No genuine bids for Alexandria terrace home that failed to sell at auction

A contemporary terrace home in Alexandria is still available after passing in on a vendor bid of $2.4 million at auction on Saturday, where the only registered bidder did not make an offer.

The tri-level, four-bedroom modern home at 298 Belmont Street, which includes a back garden and gourmet kitchen with walk-in pantry on a 127-square-metre block, was guided at $2.3 million.

The property was one of 580 scheduled auctions in Sydney last week. By Saturday evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 53 per cent from 353 reported results, while 124 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.

Selling agent Brad Gillespie from The Agency said he was expecting two buyers, however only one registered – an investor – who did not bid.

“We’ll end up probably I’d say putting a For Sale price on it and seeing what that looks like, or the alternative is put a tenant in there, and ride this out the way the market is,” he said.

The reserve was $2.5 million. The for sale price had not yet been set by time of publication.

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

The property last traded for $2.2 million, in 2021, records show. Alexandria’s median house price was $2.22 million over the year to March, Domain data shows.

Some sellers had more luck. A three-bedroom Bankstown home sold for $1,305,000 – $355,000 more than it was purchased for a year prior.

The single level property at 4 Irvine Street drew four registered buyers at auction on Saturday. One was a first home buyer, two were owner-occupiers, and one was an investor, all actively competing from the surrounding Canterbury Bankstown area.

Bidding opened at $1.1 million, and went up in two $50,000 increments to $1.2 million.

Bids climbed in $25,000, $10,000, $5000 and $1000 rises until $1.3 million, when it was announced on the market.

A further three bids were made at $1,301,000, $1,302,000, and $1,305,000, when it sold for $5000 above its $1.3 million reserve.

“There was no price guide. It just must be sold for whatever it got,” Ray White Bankstown selling agent Jeremiah Shashati said.

“We just told people to come and have a look and let us know what they thought it was worth.”

He said the property received offers ranging from $1 million to $1.15 million pre-auction.

The buyers are from Chester Hill. The vendors will upsize in Bankstown.

The house last traded for $950,000, in 2025, records show.

Elsewhere, a three-bedroom house in Allambie Heights sold under its $2.3 million guide and reserve, fetching $2.18 million.

The classic brick home at 4 Goondari Road close to Warringah Mall drew one registered bidder.

Bidding opened at $2.1 million, then went up to $2,175,000, and a final offer of $2.18 million, where the vendors accepted and it sold under the hammer after three bids.

Selling agent Tim Cullen from McGrath Manly said, “Banks are tightening up … and the days on market on most properties is lengthening, which means there’s less buyers cashed up and ready.”

The home last traded for $240,000, in 1988, records show.

In Cherrybrook, a four-bedroom home with a covered entertaining area sold to a downsizer from Kellyville.

The family home at 19 Walnut Grove had a guided range of $1.9 million to $2 million and sold at its reserve of $2.1 million.

Two parties registered and one was active. An attempt to open the auction at $1.9 million was rejected. Bidding opened officially at $2 million, one bid of $60,000 was placed, then it went straight to $2.1 million.

Selling agent Mitchell Hann from Ray White Upper North Shore said the buyer who did not participate was an investor “looking for a good deal.”

Hann said Cherrybrook typically has 40 properties in a peak market however there are 60-plus properties available there now.

“The market is a very slow-moving market. It’s quite saturated with an oversupply,” he said.

The buyers are moving closer to family. The vendors are moving to the Central Coast.

The address last traded for $352,500 in 1998, records show.

PRD’s chief economist Dr Diaswati Mardiasmo said Domain’s clearance rate of 53 per cent for Sydney is “holding quite steady at the moment.”

Mardiasmo said the clearance rate is a reflection of investors being less involved in the auction market as well as the cash rate being held steady.

“We do know that there is going to be an RBA meeting on the 11th of August, and that there’s a possibility that it will either be a hold or a cash rate hike, and so we might see a slight uptick in auction clearance rate in the next [period],” she said.