“We were worried we were going to be pushed out of the market by people who have sold houses and are downgrading,” she said.
The home last traded for $1,167,000 in 2019, records show.
Ray White Surry Hills, Alexandria, Glebe and Erskineville’s Ercan Ersan said the underbidders were downsizers and the rest of the competition investors planning to downsize in a decade.
“There is a fear of paying too much, not the fear of missing out,” he said.
Half an hour later, some of the same auction crowd and buyers moseyed down to 28/342a Marrickville Road, this time a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit.
Just two of the seven registered buyers bid on the 112-square-metre home, which opened at $950,000 – bang on the guide.
Underbidder Jason and buyer’s agent Michelle at the auction of unit 28 in the same complex.Credit:Flavio Brancaleone
It was a similar atmosphere with the auctioneer struggling to draw big enough bids after knocking back $5000 bids multiple times and stalling at $1.04 million.
A brief pause and negotiation between the highest bidder and seller occurred before it sold for $1.05 million.
Michelle May Buyer’s Agents principal Michelle May said she bought on behalf of a young local couple who were upgrading from another apartment.
“I think we did very well,” May said.
The two-bedroom unit was guided at $950,000.Credit:Flavio Brancaleone
Underbidder Jason, who declined to disclose his last name, said he was surprised by the strong turnout and did not want to pay more than $1 million for the property, which would have been an investment for him.
“There were so many people there … don’t they know interest rates are going up? [The market in general] is outrageous, and it is kind of embarrassing, and I don’t like to think of myself as a capitalist. I just want to invest some money because I’m getting old, you know?” said the 49-year-old high school teacher.
The property last sold for $790,000 in 2015, records show.
Marrickville’s median unit price rose 8.3 per cent to $812,000 in the year to March 2022 on Domain data.
In Annandale, an iconic trophy home at 46 Johnston Street sold for $6.61 million – more than half a million above reserve.
Three buyers – families upgrading from Hunters Hill and Kensington as well as a multi-generational family – registered to bid on the six-bedroom property, which was guided at $6 million.
The auction opened at $5 million, rising in strong increments of $400,000 and $100,000 before slowing down towards the end and selling to the Hunters Hill family.
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BresicWhitney Glebe’s Chris Nunn said such rare homes held their value regardless of market conditions.
“Trophy homes are still in high demand … buyers of such assets are less focused on trying to get a discount and more focused on just simply having the ability to acquire one without as much competition as they might have had three months ago,” Nunn said.
It was the deceased estate of the artist Georgina Beier.
Annandale’s median house price rose 33.5 per cent to $2.35 million in the year to March 2022.
Another rare offering, this time in North Sydney, also fetched a standout result with 12/144 High Street selling for $2.6 million.
Eight parties registered to bid on the ocean-views unit with three participating in the sell-off that opened at $1.9 million. The reserve was $2.2 million.
The two-bedder sold to downsizers from the upper north shore who wanted to be closer to the city, according to selling agent Lorinda Mansfield of Raine&Horne Neutral Bay.
“These properties do set their own prices. To me we’re dealing with different speeds of markets,” she said.
It topped the last sale – another two-bedroom unit at 9/144 High Street – in the 1920s building by $220,000 in just a month.
The property last sold for $1,425,000 in 2016, records show.
Neutral Bay’s median unit price grew 5.7 per cent to $1,067,550 in the year to March 2022.
