‘Prime address’: Opulent Strathfield new build sells for $10.85m

An opulent, brand-new build on a corner block in Strathfield sold at auction for $10.85 million on Saturday, with a crowd of 300 watching on in the rain.

The three-level, luxe property at 31 Newton Road had six bedrooms, a cinema room, an internal lift and basement parking.

Five bidders registered and three made offers, McGrath Strathfield selling agent Tarun Sethi said.

Bidding opened at $9.6 million, $200,000 under the $9.8 million guide.

The price rose in mostly $100,000 increments until it sold under the hammer for just $50,000 more than its $10.8 million reserve.

Sethi said it was a “prime address” and added that the auction was a “good sign to show there is a lot of strength in the market still”.

The vendor was an owner-occupier who had completely rebuilt the property. The buyer was a local family.

The address last traded for $3.39 million in 2017, records show.

The property was one of 1326 scheduled auctions in Sydney last week. By Saturday evening, Domain Group had recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 58 per cent from 834 reported results, while 237 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.

In Paddington, a lime green two-bedroom terrace with no parking was snapped up by a first home buyer couple for $2.48 million at auction on Saturday.

The two-storey property at 78 Underwood Street was purchased from a church in 1951.

Ray White’s Jackson Snell said buyers were drawn to “the central Paddington location, quite a tightly held pocket, and the opportunity to redesign and recreate the home”.

Five parties registered to bid on the deceased estate, which had passed through two generations of the same family.

Bidding opened at the $2 million guide and rose in $50,000 increments between two parties.

Towards the tail end of the battle, bids reduced to $5000 rises until the terrace sold for $28,000 above its $2.2 million reserve for $2.48 million, Snell said.

“The Paddington market remains resilient for unique and rare opportunities … despite this week’s interest rate rise,” he said.

The vendors were thrilled, Snell said.

“It was bittersweet for the family, being held in the family for such a long time.

“The buyers are from the UK and had been renting locally.”

In Balmain, a charming workers’ cottage at 73 College Street sold under the hammer for $1.99 million.

The two-bedroom home was guided at $1.75 million and drew six registered bidders, a mix of prospective buyers from nearby suburbs, locals and first home buyers.

Bidding for the two-bedroom single level home opened at $1.65 million, with four actively competing in rises of $50,000, $20,000 and $10,000.

The property was called on the market when it reached its reserve of $1.95 million.

The cottage sold to a local from the other side of Balmain, who wanted to be closer to the ferry and Darling Street.

Belle Property selling agent Ralph Daher said: “Balmain is full of those workers’ cottages, due to the history of Balmain being a workers’ town … People loved the fact that it still had a lot of the character maintained.”

He said while there was no parking, it was easy to park on the one-way street.

“We’re going to a normal market at the moment,” he said. “It’s not extremely hot and it’s not extremely dead.

“This was [a] sub-$2 million, good entry level for first home buyers, and also, you know, for someone who wants to create their dream home.”

The deceased estate last traded for $295,000 in 1995, records show.

AMP chief economist Dr Shane Oliver said Domain’s clearance rate of 58 per cent for Sydney is “getting worse and worse”.

“This is just a continuation of the trend … We’re pretty much back to where we were at the end of last year, where things were pretty quiet,” Oliver said.

“It’s increasingly obvious that higher interest rates and the war are depressing confidence.”

“In some ways,” he added, “it’s not a bad time to be looking around for properties as the high interest rates and the worries about the war and tax on inflation are keeping other people away, so for smart home buyers it actually provides opportunities.”