Cottage in North Sydney sells at auction for $2.6 million on first spring weekend
There was secrecy in the air at the auction of a modest freestanding cottage in North Sydney on Saturday – even after the property successfully sold for a handsome $2.6 million.
The early morning auction was one of the first homes to go under the hammer this weekend, kicking off Sydney’s spring selling season. The home last sold in 2010 for $1.742 million.
The seller – a local investor – was not on site for the 9am auction, while the buyer, in his 40s, hid his face beneath a baseball cap during bidding and after the hammer fell.
Interested buyers at the auction of 11 Doris Street, North Sydney, Sydney which sold for $2,600,000 on Saturday. Photo: Fiona Morris
Selling agent Tom Scarpignato, from Belle Property Neutral Bay, said the seller did not want his employer to know about his sideline in property investment, and that the buyer was a “private individual”.
The auction took place on the upper level, on a large timber deck with a leafy outlook that had been touted as a major selling point during the campaign.
Other appealing features in the compact three-bedroom home included secure off-street parking and a whole-floor parents’ retreat with ensuite on the lower level.
Interested buyers at the auction of 11 Doris Street, North Sydney, Sydney which sold for $2,600,000 on Saturday. Photo: Fiona Morris
The four bidders did not seem phased by the motorway noise that was clearly audible from the deck, quickly bringing the price up from the opening bid of $2.2 million to $2.5 million.
At this point, two bidders retired, leaving the eventual winner to battle it out with a young couple.
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“We had two local up-sizers and two down-sizers, one local and one from the Hills District,” said Scarpignato.
Interested buyers at the auction of 11 Doris Street, North Sydney, Sydney which sold for $2,600,000 on Saturday. Photo: Fiona Morris
According to the agent, that mix of prospective buyers is typical of North Sydney, which often flies under the radar of North Shore investors.
“It really is varied around here,” Scarpignato said. “The up-sizers are people who are coming from nearby apartments who want a bit more space or a back yard but still want the convenience of being so close to the city and to the North Sydney CBD.
“Then you’ve got the down-sizers who have come from big blocks of land on the Upper North Shore – Chatswood, Epping and the Hills District – in search of convenience and a slightly smaller block.”
Scarpignato said that, until recently, many prospective North Shore buyers were unaware that North Sydney even had houses, assuming the suburb was comprised solely of apartment blocks and commercial buildings.
But as value became harder to find in Sydney in recent years, North Sydney’s profile grew.
“Houses rarely come up in North Sydney, which I think is why they’re so well contested when they do become available,” he added.
According to 11 Doris Street’s auctioneer, Andrew Robinson, who auctions property across the North Shore region, North Sydney is holding up well amid a broader market slow-down. “The Lower North Shore has delivered some strong results recently, particularly in North Sydney,” he said.
Domain Group chief economist Andrew Wilson agreed, but said the Lower North Shore felt less hot than it did in 2016.
“It’s still a very strong market,” he said. “It’s now the best-performing market in Sydney. But I don’t think it’s as crazy any more.”
Dr Wilson noted that, although 11 Doris Street sold for $400,000 above the opening bid, the reserve price on the house was actually $2.5 million.
He said the balance of power between sellers and buyers is shifting. “It’s certainly a much more balanced market.”
But he said the Lower North Shore will continue to be a relatively good performer compared with other parts of Sydney.
“The Eastern Suburbs and the Lower North were a little late coming to the party when the boom began and they’ve been making up for lost time over the past year or so,” he said. “Particularly this year.”
This weekend marked the start of the spring selling season, which experts predict will be more subdued, pricing-wise, than last year’s energetic spring.
But volumes this weekend were high, with 715 scheduled auctions, compared with 637 at the same time last year.
“I was fully booked today with 12 auctions,” said Robinson. “I’m busier than I’ve ever been before. Stock levels have certainly increased – there’s no doubt about that.”
Robinson says agents were generally pleased with the day’s trading. “The results today have been relatively strong,” he said. “We’re certainly not seeing the out-of-line results that we were seeing six or nine months ago, but it’s still strong.”
He added: “Quality properties are still selling very very well, there’s no question about that.”
And he revealed that prospective buyers should prepare for significant variety this season. “I’m fully booked up until the end of October. There’s going to be a lot of stock on the market.”
