‘It is a beautiful property’: No bids for $4m renovated Rosebery house

An architecturally renovated family home in Rosebery is still available after passing in at an auction on Saturday at which nobody bid.

The transformed four-bedroom bungalow at 24 Morley Avenue has leadlight windows, high ceilings, glass sliding doors, a gourmet kitchen with striking Avocatus Quartzite bench, covered barbecue area and swimming pool. It was listed with a price guide of $3.95 million.

The property was one of 706 scheduled to go to auction in Sydney last week. By Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 53 per cent from 410 reported results throughout the week, while 133 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.

The early read is slightly lower than last week’s preliminary result of 57 per cent. But Sydney’s monthly auction clearance rate has edged up for the last two months as sellers realise they need to meet the market to sell. Sydney remains a buyer’s market, below the threshold of 60 per cent considered balanced between buyers and sellers.

The Rosebery home attracted three registered bidders. The potential buyer demographic was largely young professional couples from the surrounding suburbs and inner city, plus some downsizers.

But on the auction floor, none of the potential buyers raised their hands and the home was passed in.

“It was just one of those auctions where people did all their diligence,” The Agency selling agent Chris Skarlatos said, “And no-one put their hand up. They all sat there and looked at each other.”

He is now working with a few potential buyers and hopes it will sell soon.

“It is a beautiful property,” he said. “The cost of buying an unrenovated home – it makes sense to just buy this.”

The reserve was $4 million. The vendors are moving to be closer to family.

He described the market as “very patchy. You get the odd property that goes very well.”

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

On the north shore, a young family paid $3,755,000 for a brick family home in Roseville, beating two others.

The four-bedroom house at 44 Moore Street has an open-plan extension at the rear and was listed with a price guide of $3.7 million.