A father led the bidding on a luxurious three-storey home in North Bondi on behalf of his adult daughter, who spent $6.95 million, which was “just a little bit below” its $7 million reserve.
Two bid on the house at 3 Bonus Street, which had a price guide of $6.8 million.
The auction began on a $6.7 million bid. A Darling Point man and a family relocating to Australia competed with $50,000 bids throughout the auction.
Alexander Phillips from PPD Real Estate said the work-from-home office at the entrance and the separate living zones attracted buyers to the property.
The beautifully built property looked brand new, despite being about 12 years old, Phillips said. The address last traded for $1.48 million in 2007, records show.
It was one of 912 scheduled auctions in Sydney at the weekend.
By Saturday evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 64.8 per cent from 512 reported results, while 116 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
In Burwood, another father-daughter duo were ordered to sell their investment property by the District Court after they were unable to resolve a dispute. The block of seven flats at 7 Ethel Street, which were attracting an average rent of $347 per week, sold for $5,650,000.
Twelve registered on the rundown site and four bid, all developers wanting to knock it down due to its “basic condition”. The court did not allow a guide on the property, but buyers said they would be willing to pay about $4.5 million during the campaign, Belle Property’s Norman So said.
The first bid was a bold $5 million, putting most out of the game. Then $50,000 bids took it to $5.3 million at which point both of the sellers gave their permission to sell it. Once it was on the market the eventual buyer started to bid, and there was a mix of $50,000 and $20,000 bids until the final sale price of $5,650,000.
The reserve was set at $5.3 million. The block of flats last traded for $640,000 in 1994, records show.
A vendor who inherited a property in the tiny suburb of Tennyson Point said the sale price of $5,320,000 had changed their lives forever.
The three-bedroom house at 126 Tennyson Road was guided between $4 million to $4.4 million, and the reserve was set at $4.3 million.
Eleven registered and four bid. The prospective buyers were mostly duplex and high-end house developers.
Bidding opened at the reserve price of $4.3 million. Towards the end of the auction, buyers traded aggressive $10,000 bids, until it sold for $1.02 million more than its reserve to a duplex developer from Turramurra.
Belle Property’s Michael Gallina had the sale. He said the buyers didn’t expect the property to sell for much more than the reserve and the extra $1.02 million made a great deal of difference to the vendor and their family.
In Strathfield, an empty subdivided block at 19 South Street sold for $6.2 million under the hammer.
The home was guided at $5.1 million and was sold with development approval for a five-bedroom house. McGrath’s Tarun Sethi said the plans would have cost $100,000 and taken six to nine months to get through council.
Nine registered and five bid at auction. Bidding opened at $5 million, and after three rises one buyer pushed the price up $500,000 to reach the reserve price of $5.8 million. A mix of smaller bids took it to the final price.
The block’s value increased by $1 million in three years. Records show it last traded for $5.2 million in 2021.
PRD’s Dr Diaswati Mardiasmo said the clearance rate had hovered around 64.8 per cent for the past six weeks.
“Buyers are still sticky. They’re still cautious, especially when it comes to auctions, and they kind of have to make that decision on the spot, whether they go for it or not,” Mardiasmo said.
“We’re just at that point right now where everyone’s running a very tight ship, so [you] really want to make sure that you get the best bang for your buck.”
correction
An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that the father bought the $6.95 million North Bondi house as a present for his daughter, when in fact he was bidding on her behalf.