Age was more than just a number at three extraordinary Sydney auctions this weekend, while stage four lockdowns continued to keep most Melbourne bidding on hold.
A rise in scheduled sales in the Harbour City saw some “standout results” coming in well above reserve, including a four-bedroom Cronulla home that sold for $2.21m – $210,000 above expectations.
Latest realestate.com.au auction data shows New South Wales has a clearance rate of 80% for the week to date, while Victoria’s preliminary clearance rate currently stands at 70%.
Here’s what happened in the auction capitals this weekend.
A historic Woollahra home was well presented but considered a “fixer upper” because of the scope for improvement.
Sydney
COVID-19 uncertainty failed to deter bidders from putting in multimillion-dollar offers for a historic Woollahra house, on Saturday, owned by former Colorbond chief John Lysaght, aged 91.
The character-filled home on Harkness St with harbour views sold under the hammer for $5.71m after attracting 11 registered bidders.
Mr Lysaght had lived at the home more than 30 years and was downsizing to Rose Bay. He reportedly watched the auction from his car to ensure social distancing, away from the crowd.
The Juno Parade property has five one-bedroom homes on it.
In Sydney’s south-west, an eight-year-old boy stunned bidders and onlookers at an auction this weekend by joining in – and eventually securing the winning bid.
He bought a cluster of five one-bedroom studios in Greenacre for $970,000, beating out competition from six other registered bidders.
The boy was unable to directly buy the property because of his age, but his property developer father purchased the investment properties for him.
On the other end of the spectrum, a 100-year-old St George resident got a generous birthday present with the bumper sale of her home of 80 years.
The Bexley house today, which sold for $1.17m.
Beryl Mackie had been living at Shaw St, Bexley since she got married in 1942 and only moved out a few months ago.
Her late husband paid about 1000 pounds for the three-bedroom house in 1938 and it sold under the hammer yesterday for $1.17 million.
For more Sydney auction coverage, read here.
Melbourne
While the ban on inspections in stage four lockdown has dramatically reduced the number of Melbourne auctions, some proactive sellers forged ahead and reaped rewards online on Saturday.
The dated home at 12 Stott St, Preston, has structural issues.
Several homes in the northern suburbs smashed their reserves in a quiet Saturday of auction action, including a rundown house in Preston that sold $190,000 above expectations.
The three-bedroom house at 12 Stott Street sold for $950,000, despite needing structural attention.
Stockdale & Leggo Reservoir agent Aldo Verga said a lot of the buyers were looking to demolition and rebuild, which removed the roadblock of being unable to inspect the property during lockdown.
Nearby in Coburg, an impressive renovation at 63 Bruce Street achieved a premium sale price of $1.815 million for vendors Lillian and Daniel Skinner, soaring $115,000 above reserve.
63 Bruce Street, Coburg. Picture: realestate.com.au
The pair had “literally three days to get everybody that was interested through the house” before stage four rules were enforced, Ms Skinner said.
At a press conference this morning, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he understood the “frustration” surrounding lockdown restrictions on real estate businesses and transactions, but would not consider reclassifying it as an essential service.
“The chief health officer has made it pretty clear that we’ve got to drive down movement – and I know it’s very, very difficult and it’s frustrating,” Mr Andrews said.
“I get a lot of people come to me with very well argued cases, and it’s not just businesses who are concerned about their profits, they’re businesses who are concerned about their people. I absolutely get that.
“But we’ve got to fix this. Any benefit that might be there for a few weeks, well that will be washed away if this doesn’t work.”
Read here for more Melbourne auction coverage.
The post Weekend auctions: ‘Standout’ results in Sydney as Melbourne holds fort appeared first on realestate.com.au.