Woollahra hoarder’s home smashes its reserve and sells for $2.45m at auction

In Dulwich Hill a young couple ended their year-long search for a family home when they splashed $2.8 million on a three-bedroom home.

The property at 54 Abergeldie Street had a price guide of $2.5 million and a reserve of $2.75 million. It had remained in the same family for almost four decades and sits on a 487-square-metre block.

While three registered bidders attended the auction, just two competed for the keys. Bidding opened at $2.5 million.

Adrian William Real Estate selling agent Joseph Ferreira said bids rose quickly in consistent $50,000 increments until the underbidders – another young upsizing couple – were forced to bow out.

He said the result underscored how tightly held homes in the pocket were, with many of them staying in the same family for decades.

“This is one of the best streets in Dulwich Hill and homes don’t come up like this very often,” said Ferreira.

“The buyers were keen to stay in this area but over the year they had been looking at surrounding suburbs. This was a great result for them.”

In Engadine a downsizing couple from Hurstville defied expectations by outbidding young upsizers from the inner west to secure a three-bedroom family home for $1,345,000.

Bidding for the property, which sits on a 644-square-metre block at 15 Dural Crescent, opened at $1.25 million and climbed to $1,315,000 in six bids before the underbidders dropped out.

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Selling agent Rhys Christofa of McGrath then convinced the downsizers to bid against themselves and increase their bid to $1,345,000, just below the original $1.35 million reserve.

“Everyone loved the quiet street, reserve views and neat, single-level layout,” Christofa said.

“I thought it was a young family’s dream, but this shows you never know who your buyer is.”

Christofa said Engadine’s affordability and lifestyle had made it a magnet for out-of-area buyers.

“The inner west buyers told me they’d pay $3 million for the same home there,” he said.

A determined family splashed $3,715,000 on their dream home at 120 Koola Avenue, Killara, after almost 52 Saturdays of Wollongong-to-Sydney commutes. They paid well more than the $3.3 million reserve, outbidding two others.

The home features a 917-square-metre block near to national park trails. Bidding opened at $3.1 million and bids quickly pushed the price to $3.5 million, before two bidders traded $6000, $8000 and $10,000 blows until the hammer fell.

Ray White selling agent Jessica Cao said the winning family had been struggling to break into the Sydney market for months after deciding to move north for work and their children’s schooling.

“They were so happy and so relieved to get it. Can you imagine driving from Wollongong to Sydney every Saturday for a year with kids?” Cao said.