A single bid secures keys to inner west home for $150,000 below reserve

A woman from Greenacre bought a home in Croydon Park for $150,000 less than the reserve with a single bid on Saturday, paying $1.3 million at auction.

The woman was the only registered bidder for 16 Brighton Avenue and initially made an offer before the auction starting of $1.25 million for the well-presented two-bedroom semi, which was guided at $1.35 million.

However, Rich & Oliva sales agent Marco Errichiello convinced her to raise the offer with a formal bid of $1.3 million and the property sold.

“She said that was the maximum she could afford to spend with the current rate rises,” Errichiello said. “[The vendor] thought it was better to have a sale in these conditions rather than wait.”

The vendor has held it as an investment. Records show it last sold in 2009 for $520,000.

The property had a reserve of $1.45 million. There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.

Errichiello said it was evident there was “enthusiasm” from buyers hoping for a good price in current market conditions.

“If we had guided [this property] a bit lower, we would have had more people,” he said. “It [may be at a point where it’s] an uncomfortable price for vendors, but there are buyers to be had.”

The property was one of 576 scheduled to go to auction in Sydney this week.

In Woolooware, a family from Dulwich Hill seeking to upsize from an apartment bid against themselves to secure the keys to a three-bedroom townhouse – a week after selling their own home.

The property at 16/73 Denman Avenue had a guide of $1.4 million, which was also the opening bid. The bidders, the single registered party, then bid against themselves, initially going up to $1.42 million.

That was followed by two further bids of $5000 before the home sold under the hammer for $1.43 million. It had a reserve of $1.52 million.

Sales agent for Pulse Property, Liam Farrell, said the family would not have been able to turn the sale around so quickly if it were not for the auction process.

“They only sold [their property] last Saturday and came through [their new home] on Monday,” he said.

“This time last year, we would have had five or six buyers, but today there was only one. If this was private treaty, this buyer would not have turned it around so quickly.”

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