First home buyer outbids seven others for $943,000 unit in Mortdale

A first home buyer outbid seven other parties, paying $943,000 for a two-bedroom apartment in Mortdale on Saturday.

The north-facing corner apartment at 3/35 Oxford Street had a guide and a reserve of $800,000.

Fifteen people registered to participate in the auction, with eight active.

Bidding opened at $700,000 and progressed slowly with increments of $5000 and $10,000. When the offer reached $800,000, bids decreased again, rising in $2000 and $1000 increments. Twenty minutes after bidding began, the hammer fell.

Ray White Kingsgrove sales agent Karl Flaifel said buyers were attracted by the location of the “neat and tidy” apartment, which was on the corner of the street-facing building.

The successful bidder was a young man buying his first home, who attended the auction with his mother. He intends to move in.

The underbidders were a mix of first home buyers and owner-occupiers.

The property was one of 615 scheduled to go to auction in Sydney this week, the first weekend after Treasurer Jim Chalmers unveiled changes in the federal budget to tax concessions on investment properties, along with supply measures, to boost home ownership.

In Balmain, a young family on holiday in Bali outbid an investor, paying $2.32 million for a three-bedroom house with study.

Cooley auctioneer Jake Moore rejected an opening bid of $1.7 million for 2 Cardwell Street, before making a vendor’s bid of $2 million. The property had a guide of $2 million to $2.2 million and a reserve of $2.25 million.

There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.

All five registered bidders were active, with bids rising in increments of $50,000 until the offer reached $2.15 million, when they slowed to $10,000 and $5000.

The successful bidders intend to move in and improve the house over time.

The family is on holiday in Bali and had a representative bid on their behalf. The underbidders were a mix of investors planning to renovate and owner/builders intending to “flip” it.

The Agency sales agent Luke Evans said he was pleased to achieve a result that was $70,000 above the reserve in an uncertain market.

“There is definitely an increased level of indecision from the buying side of things and some apprehension from sellers,” Evans said. “We had three other [bidders] who said they would be there [today] and they didn’t show up.”