Sydney auction wrap: Strong bids ensue post-Budget as low stock drives competition

An elderly downsizer who recently moved back to Sydney has beaten out a group of young couples and first home buyers looking to get into the market.

The successful buyer of 20/49 Albion St, Waverley competed against eight bidders. with four or five actively bidding.

It was listed via Belle Property’s Edward Brown and auctioned via Cooley’s Jake Moore, with bidding opening at $1.2m.

The two bedroom and one bathroom property eventually sold for $1.46m.

Mr Moore told The Daily Telegraph that of the eight bidders, only one was a downsizer – who ended up winning.

“Throughout the auction we received about 40 bids.

Despite the slow start, which is typical for this current market, things quickly picked up speed to reach the $1.46m figure.”
MORE:
$116m worth of homes sold in luxury project
Century old home attracts over 500 calls
How to build your home in 10 days

Mr Brown believed that the market was ideal for sellers at the moment, with a limited stock giving buyers little choice to put up extra cash to beat out their competition.

“Buyers want to pay the right price, but it means they need to be more confident with the auction process.

“If its their first or second auction, they usually sit back and watch it unfold before putting a paddle up.”

Prior to auction, buyers were drawn to the apartment’s house-like proportions and it’s 8.5m wide balcony that overlooked the pool.

Many of the first time buyers who inspected the property admired the glass-fronted living room, dining area, and stone-topped kitchen with a breakfast bar.

The apartment’s reserve breaking result comes at the end of a week where the federal budget was released and one week after the Reserve Bank lifted interest rates to 3.85 per cent.

These events are also being affected by external factors, including strong migration, tight rental markets, and limited supply.

According to PropTrack, the unit was one of over 400 properties scheduled to go under the hammer this week.

Waverley itself has a median unit price of $1.17m at the time of writing.

Mr Moore believes that the looming possibility of further interest rates on the horizon means more buyers will push to get into the market now while they have their finances in order.

“We’re picking up renewed confidence from buyers over the past few weekends, we know they’re more than happy to meet the vendors at the right price.

High auction turnouts have shown buyers are interested to see what’s on the market right now.”
Elsewhere, 200 people have gathered to watch an auction with 30 registered buyers and seven actively bidding.

The three bedroom and one bathroom property at 31 Doreen Crescent, Baulkham Hills had appealed to first home buyers and downsizers during its time on the market.

It had been listed via Ray White’s Paul Conti and auctioned via James Kerley, selling under the hammer for $1.69m.

Mr Conti said that people looking at the property had expressed interest in moving into the suburb.

“We took the property to auction, we could have sold it 10 times in the campaign but the best way to create competition is at auction.

“We told everyone we were running a genuine public auction and it was an exciting auction, and I am so happy for my sellers. There’s simply more buyers than sellers right now and people who don’t believe in auctions need to come and see what’s actually happening on the ground.”