‘Humble’ couple spend $7.65 million to live near parents in Castle Cove – Sydney Morning Herald

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A waterfront house in Castle Cove has sold for $7.65 million to a young family who spent almost $2 million above the reserve to live near their parents.
Nine buyers registered to bid on the six-bedroom, four-bathroom property on 720-square-metres at 57 Neerim Road, which had a price guide of $5.2 million.
The auction started bang-on the price guide and had more than 80 bids placed in a marathon sell-off that lasted one and a half hours. However, once the bid reached $6.4 million only two parties were left as the atmosphere grew tense among the crowd of 150.
Selling agent David Howe of Di Jones Willoughby said the vendors were thrilled with the result because they achieved close to $2 million above the $5.7 million reserve.
“[The vendors and I] we’re going to yum cha next week. It’s the best view [on the lower north shore] for that price. [The buyers] are very humble, not a flashy type of people,” Howe said.
“Currently, the [buyers] are living together with their parents in Castle Cove. It is a multi-generational household. This family is going to move [out] for themselves.”
The waterfront property drew a large crowd of 150 at the auction on Saturday.
The home last traded for $5.35 million in 2018, records show.
It was one of 541 homes scheduled to go under the hammer in Sydney on Saturday. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 67 per cent from 349 reported results, while 67 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
Another property at 2/71 Holtermann Street, Crows Nest was fiercely contested where a crowd of about 150 people turned up to watch the auction.
A dozen buyers registered to bid on the three-bedroom townhouse. The vendors were confident, having already received two mid-campaign offers of $2.3 million and $2.36 million, below their reserve of $2.4 million.
The opening bid started at $2 million and increased in $100,000 increments quickly to $2.4 million.
After fifteen fast and furious minutes, which felt infinitely longer due to the hot sun on Saturday, the six active buyers fell to two after $2.6 million, where they bid in $20,0000 to $30,000 increments.
It eventually sold for $2.91 million, closing the deal some $510,000 above the reserve, to a couple who were already living in Crows Nest but were looking to upsize and start a family.
Selling agent Chris Davies of Belle Property Crows Nest said the suburb had always generated a lot of buyer interest. “It’s a great suburb for families. It’s very close to the shops. And it’s got the Metro coming in the next couple of years,” Davies said.
“This is the fourth house we’ve sold in the last seven days. We’re finding that townhouses or houses are still generating very good buyer interest. There’s not a lot of stock in Crows Nest and Cammeray for houses, but there are plenty of buyers.
“The vendors are extremely happy. They are downsizing. It will go a long way to help them enjoy their retirement.”
The Crows Nest townhouse last traded for $1.05 million in 2008, records show, the price almost tripling in 14 years.
AMP Capital chief economist Dr Shane Oliver said there was always a lag between sentiment impacting auction results due to the time it takes for people to line up finance.
“You normally get about one month’s notice before auctions happen. People then make their decision to bid or not. So, the Reserve Bank’s decision [to lift interest rates] will start to weigh on the property market more in the weeks ahead,” Oliver said.
“As interest rates go higher and particularly, people on fixed mortgages reset to much higher rates, we will potentially see more listings or more distressed sales under the market.
“So, in the weeks and months ahead, it’s quite possible demand could weaken again, reflecting the renewed pessimism regarding interest rates, and supply could also start to rise.”
In Coogee, a first-home buying family with children, picked up the keys to a townhouse at 3/141 Oberon Street for $1,985,000.
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse just minutes from Coogee Beach was guided at $1.8 million.
There were three pre-registered buyers before Saturday and an additional two buyers registered on the day. The auction action played out between two first-home buyers.
The auction opened with a starting bid of $1.8 million and climbed in $10,000 increments before slowing down to $5000 and $1000.
After 20 minutes, it eventually sold for $1,985,000. The reserve was $1,850,000.
Selling agent Ty Demirezen, of Ray White Eastern Beaches, said buyers were interested in the property for its size. “It was a townhouse, so it was almost like a mini-terrace but with strata titles. It had internal access to parking. Size-wise, it worked well,” Demirezen said.
“Didn’t work so well for downsizers with too many stairs, but it fell into that market of people who were going to upsize or a family just trying to get into that market.”
Demirezen said the market was certainly changing based on borrowing capacity.
“What’s showing is as interest rates have risen, borrowing capacity [has] shifted. And unfortunately, that’s been passed on to prices.”
The home last traded for $775,000 in 2006, records show, more than doubling in 17 years.
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