Investor beats owner-occupiers to $2.9 million inner west terrace

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An investor has edged out the competition to clench the keys for $2,910,000 to a grand Victorian terrace in the inner west.

The Forest Lodge property, at 25 Charles Street, has three bedrooms and was held by the vendor for 18 years, having been recently renovated to a stylish standard.

The presentation and location of the property, near parks and cafés, and a 50-metre walk to a popular primary school, enticed four bidders to register for the auction.

The property was one of 910 scheduled to go to auction in Sydney this week.

Of the three who took part, two were owner-occupiers. One opened the bidding at $2.35 million, which was $500,000 shy of the $2.4 million campaign price guide. The single investor was the last standing at $2.91 million, after increments of $50,000 climbed past the reserve of $2.75 million.

Brad Heffernan runs the auction at the Victorian terrace in inner-city Forest Lodge.

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

Agent Giles Colliver of Adrian William Real Estate said the preserved period decor and mid-level price for an updated terrace in the suburb were motivators for a competitive auction.

“It had been renovated by the current owner, and they’d renovated it in order to sell,” he said.

“It is bursting with period features – all the original cornices, ceiling roses and high ceilings, and it has a lovely, light and airy feel to it,” said Colliver.

“It is a really good example of an inner west terrace.”

An investor also triumphed in Leichhardt, beating a first home buyer to snap up two units in one double-storey terrace at 45 Renwick Street.

Each dwelling occupied a level of the property, and had a kitchen, living and dining room, bathroom, and a bedroom.

The campaign guide was $1.3 million. Agent James Montano of Montano Group said the prospect of living in one and renting out the other appealed to the owner-occupiers who were in the hunt, along with other investors.

Seven bidders registered and five took part. Montano described the auction, which opened at $1,310,000, as a “tiny bit cagey”, grinding along in small increments, as bidders played their cards close.

The hammer dropped at $1,512,000, which was $12,000 more than the reserve.

“Overall it was a fair result that is a good reflection of the market,” Montano said.

In Woolooware, a 980-square-metre development site across the road from Shark Stadium fetched $3,315,000, leaping the reserve by $15,000.

The sale of the three-bedroom house at 8 Woolooware Road was emotional for the vendor, who had owned it since 1980, agent Luke Lombardi of Pulse Property Agents said. The vendor at first lived in the house, and then leased it out for a period.

The sale closed a long chapter.

The address, which had price hopes of $3 million during the campaign and was offered for sale for the first time, is zoned for duplex development.

Four bidders registered and two, both developers, were active. They traded confident bids until $3.3 million, when a $1000 bid was answered by a bullish $14,000 rise. That was enough for the hammer to fall.

“It’s more likely the buyer is going to build detached homes because it’s got a 20-metre frontage,” Lombardi said.

“They’ll either do side-by-side or they’ll subdivide the block and build a home at the back.

“I was expecting more bidders, but I think once you get over the $3 million mark, you do have less buyers because it’s a premium price. But whatever you do in this block, you’re going to win because it’s such a good location.”

In Canley Heights, an owner-occupier outmuscled builders to buy a renovated house, one door up from a shopping village.

The three-bedroom home, on a double lot at 184 Canley Vale Road, sold for $1,781,000, against a reserve of $1.7 million. Pre-auction feedback from prospective buyers landed between $1.6 million to $1.7 million, agent Tom Lu of LJ Hooker Edensor Park said.

It was positioned as a duplex opportunity, but the cards fell differently.

Of nine registered bidders, five participated. A bidder attempted to kick off the auction at $1.2 million, which the auctioneer knocked back, and that was answered by a $1.5 million bid, which started proceedings.

“There were a few builders in the mix because you can build a duplex on it, and the location, being next to the shops, was always going to get premium dollars,” Lu said.

“It is a very good result because the market is a bit patchy, and not every property is going to get great results. The owners were happy, so that’s the most important thing.”