Auctioneer Michael Garofolo in action on Saturday morning for the auction of 67 Forsyth St in West Ryde. Picture: Sam Ruttyn
Rising house prices across Sydney has seen a charming cottage described as тАЬentry-levelтАЭ sell under the hammer for close to $1.7 million.
Competition for the three-bedroom house was hot, given there were only a dozen homes for sale in West Ryde, according to realestate.com.au. The lack of choice saw 10 buyers register to bid for the Forsyth St residence, ranging from families to couples and downsizers.
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A total of four bidders took part on the day with auctioneer Michael Garofolo kicking proceedings off with a $1.1 million bid from a young couple. This was followed by a $1.2 million punt from a downsizers who had assistance from a buyerтАЩs agent.
A big crowd turned up on the June winterтАЩs morning. Picture: Sam Ruttyn.
The drama started to heat up as a third bidder entered at $1.3 million before the downsizers came back with an offer $150,000 higher, which sailed past the $1.4 million reserve.
With the house on the market, the bidding increments started to slow down after $1.5 million with an offer from the fourth buyer and eventual underbidder. The buyerтАЩs agent came back strong with every offer the underbidder made.
This led to a knockout $20,000 blow to seal the deal at $1.65 million тАФ $250,000 over the reserve.
CoreLogic revealed earlier this month the average house in Sydney was now worth $1.186 million after housing values soared by over 10 per cent since January.
The heritage home had three bedrooms.
Catherine and Tony Collins had been looking for six months. Picture: Sam Ruttyn.
Downsizers Catherine and Tony Collins were overcome with joy as Mr Garofolo dropped the gavel in front of a big crowd in the backyard.
The couple had been looking to buy for six months after selling their property that had been in the family for 70 years at the start of 2021.
Mr Garofolo said buyers were looking for homes that they can move right into or can knock down and rebuild.
тАЬHomes are still selling for a premium and anything that is in a good spot or on a good block is getting plenty of attention,тАЭ he said.
Green Real Estate AgencyтАЩs Jerry Dionisatos said the strong result capped of a very successful campaign for the heritage-listed house.
The property had 10 bidders register.
тАЬIt was the perfect place for someone looking to get into the market with an entry-level home in this market,тАЭ he said.
Mr Dionisatos said the heat of the market was starting to come off a bit, which presented buyers a good opportunity to make a move.
тАЬThe heat is cooling down a bit at this price point, which makes it a great time to be buying,тАЭ he said.
It was one of about 1216 properties that were scheduled to go under the hammer across Sydney yesterday тАФ an increase of 471 from last weekend, according to CoreLogic.
With Matt Bell
