Not all as it seems at Sydney auctions as sales results vary – Beragampengetahuan

Auctioneer Damien Cooley called multiple auctions on what was a “super Saturday”. Picture: David Swift

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Sydney’s housing market has delivered mixed results for buyers and sellers over what was another “super Saturday” of auctions this weekend.

More than 1000 properties went under the hammer, a 74 per cent rise in volume from a year ago, PropTrack figures showed.

Agent opinion has remained divided on how strong the market truly is given a high variance in sales results across different suburbs, price points and housing categories.

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Damien Cooley – director of Cooley, one of Sydney’s largest auction groups – said quality homes were generally selling well, but “B-grade” and “C-grade” properties needed to be “priced well”.

“Vendors who have been realistic have got a much better response … if it’s not quality, the price guide has to be spot on,” he said.

21 Tripod St, Concord sold for $4.7m – $700,000 over reserve.

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Mr Cooley added that many buyers were hesitant at auction if they saw little competition, whereas the social proof of seeing other bidders often emboldened buyers.

“In this kind of market, there are probably a lot of agents getting very different levels of competition at their auctions,” he said.

Mr Cooley had a busy day Saturday calling eight auctions. Six produced a sale.

One of the standouts was a house on a 657sqm block in Concord, which changed hands for $4.7m – $700,000 over reserve.

There were 14 bidders, with selling agent Ben Horwood revealing that the buyers had viewed the property for the first time that day.

“It was a pretty groundbreaking sale,” Mr Horwood said. “It’s pretty hard to put into words, (the price) was that high above what we expected.”

36 Imperial Ave, Bondi sold for just over $4m.

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Earlier in the day, a rundown semi in Bondi described in the listing as a “blank canvas” for renovators sold at auction for $615,000 above the owner’s expectations.

The three-bedroom home on Imperial Ave was contested by 14 registered bidders and Mr Cooley dropped the hammer at $4.015m. The reserve was $3.4m.

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Agents Raine and Horne-Double Bay noted in the listing that it was a highly sought-after pocket of Bondi within 700m of Tamarama Beach.

In the northwest, a Castle Hill house within a short walk of Castle Towers shopping centre turned into a battleground for bidders when 12 buyer groups registered for the auction.

The strong competition pushed the price $401,000 over reserve.

12 Lynstock Ave, Castle Hill sold for about $400,000 over reserve.

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A crowd of onlookers packed the property to watch the auction, with auctioneer Stu Benson, who called the auction on behalf of Manor Real Estate’s Steve Ford, dropping the gavel at just over $3m. A mammoth 46 bids were placed.

Mr Benson said the prospect of a rate cut later this year was encouraging more home seekers to jump into the market.

“Many buyers are telling me that they’d prefer to buy now and renegotiate their interest rate when they eventually come down, rather than waiting until the rates are lowered, knowing that lower rates will see more bidders attending auction,” Mr Benson said.

In Eastlakes, eight bidders registered for the auction of a house on King St. It sold for $2.31m.

Selling agent Roger Wardy of Ray White said most of the bidders were upgrading families.

In Kensington, a unit on Darling St – originally scheduled to go to auction in April – went under the hammer only 10 days after it was listed. It sold for $1.65m, $200,000 over reserve.

Selling agent Nicholas Wise of Sothebys International Realty said the auction was moved weeks forward because of the “quality” of the 10 registered bidders.

Mr Wise said they had recognised some of the bidders as the underbidders at previous auctions in the area.

“The first two months of the year were really strong and that was down to rates being consistent. Buyers were more confident they knew what their rate would be,” he said.

616/14-18 Darling St, Kensington went to auction after only a week on the market due to the overwhelming buyer interest.

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“I think the market has dropped off a little now, but it depends a lot on the property. Sales in the most affordable to middle end of the market are still selling pretty well.”

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There were also some big sales on the upper north shore. A house on Carlyle Rd in East Lindfield sold for $3.22m after attracting four bidders, while there was a $2.81m sale in East Killara – both through Ray White’s Jessica Cao.

In Artarmon, a local investor beat a competitive field of 11 other registered bidders to claim the keys for a renovated three-bedroom house.

Ray White agent Jessica Cao stands with the seller of a home on Hawkins St, Artarmon.

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The hammer dropped at $2.66m – $300,000 above the $2.3m price guide. Records indicated the home on Hawkins St had been used as a rental. Rent was last listed at $1100 per week in 2022. Ms Cao said most of the other bidders were families wanting to occupy the home.