We speak to the team behind the most intriguing recent property sale.
The property: A three-bedroom house on 741 square metres with a 15.3-metre frontage at 45 Derby Street, Canley Heights, NSW. Sold at auction for $4.6 million.
The three-bedroom house on 741 square metres at 45 Derby Street in south-western Sydney’s Canley Heights had a $2 million reserve and sold at auction for $4.6 million.
Who was the agent/agency? Raine & Horne Cabramatta/Canley Heights/Green Valley/Hoxton Park sales agents Peter Ly, Thuy Dung Helena Mai, auctioneer Mark King.
How long was this on the market? Four weeks.
Why did this one sell?
[Ly] We had three groups that really wanted the property for whatever their reasons might be. It was as close as you’ll get to the local shops and adjoins a 30-park Fairfield municipal car park.
[Mai] A lot of people were interested because of the R4 zoning and the location and the land size. It’s the original brick house, but an old brick house is very strong and solid. It does need a lot of work inside.
Was it overpriced?
[Mai] Yes.
[King] That’s an interesting question. Did it exceed my expectations on the day? Yes.
Close, but no development cigar: The property is zoned R4 for high-density residential and is located next to the local shops but the block is too small by itself make a viable development.
[Ly] I think we achieved a fantastic result, but I do believe the price is higher than what it is supposed to be and what most people expected it to be.
What did you think it would go for?
[King] I was thinking the mid-$2[million]s.
[Ly] I think you were looking between $2 million and $2.5 million. $2.5 million would have been the price it should have achieved on any given day. If it hit $3 million it would have done exceptionally well.
[Mai] Around $2 million.
What was surprising about it?
[King] What was surprising was we started with $1.5 million and 10 minutes later we were at $4.6 million. That is common, but it’s common when you have a property with 20 registrations.
[Ly] No local would have paid that particular price. The three bidders were all out of the area. The actual buyer was from overseas, from Vietnam. The other two were a syndicate from the eastern suburbs and an under bidder from Milsons Point.
[King] Even above the $4 million price point there was still competitive bidding and tactics to knock the other party out.
[Ly] It’s got land development potential, but it does need more land to make it worthwhile. From my understanding, the two under bidders thought about maybe purchasing it and trying to acquire the property next door and land banking. The father came to Australia for the auction the day before.
Original kitchen: But the parents wanted their student children not to have to worry about cooking.
[Mai] I asked the buyers: “Are you buying to live in it, invest or to build later?” She said: “My husband and I have three kids here.” They came here to study. They’re uni-aged kids. They like that property because they can go back to Vietnam and the kids can stay there.
Canley Heights high street has a lot of food. She said the kids can go and eat and have no need to cook. As a mother, I understand that.
Have you had a vendor say that to you before?
Normally, they look at the school, not the food. But she said: “My kids will be close to the shops and the Vietnamese restaurants, so my kids can eat and go home, so they will have no need to cook.” As a parent, I think it’s very good.
Why did they pay so much?
She said: “When my husband likes something he has to get it.”
Do you think there’s any settlement risk with such a big price?
[Ly] Absolutely. I definitely do. But in saying that. I feel as if they do have money. It feels as if South-East Asians are coming to Australia and doing what the Chinese did five to 10 years ago.
Are they strategically buying for the long term?
It could be that. What I feel from the international buyers is their money is more safe in Australia than it is back home. The fear of the government taking their funds or freezing the funds is probably far higher than of it happening in Australia.
Is there a new phenomenon of money coming from offshore into the suburb?
Predominantly South-East Asian and South Vietnamese people are buying and living this in this Cabramatta-Canley Heights pocket. Yes, money does come from Vietnam into Australia, but they’re buying normally priced properties. Something that doubled the reserve is really unheard of.
If I see $2.6 million over reserve in Bondi for a $10 million waterfront property, that’s expected – look at the view, the location. You wouldn’t see that in the west or south-west. I can’t explain it. It’s something I’d see out of Seinfeld.
Does it create a risk for the market?
[Ly] It does create risk. It does then raise expectations for the surrounding owners and properties. But it depends on the agent to explain to owners that this is a once-in-a-lifetime sale that may not be replicated again any time soon.
[Mai] Everyone says: “Helena, you make it hard for me!”
Heart of the community: Many people from South-East Asia and south Vietnam buy homes with money from overseas, but in contrast to this sale, do so at “normal” prices, the agent said.
Do you reckon we’ll see another result like this: a) next week b) next year c) next cycle d) never?
[King] b) Next year. I think it will set prices for development sites surrounding the Canley Heights strip. One neighbour from the other side of street came up to me and said: “Thank you.” I asked: “Why?” They said: “I own behind this one, so thank you.”
[Ly] d) Never. I still strongly believe it’s an anomaly. It’s not for nothing these buyers don’t live in the area. They’ve got their nice mansions in the eastern suburbs or north of Sydney, but also, they’re not purchasing it to live in this home. But the people living in the area would never have been able to afford that, or dream of paying, that price.
[Mai] Never. Maybe for a different area but for this area – $2.6 million over reserve? I’m very happy for the vendor. The vendor sold this to buy something else. They needed money, so this one helped them a lot.
Follow the topics, people and companies that matter to you.
Fetching latest articles
The Daily Habit of Successful People
02 8005 6525
info@aktengineering.com.au
Recent Comments