A local downsizer bought a brand-new home in the Grace Park Estate with floor-to-ceiling windows,beating two other bidders.
The vendor placed two bids in the hope of kick-starting the auction of the California-style bungalow.
The scales are tipping in buyers’ favour and sellers are losing the upper hand at auction,new figures show.
Most of the potential buyers had plans to knock down and rebuild the four-bedroom home,which came with an indoor pool and sauna. It was one of 900 auctions scheduled on Saturday.
It was a bittersweet moment for the sellers,whose family home since 1955 was sold for some $215,000 above reserve.
The auctioneer said the buyers,who used an advocate,had planned to blow all the other bidders away in an effort to secure the keys for the home.
It took a vendor bid to start the auction before three bidders pushed the price well above the reserve.
The new owners plan to renovate the property,which had been held by one family for 50 years. By evening,Domain Group recorded a clearance rate of 55.9 per cent.
The vendors were emotional about saying goodbye to the home,which had been in their family for 45 years.
A fresh coat of paint and new carpets helped attract seven parties to the 1970s home,but the location was the clincher.
A first home buyer beat five others in a heated bidding war for a two-bedroom townhouse in a coveted location.