Hopeful homeowners at a packed auction in Sydney have been left stunned after the opening bid was $400,000 over the price guide.
Dozens attended the auction for the home described as an ‘industrial treehouse’ on Crown Street in St Peters, a suburb in the city’s inner west, on Saturday.
The four-level home, a short walk from St Peters train station and King Street in Newtown, boasts four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a double garage.
The 132sqm property comes complete with a large stone kitchen and a rooftop terrace fitted with astro-turf that overlooks the leafy Sydney park.
Buyer’s agent Penny Vandenhurk sent shockwaves through the crowd of hopeful buyers after starting the bidding at $2.5 million.
The initial price guide for the four-bedroom property with a leafy rooftop terrace was $1.9 million, which was later revised up to $2.1 million.
Dozens attended the auction for the home described as an ‘industrial treehouse’ on Crown Street in St Peters, a suburb in the city’s inner west, on Saturday (pictured)
Ms Vandenhurk said it was ‘obvious’ that the home wasn’t selling for less than $2.5 million with 18 registered bidders.
The buyer’s agent, who was bidding on behalf of the client, said her strategy was to ensure the auction had ‘as little momentum as possible’.
‘I opened the bidding at $2,500,000,’ Ms Vandenhurk explained.
‘This came to the audible shock of the crowd, many who had probably based the value on the guide and thought they’d be going home owning it for under this.
‘Sorry if that was you, but I wasn’t there to let people throw emotional money around.’
Buyer’s agent Penny Vandenhurk sent shockwaves through the crowd of hopefuls after starting the bidding at a competitive $2.5 million for the home (pictured is the rooftop)
The initial price guide for the four-bedroom property with a leafy rooftop terrace was $1.9 million which was later revised up to $2.1 million (pictured is the living room)
A second bidder backed by the ‘bank of mum’ offered $2.55 million, as Ms Vandenhurk pulled out of the auction.
Then a third bidder pushed the bidding up even further, competing with the second bidder.
Read Related Also: Tiffany Pennywell Bio, Age, Height, Parents, Love Is Blind
‘Person two and three battled it out pretty quickly up to $2,840,000. It stalled here as mum was doing calculations on her phone and likely offering to throw in another $10,000 here and there,’ she explained.
‘At $2,870,000, the bids slowed to $5,000 and later by $2,500. It seems like the bank of mum ran out for person two at this point.
A final bid from the third bidder took the home’s final price to $2.88 million.
The property sold for a staggering $1 million over the price guide of $1.9 million and fell short of the suburb record by just $20,000.
‘While a unique home, let’s not forget this is in fairness, unique homes in a market with very little stock is very hard to put a finger on for where the price may land,’ Ms Vandenhurk explained.
‘The market has also only started to shift in the last four weeks, and has picked up a momentum that was nowhere to be seen in the second half of 2022.
‘Post-auction, a spectator asked me why I opened the bidding so high.
‘Here is the thing: I do this 24/7, and I know what a great auctioneer Mr Damien Cooley is. He will build momentum, and he will extract every last dollar out of someone, or their mum.
‘I always spend my client’s money the same way I would my own, but I’m there to execute a strategy and try to get them the outcome that we have discussed prior to auction.
‘Unfortunately, when someone else is willing to pay ~$250,000 more than you, it doesn’t matter how great your strategy is,’ she explained.
A four-bedroom home on nearby Mary Street sitting on a block five times the size sold for $2.9 million in November, 2021.
The property sold for a staggering $1 million over the price guide of $1.9 million and fell short of the suburb record by just $20,000 (pictured is the main bedroom and rooftop)
The sale comes on the same day an international student in Melbourne secured a modest one-storey home in east Melbourne for a staggering $5.11 million.
The student, who was bidding on behalf of his parents overseas, secured the home for a staggering 1.5 million over the price guide of $3.6 million to $3.96 million.
Four buyers competed to snag the 852 sqm property on Saturday, which boasts a large lounge room, spacious backyard and a double garage with automatic doors.
