Renovated Surry Hills terrace passed in for less than its last sale price

A Surry Hills terrace failed to sell at auction on Saturday and will be made available for rent after the only registered bidder offered $2.3 million, falling short of the vendor’s expectations.The renovated three-bedroom home at 97 Fitzroy Street has exposed brick walls, oak floors, high ceilings, a breakfast bar and a study nook. It had been listed with a price guide of $2.5 million, the same price it last sold for in 2024.The property was one of 631 scheduled to go to auction in Sydney last week. By Saturday evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 54 per cent from 369 reported results throughout the week, while 114 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.The early read on the clearance rate is the same as last week, but it is likely to be revised a few percentage points lower as more results are collected. It remains well below the 60 per cent threshold that is considered a sign of a market balanced between buyers and sellers.One bidder registered for the auction of the Surry Hills terrace and made an offer of $2.2 million, then they bid against themselves up to $2.3 million.But with no further offers, the home was passed in. The vendor’s reserve was $2.65 million.There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.Another party expressed interest after the auction but the home had not been sold by time of publication, and the seller is unable to enter into a lengthy negotiation.McGrath Surry Hills selling agent Wes Smuts said the seller was moving overseas imminently and would no longer be an Australian resident for tax purposes. Since the property had not been sold before the vendor’s deadline, when they leave they will lose tax residency, the home would instead be rented out, he said.He said many deals were being done prior to auction or post auction as this offered more certainty than going to auction in this market.“Sellers now, you need to have a specific reason,” he said, such as upgrading or downsizing. “I don’t think anyone is selling speculatively now.”He said first home-buyer properties up to $1.5 million were selling under competition but upsizers and discretionary purchasers were taking longer.Elsewhere, a Maroubra semi sold for $2,316,000 under the hammer to a couple who are overseas and had never inspected it.The three-bedroom house at 12 Chichester Street had been an investment property and had $25,000 worth of renovations done before being offered to the market with a price guide of $2.25 million.Three parties registered, all planning on living there, and bidding began at $2,121,000.The price rose mostly in increments of $20,000 until it hit the reserve of $2.25 million, which was in line with the guide. The stride then shortened to as low as $3000.“The price was very fair, it was priced well,” PPD Real Estate selling agent Christian West said.He said the market generally was uncertain at the moment, although he thought confidence was starting to return.“I don’t think there is anywhere near as much stock coming on as people think there is [for spring],” he said.The median house price in Maroubra is $2.85 million, according to Domain data.In Glenwood, a family home sold at auction for its reserve price of $1.6 million.The five-bedroom house at 33 Currawong Street attracted five registered bidders, of whom four participated in the auction.Proceedings began at $1.5 million, then rose to $1.53 million, then $1.55 million. Bids rose from there in $10,000 increments.A local buyer upsizing won the keys, looking to be close to the local schools. The residence is close to Caddies Creek Public School. The sellers are relocating.Ray White (United Group) selling agent Shiv Nair said the home had been listed without a specific price guide, but buyers had been offered evidence of recent sales from about $1.5 million to $1.7 million.“At the moment what we are finding is many buyers in the market are all upsizing, upgrading. Same with the sellers, the majority of the sellers are upsizing, upgrading because they understand this is the best market to do that in,” Nair said, adding a few investors were selling too.“The market is a touch more stable [than earlier]. The number of listings for sale at the moment are about 30 to 40 per cent lower than a few months ago … The lower level of supply, it is holding the market stable.”Property listingsFrom our partners