Buyers and sellers finally meet as green shoots appear
Sydney's top sale was this terrace home in Annandale that sold for $4.025 million. Photo: BresicWhitney
The long-time Darlinghurst home of the late Sydney Mardi Gras costume designer Ron Muncaster sold before its scheduled weekend auction.
The Crown Street terrace, listed 18 months after his death, sold around its price guide of $2.5 million though Matt Marano, of Oxford Real Estate Agency.
The 1860s terrace is on a 180-square-metre block. Photo: Oxford Real Estate
Muncaster, who was featured in the 2004 documentary Queen Sequina, paid $110,000 for the 1860s terrace in 1985, shortly after he started creating costumes for the parade participants.
A number of the property’s original features have been retained, including its raw brick and sandstone walls, fireplaces and exposed original beams.
The property has retained many of its original features. Photo: Oxford Real Estate
The four-bedroom terrace sits behind a sandstock brick facade on its 178-square-metre parcel.
There were 1210 homes taken to auction across the combined capital cities this week, returning a preliminary auction clearance rate of 58.1 per cent.
Last week, a higher 1479 auctions were held with the final clearance rate rising to 52.5 per cent; the second-highest clearance rate seen this year.
CoreLogic auction analyst Kevin Brogan noted volumes continue to trend lower each week, with almost double the volume of homes taken to auction over the same week in 2018 (2279) when 58.2 per cent sold.
“Although the clearance rate will adjust lower on the full set of results, the trend over the past two months has seen final auction clearance rates holding around the low-to-mid 50 per cent range and we expect a similar finalised result this week.”
Mr Brogan noted the success rate was holding around 10 percentage points higher than late last year, “reflecting a better fit between buyer and seller expectations on prices”.
The cheapest sale across the capital cities was $216,500 in Melbourne when 7/254-256 Dandenong Rd, St Kilda East was sold though hockingstuart.
The studio sold well in excess of the REALas website price estimate of $181,000. Photo: hockingstuart
The 1920s first-floor studio apartment last sold for $143,500 in 2007.
The studio sold for well in excess of the ANZ REALas website price estimate, which suggested its value as $181,000.
The agent’s price guide had been $195,000 to $210,000.
It has been a $280-a-week rental in recent years.
In Melbourne, the preliminary auction clearance rate of 56.8 per cent was recorded across 545 auctions, up slightly from the 56.6 per cent final clearance rate last week when a higher 672 homes were auctioned.
One year ago, the clearance rate was a stronger 77.5 per cent across 1099 auctions.
Melbourne’s top result was 343 Montague Street, Albert Park, which fetched $3.29 million though Cayzer Real Estate.
From $400,000 to $3.29 million in 27 years. Photo: Cayzer Real Estate
Its pre-auction price guidance was $3 million to $3.3 million.
The 1890s terrace last sold for $400,000 in 1992.
Melbourne’s top result at 343 Montague Street, Albert Park. Photo: Cayzer Real Estate
There were 441 auctions held in Sydney returning a preliminary auction clearance rate of 65.6 per cent; the strongest preliminary result across the capital cities, compared to 57.2 per cent across 539 last week, and 57.5 per cent across 787 auctions one year ago.
Sydney’s top sale was 89 Johnston Street, Annandale, which fetched $4.025 million through BresicWhitney.
The property comprised five bedrooms and two bathrooms. Photo: BresicWhitney
It last sold for $2.1 million in 2008.
Set on a 10 metre-wide block, the five-bedroom, two-bathroom home comes with Himalayan sandstone flooring in its entertaining space.
Across the smaller auction markets, preliminary results show that Perth was the best performing in terms of clearance rate with 53 per cent of auctions successful, however there were only 18 auctions held across the city.
The 1890s Perth home at 37 Glendower Street, a three-bedroom, two-bathroom offering redesigned in the 1980s by one of WA’s avant-garde architects, failed to find a buyer though Brent Morfesse, of Mack Hall.
The 1890s home was redesigned in the 1980s. Photo: Mack Hall
Brisbane was the weakest-performing auction market, according to preliminary results with 83 homes auctioned and 39 per cent sold under the hammer.
Brisbane’s top sale was $881,000 when the four-bedroom home at 3 Kirstin Street, Eight Mile Plains, was sold for the first time.
It was the first time the house was sold since the land was sold in 1973. Photo: Ray White
It was the first sale since the land sold in 1973 for $14,000.
Things were looking bleak when 169 Gladstone Street, Highgate Hill, went to auction with just the two onlookers who had yet to get their finances organised and no registered bidders.
“Probably the strangest auction I’ve ever had in my career,” the agent said. Photo: Ray White
But mid-auction, the neighbour stuck their head out of the window, then registered and placed a bid to buy it.
The buyers were the vendor’s children, who had grown up in the property and then moved next door.
“It’s probably the strangest auction I’ve ever had in my career,” agent Tom Lyne, of Ray White New Farm told Domain.
It had been for sale over the past two years seeking $850,000-plus, having sold at $905,000 in 2007.
