Sydney be crazy
From a house that sold twice within six weeks to wild warehouses that broke price records, 2016 has been a year of hysteria and contradiction. Low property supply in the inner city offered few options for those intent on buying, leading to erratic behaviour and interesting results.
Take this month: November is traditionally quieter with people winding down for the year. Yet we saw 93 sales, our second-biggest month of all time. We usually wrap up the month explaining what we understand about the Sydney property market. But in this mad climate, below are a few more things no one could predict.
To keep your finger on the pulse of the Sydney property market, subscribe to our monthly updates here.
Buyers defy logic
2016 buyers didn’t know what they wanted until they saw it. Often, the home they bought was the opposite of where their journey began.
Take this pad at 226/6 Cowper Wharf Road, Woolloomooloo. The buyer was staunch for Paddington terraces. Apartments weren’t an option. Then suddenly, the lure of this Finger Wharf lifestyle was too much. The apartment traded almost immediately for $1.55 million.
We encouraged another Paddington buyer to stay tuned to our ‘off-market’ properties. Soon they fancied a private viewing of this modern home from architect Nick Bell. Another luxury impulse buy, it traded for $3 million without advertising on Domain or Realestate.com.au.
Meanwhile at our Balmain office, a house at 194 Short Street, Birchgrove sold to yet another Paddington buyer. This time, the buyer had never been to Balmain before, or even considered a property in the Inner West. The price of this perfect match? $4.8 million.
Blink and you’ll miss it
A new breed of perceptive, the 2016 consumer was equally prepared. They’ve been burnt. They’ve missed out before. And they pounce on value when they see it. If it weren’t for a night or two of due diligence, many BresicWhitney homes would have sold in one day.
Take the apartment at 26/74 McLachlan Avenue, Darlinghurst. It sold to an off-market buyer within three days of listing. That’s about as fast as you can download a Strata Report and have your lawyer eyeball a contract.
A house at 97 Ferry Road, Glebe failed to sell back in 2015. In early 2016, the vendors changed tactic towards an off-market campaign and it quickly found a buyer.
Similarly, this house at 61 Victoria Street, Potts Point was listed on the wider market with a competitor for more than 280 days. When it hit our off-market platform it was snapped up within 3 days. That same purchaser then listed and sold his Darlinghurst apartment on the platform – happy customer.
Size doesn’t matter
A one-bedroom apartment rivaled a multi-million dollar warehouse conversion for our most-viewed property of the year.
If you consider Sydney’s love of warehouses then it’s probably no surprise one of our most popular listings was this ex-industrial conversion at 7 Ivy Lane Darlington. Passed in at auction 20 years ago, the new residential price record for Darlington of $3.325 million is a sign of the times.
In contrast, just as many people eyed-off this one-bedroom Art Deco apartment in 10/28 Waruda Street, Kirribilli. With Harbour Bridge & Opera House views, buyers were perhaps keen to rub shoulders with the neighbours at Admiralty House & Kirribilli House. It sold for $915,000.
Auction emotions run hot
In a tumultuous market that exacerbates the nerves of both buyers and sellers, our emotions are at their pinnacle on auction day. We saw tears of joy and disappointment on plenty of weekends. At 276 Lane Cove Road, North Ryde when the hammer came down 200k above reserve, the siblings who grew up in the home burst into tears. A good result, it was more an outpouring of memories and emotion.
There were similar moods at 51 Union Street, Paddington. This terrace had been in the same family for 85 years. Bought in English Pounds and sold for $1.9 million, it’s rare to see a family members live out their days at the residence in which they were born.
Perhaps the longest embrace after an auction came from the winner bidders at 6/358 Livingstone Road, Marrickville. These first-home buyers had been in market a long while, missing out repeatedly. At $635,000, it was true first-home territory. In a year of high fives and bear hugs, this was an embrace that went for more than a minute.
We weren’t the only ones connecting with these spectacles. In late May, Domain live-streamed a BresicWhitney warehouse auction to Facebook and more than 20,000 people watched on.
The prophecies of the 2016 property market changed with every curve ball we saw. As low interest, low stock and high demand continues, you can bet 2017 will be just as challenging to grasp.
To keep your finger on the pulse of the Sydney property market, subscribe to our monthly updates here.