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A first home buyer couple beat five other first home hopefuls to purchase a loft-style two-bedroom house in Alexandria for $1.33 million at auction on Saturday.
Six registered to bid on 49 Alexander Street, and four actively participated in the auction. The bidders were all aged 20-30, and most had their parents along for support.
It was one of 655 homes scheduled to go under the hammer in Sydney on Saturday. By Saturday evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 73.2 per cent from 429 reported results, while 77 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
Bidding opened at $1 million and moved in increments of $20,000, $10,000 and $5000.
The home sold for $80,000 above the reserve price of $1.25 million and $180,000 above the guide of $1.15 million. The home has not been on the market for more than 30 years. It was the first home of the vendors and later became their investment property when they moved south.
The buyers are a young professional couple from Bondi who enjoy cycling.
Six first home buyers registered to bid on the Alexandria home.Credit:Raine & Horne Newtown
Selling agent Duncan Gordon from Raine & Horne Newtown said the property stood out due to its presentation and location.“They could move straight in without having to spend money there comfortably for a couple of years,” he said.
“There’s the technology park at the end of the street, South Eveleigh precinct, which is pretty trendy. It’s got some great restaurants, Waterloo station just around the corner being built, Redfern station, parks, it’s quite a youthful community.”
Gordon said the market in the area was strong, particularly for first home buyers looking for entry-level properties.
“Due to that new stamp duty or annual tax choice that first home buyers have, I think that’s really boosted the market. If you’re buying a $1.5 million house, you’re looking at stamp duty of $50,000-$60,000. So now those buyers have the choice to not pay that, but pay an annual tax.”
Since January 16, first-home buyers have up to an extra $66,000 to spend at auction if they opt into paying annual land tax, driving competition on homes worth up to $1.5 million. NSW Treasury said earlier the change was not expected to have any noticeable impact on prices.
The home last traded for $190,000 in 1988, records show.
Elsewhere, a grand family home in Strathfield sold for $4.5 million in front of 200 people. Seven buyers registered to bid on the six-bedroom, three-bathroom architecturally designed property at 10 Ada Avenue.
Five bidders actively participated, and bidding opened below the $4 million guide at $3.7 million. Bidding began in $100,000 and $50,000 increments before slowing to $10,000, $5000 and $1000 bids.
The auction was over after about 10 minutes and the house sold for $250,000 above the $4.25 million reserve and $500,000 above the $4 million price guide.
The buyers were a family from Baulkham Hills with two children who will attend nearby schools.
Selling agent Tarun Sethi from McGrath Strathfield said the Strathfield market was resilient, and the home was on a great street. “Strathfield is performing better than other neighbouring suburbs. Because of the [good] schools, it is a very resilient area and has generations of wealth,” he said.
The home last changed hands for $207,000 in 1988, records show.
About 200 people attended the auction of 10 Ada Avenue, Strathfield.Credit:McGrath Strathfield
AMP Capital chief economist Dr Shane Oliver said Saturday’s 73.2 per cent clearance rate meant the market was reasonably strong.
He predicts it will weaken due to higher interest rates and the fixed mortgage cliff.
“While there’s been a pick-up in listings, [stock is] still fairly low. Demand is still OK. And that’s helping result in a fairly solid clearance rate,” he said. “After Easter, [we’ll go] into the quieter months, and we get to see the full impact of higher interest rates and the fixed rate mortgage cliff.”
In Wentworthville, in Sydney’s west, a two-bedroom knockdown deceased estate sold for $2.425 million at auction.
The large 1259 square metre block at 123 Darcy Road, with two street frontages, was purchased by a local builder and investor.
He plans to build two duplexes, four homes in total. An average duplex in the area sells for between $1.2 million and $1.4 million.
Seventeen registered to bid and at least six actively participated. The property sold well above the $1.9 million price guide and $2.05 million reserve.
Selling agent Amit Nayak from McGrath Parramatta said the attraction was due to the size and the big block of land offered much potential.
Nayak also sold a two-bedroom apartment for $581,000 in the same suburb, the most affordable auction result in Sydney on Saturday.
The first home buyer was the only active bidder for 211/89 Wentworth Avenue and continued to bid above the $560,000 guide until the vendor accepted.
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