Under the hammer: Windang property sells sight unseen to cargo ship worker for $1.12m

A buyer has snapped up a Windang property, sight unseen, as the home sold for $1.12 million - well above its reserve price at auction.

The successful buyer was bidding via phone from a unique location - while working on a cargo ship in the middle of the Atlantic.

The property at 102 Waratah Street in Windang had plenty going for it, according to selling agent Paul Spinelli from Spinelli Real Estate.

The three-bedroom home, sitting on 624 square metres, is located close to the shores of Lake Illawarra, and was being marketed as having plenty of potential for renovation.

The home sold for $1.12 million. It sold for $120,000 above the reserve price but roughly in line with Corelogic’s current median sales price for area of $1.145 million.

“The key aspect of this property is the location,” Mr Spinelli said.

“It’s only a few doors up from Lake Illawarra; it’s an awesome location in a sought-after area.”

The home had been in the same ownership for about 50 years.

There were seven registered bidders at the auction; several of them were actively taking part.

“There were about 50 people in attendance for the auction,” Mr Spinelli said.

“A lot of the neighbours turned up, and there were other people watching on too.”

Bidding kicked off at $900,000 with 21 bids placed in total.

It started in $50,000 lots, and then they went to $10,000 bids.

“The successful buyer is a local person, he lives in the Illawarra,” Mr Spinelli said.

“He was working on a cargo ship, steering a cargo ship in the middle of the Atlantic. He hadn’t seen the property; his friend’s a builder and he inspected it for him.

“So he was halfway across the Atlantic, and was bidding on the phone.”

Unsurprisingly, the buyer plans on doing a renovation on the property.

“The house needed some TLC, it needed some work, and he was prepared to do it.”