Waverton apartment passes in without a bid
Updated ,first published
A couple buying their first home made a single bid and paid $785,000 Saturday to become the new owners of a two-bedroom apartment in Lane Cove.
Despite initial expectations of two or three bidders, only one party showed up that day to bid on the well-kept mid-century home. 14/38-40 Yüzüncü Yıl CaddesiIt had a guide of $790,000 and a reserve of $785,000.
There is no legal requirement for a seller’s reserve to match the property’s price guide.
The property was one of 451 properties scheduled to go up for auction in Sydney on Saturday.
When the Lane Cove auction was scheduled to begin, Raine & Horne auctioneer Pete Matthews found himself sitting in the apartment lounge with a gavel in hand as negotiations continued behind closed doors with potential buyers.
After more than 15 minutes, all parties emerged and Matthews opened the auction. The young couple sold the property with a hammer by making a single bid.
Built in 1965, the well-kept top-floor apartment is backed onto a lush green reserve. The couple was impressed by the local beauty as well as its proximity to the city and their families. They had been looking for property for the last two months.
“We loved the natural light and looking out over the park,” said one of the new owners, without giving his name.
The seller, who had lived in the apartment for 40 years, switched to elder care.
Matthews said he hasn’t seen conditions like this in 30 years in the industry.
“This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen, and that’s taking into account the GFC,” he said. “I think we’re at the same pricing as we were four years ago.”
Raine & Horne sales representative Alex Banning wasn’t so pessimistic about the market.
“Good properties still move if they are presented well and priced correctly from the start.”
But he said it was important for both sellers and buyers to act quickly.
“There’s been an adjustment period; the market has crashed and people are trying to catch up. You’d have to be living under a rock not to know what’s going on.”
“We still see some areas where there is strong competition, but they are few and far between.”
A three-bedroom flat in Waverton was put up for auction on Saturday after failing to attract a single bid.
sales representative for 3/14 Woolcott StreetHolmesSt. Clair’s Sean St Clair had expectations ahead of auction day that three parties wanted to buy the ground-floor flat – which had a guide of $2.2 million and a reserve of $2.4 million – but when the time came none signed up.
“There were about 12 people there; I think half of them were neighbors,” St. Clair said. “But after the auction there were three bands I couldn’t get rid of, which was weird. They all thought they were going to sell.”
The property will now be offered for sale for $2.4 million as negotiations with potential buyers continue.
“There was a couple who lived locally and were downsizing; they wanted something that was one level,” he said. “There were also two young couples in their 30s who were handling the finances.”
The sellers are a couple who needed more space for their growing family.
St Clair said the result reflected ongoing hesitancy among buyers.
“Because the results were slightly lower than people might have expected, buyers have a gut feeling that this is not the bottom of the market.
“There are definitely buyers in the market, but they are extremely concerned about buying and the market continuing to fall.
“It’s just unpredictable.”
In Zetland, the first two home buyers competed for the keys to a maisonette sold for $1,150,000, the same as the reserve.
Two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment G55/9 Letitia Street It had a guide of $1 million.
Four parties registered for the tender, two of them are active. Bidding opened at $900,000, with bids increasing in increments of $50,000, $20,000 and $10,000.
The successful bidder was a single woman, while the low bidders were a young couple. The seller hopes to take advantage of market conditions to move up to a lower price.
Even the possibility of further interest rate hikes this year isn’t enough to deter buyers, said Ercan Ersan, sales representative for Ray White Erskineville.
“People are preparing for a rate hike,” he said. “If they have to buy it, an interest rate increase won’t stop them. Life still goes on.”
Robyn Willis is a property journalist and former lifestyle editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
