A modest bungalow in Maroubra with coveted ocean views sold under the hammer for $7 million on Saturday after a developer locked horns with two owner-occupier parties and pushed the price far beyond the property’s reserve.
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developer → covet → reserve
The three-bedroom house at 48 Mermaid Avenue was marketed with a guide of $6.5 million, the same as its reserve.
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house → market → reserve
A crowd of about 70 people, including many neighbours, took up positions in the sunshine to watch events unfold.
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events → include → sunshine
Three parties registered to bid and all three were active.
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three → register → ?
Bidding kicked off at $6.3 million before rising in $100,000 increments as a developer and an owner-occupier jostled for control.
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developer → kick → control
At $6.6 million, the owner-occupier bowed out and another owner-occupier entered the fray.
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occupier → bow → fray
The developer reached his limit at $6,925,000, leaving the active owner-occupier to place a final bid of $7 million and secure the keys.
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developer → reach → keys
Ray White Eastern Beaches director Angus Gorrie said the victor was planning to knock down the bungalow and build a dream home that took advantage of the property’s sweeping ocean vistas.
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that → say → vistas
“It’s probably the best street in Maroubra, with the best views, and it really was a blank-canvas opportunity,” he said, adding the result pleasantly surprised him.
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result → ’ → him
“I was thinking $6.5 million to $6.6 million, so to get to $7 million was unreal.
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get → think → million
It shows that people will pay for location, no matter the market.
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people → show → market
If the market was good, we probably would have had 10 bidders, but I’d say the hammer price would have been the same.”
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price → have → bidders
The property was one of 885 scheduled to go to auction in Sydney last week.
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property → schedule → Sydney
By Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 45 per cent from 490 reported results throughout the week, while 184 auctions were withdrawn.
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auctions → record → week
Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
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auctions → withdraw → rate
In Como, a well-maintained freestanding family home with a north-facing backyard and a swimming pool sold for $3.14 million after spirited bidding.
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home → maintain → bidding
The five-bedroom, two-storey home at 17 Wollun Street was marketed with a guide of $2.6 million.
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home → market → million
It attracted strong interest during the campaign from locals looking to upsize, said agent Danny Fox of Fox & Wood.
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Fox → attract → Fox
Seven groups registered and four were active.
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four → register → ?
Bidding kicked off at $2.5 million and rose in $25,000-to-$50,000 increments until the reserve of $2.73 million was reached and the home was declared on the market.
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home → kick → market
There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.
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reserve → be → guide
The field narrowed to two parties, who bid in increments as small as $1000 before one party finally bowed out and the hammer fell at $3.14 million.
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hammer → narrow → million
Fox said the winning group was a family who were upsizing from a property nearby and intended to make the new acquisition their forever home.
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acquisition → say → property
The underbidders, a couple living in the inner city, had the same plan.
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underbidders → live → plan
Fox said the property’s location within Como and its position on Wollun Street were key to the auction’s success.
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location → say → success
“It’s a house that ticked all the boxes: close to transport, on a quiet street, with a level backyard and a north-facing garden.”
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that → ’ → backyard
Modern additions, including ducted air conditioning and a solar system, helped push the sale price past the $3 million mark, Fox said.
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Fox → include → mark
“With a turn-key property like this, you get your life back in 12 weeks, not two years.”
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you → get → weeks
Meanwhile, in Alexandria, a generously proportioned two-bedroom apartment with a large north-east-facing courtyard was passed in before selling to an investor at a bargain price.
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apartment → face → price
The home at 23/15-17 Fountain Street was marketed with a guide of $1.35 million.
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home → market → million
Although three groups had registered to bid, one group – a first-home-buying couple – withdrew late on Friday, while another bidder walked out moments before the auction was due to start, said BresicWhitney agent Darren Davis.
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Davis → register → Friday
“He was an opportunistic bidder, and when he realised the reserve was going to be in line with the guide, he just said: ‘I’m no longer interested’ and left.”
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I → realise → guide
The third and final party, an investor, was on holiday overseas and planned to participate by phone, but after he declined to place a bid in line with the price guide, the property was passed in.
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property → plan → guide
Subsequent negotiation between the investor and the vendors, a retired couple, got the home sold at $1.31 million.
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home → get → million
“The vendors were sensible, and they went with what the market presented them on the day,” Davis said.
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Davis → go → day
Although the apartment, part of a warehouse conversion, was full of character and perfectly presented, strata levies of about $3000 per quarter may have given some prospective buyers pause, Davis said.
uncertain
Davis → present → pause
“In this market, any property that has got a few hairs on it seems to be struggling.”
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that → get → it
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