STRONG interest in a renovated home led to a huge number of potential buyers turning out to an auction in North Lambton.
The two-bedroom home at 36 High Street drew 18 registered bidders which was well above the average of 3.4 recorded over the past three months in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie.
Listed with an auction guide of $700,000 to $770,000, the property sold under the hammer for $940,000 and set the record as the highest price paid for a two-bedroom home in the suburb.
It topped the previous record of $910,000 which was set during the peak of the market in 2021 and it was only the third two-bedroom house in the suburb to sell above $800,000.
Spillane Property selling agent Patrick Skinner said the property appealed to first-home buyers.
"Sub $800,000, we're getting a lot of first home buyers and with this one, we were getting a lot of people that wanted to be within close proximity to the city but also still tucked away," Mr Skinner said.
"This home was really accessible and a short trip everything that you needed like Jesmond shop, the city or the hospitals."
We spoke with Mr Skinner about the auction and the result:
The property: A two-bedroom, one-bathroom renovated weatherboard home on 556 square metres. The house had undergone an extensive renovation and update since it was last sold in 2019 for $480,000. The home included a study and features such as hardwood timber flooring, wool carpets and an integrated oven in the kitchen. The property had rear lane access, established gardens and a large covered alfresco area and deck.
Agency: Donna Spillane at Spillane Property.
What made this property special? It was a short campaign, about two-and-a-half weeks, and we had good inspections throughout the whole campaign. The feedback from buyers was that they loved the garden and the fact that it didn't have another house behind it. It had off-street parking and it was move-in-ready. It just seemed to tick all the boxes. It was a very spacious two bedroom home and the study area was a real draw card for a lot of people who work from home. It was just a really well done and very thoughtful renovation.
How many registered bidders? We had 18 registered bidders and at least half a dozen were actively bidding.
Where were the potential buyers from? It was a real mix of buyers. The majority were first home buyers and we also had some downsizers. We had some investors that were looking at it, including investors from Sydney.
How did the auction unfold? We were guiding $700,000 to $770,000 and the auction started at $782,000 and then it went up rapidly. We had everything from $1000 increments to $5000 to $20,000 and $25,000 increments. It was bold bidding right to the end. It was a very quick auction with very quick bidding. It was hard to keep up the counting of the bids because it was coming through so quickly. In the end it went to a first home buyer. The couple who bought it, one of them loved gardening and she could name all of the herbs in the garden and even made a suggestion as to what she wants to put in there, so she plans to keep the garden which the owner was very pleased about.
The result: The property sold for $940,000. That was the third two bedroom house in the suburb to ever sell over $800,000. It actually set the suburb record in North Lambton for a two-bedroom house.
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