Bidders were out in force for the sale of this amazing rooftop apartment. Check out excerpts from Domain's live auction coverage.
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An inner-city one-bedroom apartment with no parking has sold at auction for $910,000, more than double what it was worth less than 10 years ago.
The Chippendale apartment at 33/52 Shepherd Street was one of almost 650 properties scheduled for auction on Saturday.
A crowd of 50 gathered on the apartment’s large terrace to watch as six of eight registered bidders battled it out for the property. Records show it last traded for $400,000 in 2008.
Auctioneer Gavin Croft from BresicWhitney sold the Chippendale apartment for $910,000 on Saturday. Photo: Fiona Morris
Unwilling to take an opening offer of $500,000, auctioneer Gavin Croft of BresicWhitney called for proceedings to start at $600,000, before accepting a bid of $550,000.
Bidding started in $50,000 increments as two would-be buyers vied for the property, before dropping down to $20,000 increments, after which point the eventual buyer – an owner occupier – joined in.
He had strong competition from multiple bidders throughout the remainder of the auction before the hammer eventually fell at $910,000 — $100,000 above the reserve price.
A crowd of about 50 people gathered on the apartment’s large terrace to watch the sale. Photo: Fiona Morris
Selling agent Nick Playfair of BresicWhitney Glebe said the vendor, who is now based in the US, was “over the moon” with the result he got for his investment property, which sold well above the $650,000 median price for a one-bedroom unit in the suburb.
He said the property, which will initially be rented out by the owner occupier, had drawn strong interest due to its large rooftop terrace – at 60 square metres it’s larger than the 53-square-metre apartment – and central location.
“Chippendale is a hot market, it’s got a strong location, good access to the universities, cafes, shops and transport,” Mr Playfair said after the auction. “It’s kind of Surry Hills’ more industrial brother, it’s still being gentrified, but there’s a lot of interest in the area.”
The crowd cheer for the winning bidder, an owner occupier who forked out $910,000 for the apartment. Photo: Fiona Morris
Mr Croft added there was good energy in the local market and noted that, althoughit may have once seemed laughable to think of a one-bedroom apartment in the suburb selling for $1 million, it could soon become the norm.
Unsuccessful bidder Ryan Meyer, who had been hoping to buy the property as an investment with his partner Charlotte, said it was crazy what property was going for in Sydney.
“The prices are absurd, but they don’t seem to be going down anytime soon,” said Mr Meyer, who is currently renting in Bronte after relocating from the US.
Unsuccessful bidders Ryan and Charlotte Meyer said Sydney property prices were absurd. Photo: Fiona Morris
Fellow bidder Susan Trevallion, who was at the auction on behalf of her son, said with one-bedroom apartments selling for almost $1 million, there was little hope for first-home-buyers.
“It’s an extremely high price, but that’s the market today,” she said. “We would prefer to get a two-bedroom apartment, but with prices at where they are, he’s now looking at one bedders.”
“A lot of parents are having to give a helping hand, as it’s the only way their children can afford to get into the market,” she added. “My son is a registered nurse and there’s no way he would be able to get into the market on his own right now.”
This Elizabeth Bay apartment sold for $880,000 – $80,000 over the reserve price. Photo: Supplied.
Domain Group economist Dr Andrew Wilson said while a record number of units were being built, demand was still outstripping supply.
“They’re being snapped up really quickly,” he said. “As prices continue to rise, more people are looking at units instead of houses, more people are looking at one-bedroom apartments instead of two.”
He noted that apartment prices in Chippendale, which have already climbed 32.5 per cent over the past five years, would continue to climb as it became more gentrified.
On the other side of the city, a one-bedroom art deco apartment in Elizabeth Bay sold $80,000 over reserve.
About 50 people gathered outside the Cheddington building to watch as three investors battled it out for 12/63 Elizabeth Bay Road.
Proceedings kicked off with an opening bid of $760,000 from the eventual underbidder, and bidding quickly surpassed the $800,000 reserve price, as it went up in $20,000 increments.
The 48-square-metre apartment, which eventually sold for $880,000, was snapped up by a Hunters Hill investor, who is considering letting his adult daughter live in it.
Jeremy Brink of Di Jones Real Estate Eastern Suburbs said there had been strong demand for one-bedroom apartments fuelled predominantly by investors.
“About 75 per cent of it is coming from investors, but we do also get strong interest from first-home buyers and downsizers,” he said.
He added while there had been a lot of first-home-buyers among the 100 groups he showed through the property, the absence of any first-home buyer bidders on the day was a sign of the times.