157a Dawson Street, Cooks Hill
Cooks Hill pulled a huge auction result on Saturday with the auction hammer coming down at $1.8 million.`
We spoke to Pat Collins, a representative from the selling agency Movable, about the property and the auction.
The property: An original three-bedroom, one-bathroom California bungalow on a corner 388 square metre block at 157a Dawson Street, Cooks Hill. The property sold for $1.8 million.
Agent and agency: Anthony Merlo and Movable.
What was the auction guide price? Our guide was originally $1.3 million but after a bit of feedback our selling agent and auctioneer Anthony Merlo adjusted the guide to $1.45 million. On the day of the auction, the opening bid was $1.45 million and Anthony took that bid on the day and then it was fiercely fought out all the way up to $1.8 million.
How many registered bidders were at the auction? There was 10 registered bidders and I would say around 50 to 60 per cent of those were Cooks Hill locals. That was quite impressive to see a lot of local competition. It was mostly people that were looking to undertake quite a large project and build their next family home. They love the area. There's no better advocate for Cooks Hill than a Cooks Hill local.
Where were potential buyers from? There may have been one or two from out of Newcastle, but it was mostly local bidders. It was purchased by a local buyer who wanted to move into Cooks Hill. I am unsure what their plans are at this stage.
Was the result of $1.8 million a surprise? It blew everyone away, especially with the market and the last few months of interest rate rises. We certainly didn't expect a result like that, however, I think Anthony did a really great job with the marketing and a property like that doesn't come up very often at all. I think the whole team was surprised by the result. Twelve months ago it wouldn't have been a surprise but I think a bit more normality has come to the market and a lot of educated buyers are looking to purchase something like that and are thinking about the next 10, 15 or 20 years whereas the market is going to have its ups and downs regardless.
Why was this property special? The appeal of the property was the position. It's right across from the park [Centennial Park] and it is a corner parcel of land. It had off-street parking. The home was in original condition and I think many people could see so much potential with what they could do on the site. That showed itself on the day.
How did the auction unfold? It was fierce competition, it wasn't just two buyers going at it the whole time. There were quite a number of active buyers. It went up in $25,000 increments from $1.45 million all the way to $1.7 million and then from $1.7 million it crawled over the $1.8 million. The vendors are very happy and the family and the buyers are ecstatic as well.
