A young lawyer who enjoys inner-city life was the successful bidder for a one-bedroom apartment in an art deco building in Darlinghurst, paying $877,000 at auction on Saturday.
The 51-square-metre apartment at 8/235 Darlinghurst Road was the second to sell in the building, with a 66sqm one-bedroom apartment at 9/235 Darlinghurst Road going under the hammer earlier in the day for $1.2 million. Both homes were offered by the same vendor as part of a deceased estate.
Ray White Touma Taylor sales agent Amber Riethmuller, who had both listings, said some bidders registered for both properties. The smaller apartment (8/235) attracted seven registered bidders, with five active, and had a reserve of $750,000, which was the same as the guide.
At 9/235, all three registered bidders were active, and the reserve was $950,000. The guide was $1 million.
There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.
“We ran [the auctions] back to back, and we had a couple of people register for both, although the successful bidders were separate buyers,” Riethmuller said. “It was very competitive bidding.”
Bidding for 8/235 started at $780,000, with increments starting at $20,000, then $10,000 bids and finally $5000 bids. At 9/235, bidding opened at $1.1 million, with increments of $25,000 dropping back to $10,000 and then $5000.
The winning bidders for the larger apartment (9/235) were a downsizing couple.
The properties were two of 979 scheduled to go to auction in Sydney this week.
Riethmuller said it was easy to see the appeal in terms of location, aesthetics and price point.
“The market for sub-$1.5 million properties seems to be performing quite well, but above the $2 million to $2.5 million mark, there is hesitation from buyers.”
In East Killara, a 1970s four-bedroom home was sold to a young couple for $2.67 million.
Four bidders registered to bid for the home at 5 Colette Place, with two active. The property had a reserve of $2.55 million and a guide of $2.35 million. Bidding opened at the guide.
Ray White Upper North Shore agent Jessica Cao said the underbidders, a young family, were “heartbroken”.
“The [winning bidders] live near Sydney Airport, and they love the tranquillity, the trees and the creeks of this area,” she said.
The vendors were downsizers who wanted to move closer to the city.
Robyn Willis is a property reporter and the former lifestyle editor for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
