Surry Hills cottage in need of reno bought for $1.35 million at hot auction

“You can never go wrong with the inner city area… the market may be down at the moment but it won’t be like that forever.”

Happy shopper Martin Muscat (right) with his father John Muscat. Credit:Peter Rae

An experienced apartment renovator, Muscat says he has factored in the higher building costs when deciding what he will spend on the house. He plans to make some repairs and rent it out temporarily, before tackling a larger renovation.

“We wanted to turn it into a contemporary four-bedroom residence, and definitely wanted to keep the facade… we’ve added a few hundred thousand dollars into what we initially thought would cost and let’s hope it doesn’t exceed that.”

Sales agent Gerardo Ricco, of Ray White Hurstville, was surprised by the turnout given the cold market and rapidly rising building costs. He had expected about 10 bidders.

“The owner will take a little less [than the reserve] if we have to because the market is like that, but we don’t have to, just take off,” he said.

Rear shot of an 182 square meter block.Credit:Peter Rae

“There’s still enthusiasm out there, people are still looking at properties like this to develop and make a little money,” he said.

In North Ryde, two bidders competed for a pristine three-bedroom home at 317 Pittwater Road, which sold for $1.63 million – $5000 over reserve.

Bidding on the deceased land opened at $1.45 million and rose in increments of $20,000, $10,000, and $5000, as the lower north coast family and couple from Mascot, the eventual buyers, went head-to-head for the 556-square-meter block. The couple plans to rebuild on the site.

Sales agent Medwin Zahrabi, of The Agency North West, said it was a great result, given the location and current market.

Auctioneer Michael Garofolo, of Cooley Auctions, said buyers usually make smaller bid increases at auction now, for fear of paying more.

“Even in a raging market, buyers are afraid of paying too much but you can be a little more confident when the price goes up in your favor… when buying an asset that many people think will go down in the short term, they try to reduce their losses, which is why we saw more penny-pinching bids of $1000, $5000.”

At Mosman, only one in three registered bidders made a bid for a four-bedroom house at 19 Wolger Road, which sold for $4.2 million.

The buyer, a local downsizer, made a bid of $3.8 million, below the $4 million price guide. As the other two parties remained silent, it became clear that the house would not be sold at that rate and negotiations began on the auction floor.

Sales agent Anthony O’Gorman, of O’Gorman & Partners, said they ended up increasing their bid to $4.2 million in an attempt to secure it on the auction floor.

“There were two other registered bidders and several other parties who wanted to buy outside the auction conditions,” O’Gorman said. “[The buyers] understand its value and… have been looking for something like that for over 12 months.”

Records show the house last traded for $1.68 million in 2002.

In Alexandria, a two-bedroom apartment with a private garden was authorized with a vendor bid of $1.1 million, which is also the advertised price guide.

Two buyers signed up to bid on the rare 249-square-meter property at 3/55 Ralph Street, but neither made a bid.

If the house doesn’t sell in the next few days, the owner will probably keep it and rent it out for a few years, said sales agent Brad Gillespie, of The Agency Eastern Suburbs.

Records show the apartment last traded for $1.01 million in 2015.

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