Little Bay mortgagee sale headlines Sydney's best weekend auction rate for two years

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Sydney auction vendors had their best Saturday result for two years, as limited supply and good demand boosted the clearance rate to 63.6%.

There were sales totalling $99 million, according to Australian Property Monitors.

It represented a jump on the 56.6% of the prior weekend and the 62.9% of the same weekend last year.

The top Sydney sale was an incomplete $2.5 million four-bedroom Little Bay house that sold through Mint 360 Property agent David Gray.

There were four bidders after 12 contracts were issued. The top bidder increased their offer to secure the offering.

It was estimated at least $600,000 needed to be spent having been unfinished for over two years ago. 

It was a mortgagee in possession sale, the then 525 sqm  building block having last sold in 2006 at $2,325,000. Neighbouring blocks of 625 sq m had fetched as high as $3 million.  

The virtual beachfront reserve house was in the Landcom developed estate within the master-planned coastal enclave Prince Henry development site.

It had been listed in October last year with hopes of reaching $3.2 million.

It was described then as an "unfinished masterpiece at $2 million below cost" when marketed through Michael Caspers of Geoff Speers Ltd.

Sydney’s median house price on the weekend was $817,500 and $592,250 for units.

Melbourne’s median house price was $634,000 and $451,500 for units, according to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.

Melbourne agents secured a clearance rate of 62% from its 360 weekend listings compared to 59% on the prior weekend and 57% on the same weekend last year, according to the REIV.

“The auction market has clearly returned to trend with the past fortnight's results being in line with the year-to-date clearance rate,” said the REIV chief Enzo Raimondo.

Brighton recorded the weekend's dearest sale which was $2.75 million. It was a newly built two-storey house designed by architect Jon Friedrich with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. It came with a cinema, a 500-bottle wine-tasting room and a gymnasium and pool. It was sold by Nick Johnstone Real Estate.

Next weekend the REIV expects around 500 auctions.