Roxburgh Park house price stuns buyers: ‘You almost couldn’t buy a carpark for this price in Sydney’

To achieve the great Australian dream of buying a house people will go to great lengths today, as shown in this week’s auctions.

In Roxburgh Park, in Melbourne’s outer north, a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home with a price guide of $600,000 to $660,000 has sold under the hammer at the lower end of the guide to a Sydney couple hoping to snare a housing bargain.

The renovated home at 12 Wrigley Crescent attracted four registered bidders and sold to the young couple with a bid of $600,000.

Lead agent Ramazan Yavuz from Ray White Craigieburn said the buyers were stunned by what they could buy in Melbourne’s outer north in comparison to Sydney.

“You almost couldn’t buy a carpark for this price in Sydney, so the buyers were thrilled with what they were able to buy in Melbourne,” he said.

Mr Yavuz said the vendors and the buyers had essentially done a city swap, with the sellers moving to Sydney for the warmer weather.

He said homes that were priced in line with Melbourne’s softer market conditions were selling well in the area.

“I am selling everything that I list at the moment,” he said.

“This market requires accurate pricing and vendor management. The auction method will prove a property’s worth in the most transparent way to the vendor,” he said.

Only 237 auctions were held in Melbourne last week with many agents and vendors deciding not to compete with the distraction of a long weekend and an AFL grand final.

“Buyers also seemed to be distracted, with the preliminary auction clearance rate falling to 56.7 per cent, the lowest preliminary rate since mid-July of 2022,” said CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless.

$1.2 million above reserve

A grand, two-storey mansion, set on sprawling, manicured grounds on Sydney’s lower North Shore has sold at auction for $1.2 million above its reserve.

It was one of 1828 homes that went to auction in capital cities across the country last week, down 34 per cent on the week from the previous week as the Melbourne auction market slowed for the AFL grand final long weekend.

Four active bidders pushed the price of the five-bedroom, four-bedroom home at 25 Bangalla Street in Warrawee well past its reserve of $8 million to sell under the hammer for $9.2 million.

Lead agent Michael Dempsey from Ray White Upper North Shore said 120 groups came through the luxury home during the three-week sales campaign, with six buyers registering to bid ahead of the Saturday morning auction.

Just four bidders got the opportunity to raise their hand during the competitive auction, with a local family placing the winning bid for the stately home, which also features a pool, a games room and gym room.

Mr Dempsey said buyers were attracted to both the size and location of the 1930s home.

“The appeal of this home was its proximity to schools, its huge size, and beautiful view over Gillespie Fields,” Mr Dempsey said.

The vendors, who have lived in the home for 30 years and are downsizing to Barangaroo in central Sydney, were surprised it sold for as much as it did.

“They are still in shock with the result,” Mr Dempsey said.

He said there is a lot of depth in the top end of Sydney’s property market.

High end up

“This high-end market is transacting well, and this auction proves that. There is always a big demand for spectacular properties regardless of price point,” he said.

Sydney hosted the largest number of auctions, with 1,196 homes going under the hammer, roughly on par with the number of auctions held in the week leading into the Easter long weekend (1,199). Prior to that, this was the most auctions held in a week since the week ahead of Easter 2022 (1,490). Sydney’s preliminary clearance rate fell to 66.1 per cent, down 4.1 percentage points from last week (70.3 per cent which revised down to 61.6 per cent once finalised

The home was one of 1196 properties that went to auction in Sydney last week, up from 1.009 the previous week and significantly higher than the 714 auctions held at the same time last year, according to CoreLogic.

Sydney’s preliminary clearance rate fell to 66.1 per cent, down 4.1 percentage points from last week’s preliminary clearance rate of 70.3 per cent, which revised down to 61.6 per cent once finalised. This time last year the auction clearance rate in Sydney was 64 per cent.

Mid-century appeal

In Adelaide, a large crowd turned up ahead of the AFL grand final to watch an eye-catching mid-century home go under the hammer in the city’s southwest.

Lead agent Samuel Paton from Ray White Glenelg said he scheduled the auction for 9am to ensure footy fans had time to attend before the big game.

The timing paid off with five of the eight registered bidders taking part in the emotionally-charged auction at 14 Avalon Road, Marion.

The auction got underway with an opening bid of $800,000 before selling for $1.061 million, well above the agent’s expectations.

“We kicked off early so the footy wouldn’t impact things and I’d say we probably sold for about $100,000 more than we’d typically sell for in that area for a house and land of that size,” he said.

Mr Paton said the appealing mid-century aesthetic of the home added to the interest in the property and helped push up the selling price.

“A lot of homes in the area were built in the 1960s but in a more conventional style. This is a really lovely home with a flat roof and other mid-century features that the owner put in to create this really eye-catching home,” he said.

“You could tell two or three of the buyers were really attached to the property,” he said.

“As well as being a beautiful home the area is also becoming more and more popular and I think people are realising the convenience of the location, where everything is within five minutes,” he added.

The successful bidders were a young couple who fell in love with the home.

“They weren’t really looking in the area, but they loved the style of the house and decided they had to have it,” she said.

The vendors have relocated to the other side of the city.

“The house has had a few different owners, and as the vendors’ kids have grown older, they’ve shifted to the other side of town, so they’ve moved to the eastern suburbs and have had to part with this house,” he said.

The popular home was one of 130 homes that went to auction in Adelaide last week, well down from 208 the previous week, with the AFL grand final deterring some sellers. This time last year just 83 homes went to auction across Adelaide, according to CoreLogic.

On Sunday, CoreLogic recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate for Adelaide of 74.6 per cent, the same as the previous week, which increased to 76 per cent, once finalised. This time last year the auction clearance rate in Adelaide was 72.3 per cent.

Top dollar for two-bedder

In Brisbane’s south, a deceased estate has sold under the hammer for $1.16 million.

The charming but dated two-bedroom home, which has a character overlay and can’t be demolished, attracted the interest of seven registered bidders.

On Saturday morning five of those bidders got involved in the auction for 12 Belair Street, Moorooka, which opened with a bid of $900,000 before selling for well over $1 million.

Listing agent Michelle Huston from Ray White Moorooka said it was a strong result for an older home in need of work.

“We’re really thrilled, and the family is very happy,” she said.

“The buyers, who plan to renovate the home, are also very happy. It was a great result all round,” she said.

The popular home was one of 151 homes that went to auction in Brisbane last week, up from 136 the previous week. This time last year 109 auctions were held across Brisbane, according to CoreLogic.

On Sunday, CoreLogic recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate for Brisbane of 55 per cent from 111 reported results, down from 56.8 per cent the previous week, which fell to 53.3 per cent, once finalised. This time last year the auction clearance rate in Brisbane was significantly higher at 63.3 per cent.

Sold before auction

In North Perth, the auction of a four-bedroom, 1930s home at 182 Vincent Street was cancelled on Saturday after being sold before auction for an undisclosed amount.

The home was one of just a handful of auctions scheduled in Perth on Saturday as many agents and vendors decided to avoid the distraction of an AFL grand final.

Lead agent Adrian Loh from Ray White Dalkeith/Claremont said many buyers in Perth, where the vast majority of homes sell by private sale, prefer to try and buy before auction.

“We had a few lowball offers on this house very early on in the game and then we received an offer during the week which was more in line with the sellers’ expectations,” he said.

“The purchaser very much wanted to secure the home before auction, and so were prepared to increase their offer to a point where the vendor was prepared to cancel the auction,” he said.

“They’re not alone. We have a lot of buyers who are not familiar with the auction process who will try and buy before auction, and so we do see a number of homes selling before auction day,” he said.

The vendors, who had been renting the property out, decided to cash in on their investment to capitalise on Perth’s rising market.

“They were selling for financial purposes. They didn’t need to sell it, but it was a good time for them to sell and get a good price,” he said.

Mr Loh said while buyer demand remained high in Perth, the past week had been quieter.

“The number of enquiries coming in are probably not like they have been but that changes week by week and depending on the type of homes we have listed,” he said.

“This weekend was a bit of a wash out because of the grand final but next week could be different. And we always find that a large family home tends to attract a lot more interest,” he said.

The home was one of just 10 homes that went to auction in Perth last week, down from 16 the previous week.

Rare as hen’s teeth

In East Albury on New South Wales’ border with Victoria, a stately period home, unique for the regional city, passed in at auction for $750,000 on Saturday.

However, the selling agent for the two-storey home at 482 Schubach Street is hopeful it will sell by private sale in the coming days.

“The auction was heavily attended, and we had several registered bidders,” said Bob Packer from Ray White Albury Central.

“We are dealing with the highest bidder, and we also have some conditional buyers who are interested,” he said.

The interested buyers are locals looking to move into the grand home, known as ‘The Loft.’

“It’s a really beautiful, really well-built old home. They’re as rare as hen’s teeth here,” he said.

The vendor used to live in the home but has rented it out since relocating to Canberra some time ago.

“It has been an investment property for a while now and the vendor has decided to sell now in planning for retirement,” he said.

Clearance rate down

CoreLogic’s Tim Lawless said the preliminary auction clearance rate fell sharply through the week, recorded at 64.5 per cent across the combined capitals.

“It’s the lowest early clearance rate since December last year when preliminary results were held below 60 per cent through most of the month,” he said.

“Relative to last week, the preliminary clearance rate was recorded at 68.2 per cent, which revised down to 60.7 per cent, the lowest finalised clearance rate since mid-December last year at 56.6 per cent,” he said.

Mr Lawless said auction numbers are set to rise again next week.

“The volume of auctions scheduled next week is set to bounce back above the 2,000 mark, with more than half of the scheduled auctions to be held in Melbourne,” he said.