director Chris Scerri, auction sales are set to “increase significantly” come Spring, with the prospect of future rate cuts adding to buyer confidence, auction turnouts and bids.

“As soon as there’s talk of an interest-rate cut, (loan) applications and reapplications increase,” he said.

“That just gives more confidence which means increased buyer numbers.”

“At the moment our average buyer number is about 3.5 per auction, and then of those buyers about 50-60 per cent are actually bidding.”

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