Buyers dominate Sydney auction market, pushing up prices

Buyers continue to dominate the Sydney market with multiple offers and bids resulting in prices rise well above reserve.

This was the case for a property in Sydney’s northern suburbs, which sold for a massive $600,000 above the $1.9 million reserve on Saturday.

The four-bedroom home at 10 Government Road, Beacon Hill, sold under the hammer for $2.5 million, but buyers who competed were more interested in the land than the home on it, First National Real Estate Dee Why’s Frank Caterina said.

The property, a deceased estate, had 13 buyers register, four of who actively bid at the auction.

With good schools close by, most of the bidders were families looking to build a new home.

“They were mainly all local people,” Mr Caterina said. “The buyers were a local family who are going to build a house there.”

Low stock was still resulting in several buyers competing at auction, he said.

“Whatever we’re putting on the market there are plentiful buyers for,” Mr Caterina said.

The sale was one of 639 scheduled at the weekend. Sydney’s preliminary auction clearance rate jumped to 74.9 per cent late on Saturday, after 487 results were reported. There were 58 properties withdrawn from auction in the harbourside city.

AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver said it appeared the spring market had now arrived in Sydney, as volumes picked up.

But concerns about the end to support measures such as JobKeeper and JobSeeker and the hit to immigration could have an impact on the market early next year, Dr Oliver said.

“I’m still wondering if there’s a hit to the market to come in the future,” he said. 

In one of the biggest sales for the weekend, a family looking to build their dream home, paid $6 million for a vacant block of land in Sydney’s upper north shore under the hammer.

The 3979-square-metre block at 3 Graham Avenue, Pymble, was put on the market by the current owner who had previously bought the vacant land, LJ Hooker Gordon’s Jing Peng said. 

A development application had been approved to build a grand estate at the address – including a tennis court and pool in 2015 – but it had expired before the sale, she said.

While the land would have been attractive to developers, the four registered bidders were all looking to buy and build their forever homes. Not surprisingly, the vendors were ecstatic with the auction result.

“They told me they couldn’t believe it,” Ms Ping said.

In Sydney’s lower north shore, another of the biggest sales at the weekend was of a five-bedroom home that sold under the hammer for $5,401,000, above the price guide of $5 million. The reserve was undisclosed.

The two-storey modern property 10 Cowper Street, Longueville, attracted four registered bidders, three of whom actively competed for the keys on Saturday.

Belle Property Lane Cove principal Simon Harrison said an opening bid of $4.8 million started proceedings, as “spirited bidding” made the price rise quickly.

The buyer preferred to remain anonymous, Mr Harrison said.

“High-quality homes like this one are very attractive to local upgraders, especially when they can borrow so cheaply. They can afford the dream ‘forever home’ right now,” Mr Harrison said.

More than 100 people inspected a four-bedroom home in Sydney’s inner west, which sold for $2.39 million at auction. The sale was above price expectations of between $2.1 million and $2.2 million.

The refurbished, single fronted Federation-style home, at 8 Alexandra Road, Glebe, was snapped up by an investor from the Sutherland Shire. He was one of four active bidders at the auction.

Ray White Surry Hills associate director Matthew Carvalho said local upgraders had been wanting to buy.

“The campaign was really active with around 100 groups coming through the property with mainly locals looking to upgrade and get into this sought-after pocket of Glebe,” Mr Carvhalo said.

A Victorian-style home at 207 Corunna Road, Stanmore, smashed the reserve by $147,000, selling for $1,647,000 on Saturday.

Ray White Surry Hills director Ercan Ersan called the result “exceptional”, adding that the market was as strong as it had been pre-COVID-19.

“The campaign itself was incredibly active with over 100 groups coming through the open homes,” Mr Ersan said. “That translated into four of the six registered bidders competing on the day as the price flew through its reserve.”

The buyers were a family renting in Birchgrove, and were planning to move into the home, Mr Ersan said.