Inner-city warehouse apartment sells for $150,000 below reserve

A warehouse apartment in the celebrated “Meta by Starck” building in Surry Hills sold for $150,000 below the reserve on Saturday.

Bidding for the two-bedroom apartment at 313/148 Goulburn Street started at $2 million, the same as the guide, before going up in increments of $50,000. When it reached $2.15 million, bids dropped to increments of $25,000 until it reached $2.25 million when the hammer fell and the property sold.

The property was one of 985 scheduled to go to auction in Sydney this week. By evening, Domain recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 48 per cent from 564 reported results throughout the week, while 208 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.

The Surry Hills home had a reserve of $2.4 million. There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.

Two parties registered and both were active.

The successful bidder was a single person attracted by the size of the apartment, which is 151 square metres, and the ability it afforded them to walk to work in the city. The underbidders were a local couple who knew the block well and were keen to secure a home there. The vendor is downsizing.

“Meta by Starck” was a collaboration between French designer Philippe Starck and the Australian architect Richard Francis-Jones in the early 2000s which included the conversion of the 1912 warehouse into a collection of 32 apartments.

All fixtures and fittings in the apartments were from the Starck catalogue.

The corner apartment enjoys natural light from two directions.DomainAdvertisementThe homes are widely referred to as “New York-style” apartments thanks to their floor-to-ceiling windows, high ceilings and exposed brick work. The sale of the third floor corner apartment also includes a double car parking space with lock-up storage in the basement.

The vendor, who bought the property off the plan when it was originally designed, converted a third bedroom into further living space.

Sales agent for PPD Real Estate Debbie Donnelley, said desirable properties with “realistic” price guides are still selling well.

“But if it is a touch above, it is still very price sensitive,” she said. “And if a property is perceived to have an issue [buyers] will walk away.”

In Randwick, a top-floor, two-bedroom unrenovated apartment sold on Saturday for $1.01 million, $40,000 below the reserve to a first-time buyer.

Four groups registered to bid for the keys to 7/1 Church Street but when the auction opened, just two participated – a first-home buyer and a builder planning to renovate and keep it as an investment.

The first-home buyer made the opening bid at $900,000. Bids continued in increments of $25,000 until it reached $1 million when it stalled. The first-home buyer then bid a further $10,000 against himself and the property sold.

The property, which was sold as a deceased estate, had a guide of $950,000 and a reserve of $1.05 million. It was marketed as being in original condition offering “plenty of scope to update and add further value”.

The successful bidder, who has been renting in Zetland, had been looking for only two weeks.

“I am finding 70 per cent of buyers I have met in the last month or two are all new – they have been looking since August,” sales agent for Ray White Eastern Beaches, Angus Gorrie said.

“They are coming out of the woodwork because they have seen the market has dropped.

“But anyone who has been looking since May is still looking.”

The apartment is on the top floor of an older-style building and is a 10-minute walk from Centennial Park.DomainIn Baulkham Hills, a fully renovated five-bedroom home sold for $2,825,000 – $25,000 above the reserve.

Three groups registered to vie for the keys to 3 Valda Place – including one after the auction started – with bidding kicking off at $2.65 million. Two were active. Bidding proceeded in increments of $50,000 until it reached $2.75 million when it stalled briefly. More $25,000 bids followed and the hammer fell.

The property had a guide of $2.7 million and a reserve of $2.8 million.

The successful bidders were a local family who “fell in love” with the high-quality build and its position in the coveted Crestwood pocket. Records show the property last sold for $651,000 in 2008.

The vendors were a family moving out of Sydney.

Richard Matthews sales agent Jesse di Loreto said the sale price was a strong result for the area and an indication that buyer confidence was returning.

“A lot of people who have been holding off for the past six months are coming back. The Hills district has been quite resilient,” he said.

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This story has been updated to clarify the final bids for the Baulkham Hills property.

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