‘It’s over’: First home buyers embrace after paying $967,000 for inner-west home

A young couple buying their first home were the successful bidders for a two-bedroom apartment in Croydon, paying $967,000 on Saturday.

The auction of 8/150 Edwin Street North attracted about 40 people, with the crowd spilling onto the tree-lined street. There were six registered bidders, with four active.

Bidding began at $890,000, followed by $10,000 increments. When the offer reached $940,000, one bidder requested time to call his wife, who was interstate for the weekend with girlfriends.

Bidding then continued in increments of $5000 until the last few bids of $1000.

A final bid of $2000 drew auctioneer Chris Scerri’s hammer, as the successful young woman exclaimed “it’s over” before turning to embrace her partner.

The property had a guide of $900,000 and a reserve of $950,000.

There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.

The winning couple, who did not give their names, plan to move into the north-facing apartment, one of nine in the mid-century block. They said they had used the Australian government’s “5% Deposit Scheme” to get into the property market.

A local couple, they were attracted by the apartment’s location near transport, shops and Ashfield Aquatic Centre.

Harris Tripp sales agent Joey Di Perna said there was a lack of supply for properties at this price point and calibre in Croydon.

“[The apartment] has windows on three sides, and they can’t build places like this any more because the cost of double brick construction would be incredible,” he said.

The underbidders were also first home buyers.

The property was one of 871 scheduled to go to auction in Sydney this week.

At North Manly, an eight-bedroom house built for multi-generational living passed in at auction.

While four bidders registered, there was just one bid of $2.8 million for 19 Robert Avenue before a vendor’s bid of $3.3 million finished the auction.

The property had a guide of $3 million and a reserve of $3.5 million.

At the time of publication, negotiations were ongoing with the highest bidders, a multi-generational family known to the vendors. The property is being sold as a deceased estate.

A sales agent for The North Agency, Harry Pownall, said buyers were displaying levels of uncertainty similar to those experienced during COVID-19.

“Everyone wants someone else to make the decision [to buy] first,” Pownall said. “There are opportunities right now, but people don’t want to take them.”

Closer to the city, a young woman from Bondi buying her first home won the keys to a one-bedroom apartment in Potts Point, paying $1.03 million on Saturday.

While 10 bidders registered for the 49-square-metre home at 8/127-139 Macleay Street, only three were active. Bidding opened at $910,000, with offers rising in increments of $10,000 before slowing to $1000 and a single bid of $500. After 26 bids, the hammer fell.

The property had a guide of $900,000 and a reserve of $925,000.

The underbidder had also planned to move in, while the vendors were looking to upsize into a larger home to start a family.

The sales agent for Ray White Touma Taylor, Walter Burfitt-Williams, said the light-filled apartment – with features including neoclassic columns, parquetry floors, original kitchen cabinetry and pink tiled bathroom – had much to recommend it.

“Overlooking the [El Alamein] fountain, it has the ‘X factor’ buyers fall for,” he said.

Comparable apartments had sold for between $925,000 and $950,000, he said.

“Emotion took over from logic [with this auction],” Burfitt-Williams said.

At Sylvania, a couple downsizing bought a three-bedroom townhouse metres from the Georges River at 1/1-3 Ellis Street for $1.59 million, less than the reserve of $1.65 million. The property had a guide of $1.5 million.

Bidding opened at $1.55 million and offers rose in increments of $25,000 and $20,000. Three bidders registered and two took part.

The successful bidders were attracted by its water views. The underbidder was a “rentvestor” with plans to live in the property before putting it on the rental market.

Pulse Property Agents sales agent Luke Lombardi said activity had picked up in recent weeks as buyers and vendors adjusted to interest rate rises and ongoing international uncertainty.

“I’ve had a few comments from buyers that they are waiting until Tuesday to see if rates will go up and whether there will be some bargains,” Lombardi said. “But if you price well, you will get buyers.”

The Monetary Policy Board of the Reserve Bank of Australia will meet on Tuesday to make a decision on the cash rate.