A termite-infested terrace in Sydney has sold for $1.4 million or more than $400,000 above the reserve price despite a slowdown in the housing market.
The four-bedroom home at Stanmore, in the city’s inner-west, was sold at auction on Saturday at 40 per cent above the asking price.
This was despite being in an ‘unlivable’ state, with cracked brick walls in the outdated kitchen, tiles falling off in the bathroom and collapsed ceilings in some bedrooms. It had also sustained a fair amount of termite damage.
A termite-infested terrace in Sydney has sold for $1.4 million or more than $400,000 above the reserve price despite the housing market slowing down
The four-bedroom home at Stanmore, in the city’s inner-west, was sold at auction on Saturday at 40 per cent above the asking price
This was despite being in an unlivable state, with cracked brick walls in the outdated kitchen, tiles falling off in the bathroom and collapsed ceilings in some bedrooms. It had also sustained a fair amount of termite damage
Bresic Whitney selling agent Chris Nunn said a builder who grew up in the area bought the 19th century heritage value terrace on Railway Avenue so he could renovate it for his children to live in.
‘There was a fair bit of nostalgia for this guy who grew up in Stanmore,’ he told Daily Mail Australia on Monday.
‘He actually said he doesn’t mind he paid more than he expected to because it’s a long-term position.’
SQM Research founder Louis Christopher said while the housing market was slowing down in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, the high-end of the real estate market was still strong.
Bresic Whitney selling agent Chris Nunn said a builder who grew up in the area bought the 19th century heritage value terrace on Railway Avenue so he could renovate it for his children to live in
Selling agent Chris Nunn said a builder who grew up in Stanmore bought the dilapidated house so he could renovate it and hand it on to his children to live in
SQM Research founder Louis Christopher said while the housing market was slowing down in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, the high-end of the real estate market was still strong (Stanmore terrace pictured)
‘I’m seeing at the top end of the market a little bit of strength,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘That would fit in with the fact that Sydney’s still got a strong economy.’
However, an Australian Prudential Regulation Authority crackdown on interest-only loans for investors was affecting the lower and middle-end of the market in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in particular.
‘I’m definitely seeing softness, vendors struggling to sell, especially when they have the pricing wrong on their property,’ he said.
‘It’s not by any means any type of collapse – there are still buyers there, just predominately owner-occupiers and first-home buyers.’
At Waitara, on Sydney’s upper North Shore, apartments are being discounted by $30,000 to $50,000 despite being in close proximity to a train station and the Westfield shopping complex at Hornsby.
However in Lane Cove, closer to the city, a one-bedroom unit sold for $637,500 on Friday, a day before a scheduled auction, despite a price guide of $575,000 for a property with no garage and a half-hour walk from Artarmon train station.
The top end of the Sydney market is strong but the back end (Stanmore terrace backyard pictured) is soft as the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority cracks down on interest-only loans for investors
The overall housing market in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane is slowing down as the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority cracks down on interest-only loans for investors (cracked and peeling tiles in Stanmore terrace pictured)
Bresic Whitney’s Chris Nunn said the only difference he had noticed in recent months was homes at the higher end of the market were taking slightly longer to sell, while still commanding strong prices
Bresic Whitney’s Chris Nunn said homes at the higher end of the market were taking slightly longer to sell, while still commanding strong prices.
‘There’s obviously not that frenzy in week one that if a person doesn’t buy nothing will come up,’ he said.
‘But again, that may translate to a sale in week two or week three whereas in the past it might have been week one.’
The selling price for the terrace of $1.4 million was well above Sydney’s median house price of $1.18 million, as quoted by Domain Group figures.
Property data group Core Logic reported that in the year to the end of March, Sydney house prices had fallen by 3.79 per cent, after falling by 0.29 per cent during March.