St Peters, Sydney: Buyers at packed auction stunned after opening bid is $400,000 over price guide

Homeowner hopefuls at a packed auction in Sydney were stunned after the opening bid was $400,000 above list price.

Dozens of people attended Saturday’s auction of the house described as an “industrial tree house” on Crown Street in St. Peters, a suburb in the inner west of the city.

A short walk from St Peters train station and King Street in Newtown, the four-storey house features four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a double garage.

The 132 sqm property comes complete with a large stone built kitchen and artificial grass roof terrace that overlooks Sydney’s verdant parkland.

Buyer’s agent Penny Vandenhurk sent shockwaves through the crowd of hopeful buyers after he started bidding for $2.5 million.

The initial target price for the four-bedroom property with a leafy rooftop terrace was $1.9 million, which was later revised to $2.1 million.

Ms Vandenhurk said it was ‘obvious’ the house was not selling for less than $2.5 million with 18 registered bidders.

The buyer’s broker, who was bidding on behalf of the client, said her strategy was to make sure the auction had “as little momentum as possible.”

“I opened the bidding at $2,500,000,” Mrs Vandenhurk explains.

This came to audible shock from the crowd, many who probably based the value on the guide and thought they would go home if they got under it.

“Sorry if that was you, but I wasn’t there to leave people with emotional money lying around.”

Buyer’s agent Penny Vandenhurk sent shockwaves through the crowd of hopefuls after she began bidding at a competitive price of $2.5 million for the house (pictured is the roof)

The initial target price for the four-bedroom property with a leafy rooftop terrace was $1.9 million, which was later revised to $2.1 million (pictured is the living room)

A second bidder, backed by the Bank of Mum, bid $2.55 million when Mrs. Vandenhurk withdrew from the auction.

Then a third bidder pushed the bidding up even further and competed with the second bidder.

“Persons two and three battled it out pretty quickly to $2,840,000. It got stuck here because Mom was doing calculations on her phone and probably offered to throw in another $10,000 here and there,” she explained.

“At $2,870,000, the bids slowed to $5,000 and later by $2,500. Looks like Mom’s couch was out of person at this point.

A final offer from the third bidder put the home’s final price at $2.88 million.

The property sold for a whopping $1 million over its $1.9 million price list, falling just $20,000 short of the suburb record.

“While a unique home, let’s not forget this is in fairness, it’s very difficult for unique homes in a market with very little inventory to put our finger on where the price is going,” explains Ms. Vandenhurk.

“The market has also only been shifting for the last four weeks and has gained momentum that was nowhere to be seen in the second half of 2022.

‘After the auction, a spectator asked me why I opened so high.

“Here’s the bottom line: I’m doing this 24/7 and I know what a great auctioneer Mr. Damien Cooley is. He will build momentum and he will get every last dollar out of someone or their mother.

“I always spend my client’s money the same way I spend my own, but I’m there to execute a strategy and try to get them the outcome we discussed prior to the auction.

“Unfortunately, if someone else is willing to pay ~$250,000 more than you, it doesn’t matter how great your strategy is,” she explained.

A four-bedroom house on nearby Mary Street, located on a block five times its size, sold in November 2021 for $2.9 million.

The property sold for a whopping $1 million above its $1.9 million price list, remaining just $20,000 below the suburb’s record (pictured is the master bedroom and rooftop)

The sale comes on the same day an international student in Melbourne acquired a modest one-story home in eastern Melbourne for a whopping $5.11 million.

The student, bidding on behalf of his parents abroad, secured the home for a whopping $1.5 million over the $3.6 million to $3.96 million price list.

Four buyers competed on Saturday for the 852 m² property, which features a large living room, a spacious backyard and a double garage with automatic doors.