Last of the backyard Paddington dunnies fetches $1 million amid 78% Super Saturday auction clearance rate
A weatherboard 1885 Paddington terrace, with possibly the last of the backyard dunnies, sold for $1 million when auctioned on the pre-Easter mega super Saturday.
Amid the record 1,111 Sydney offerings, it was the first time the terrace was up for sale for five decades last fetching 2550 pounds in 1963.
Sydney agents secured a commendable 78% success rate based on the initial 744 results, the weakest result since late December, and one which will be lower once updated with the remaining 360 results. There was a $1.12 million house median and a $700,000 apartment median, securing some $555 million in sales at weekend auction, according to Australian Property Monitors.
Significantly the prior weekend's revised clearance rate was 73%, down from the initial 80% tally, confirming the slight deterioration in the sellers' market that had been accompanied by a record breaking 10 weeks of initial 80% plus clearance rates.
Meanwhile Melbourne agents secured a healthy 72%, according to Australian Property Monitors, with the REIV tabulating it as 70%.
Listing agents Susie Peica and Dean Jarman of Ray White Paddington gave $1 million price expectations for 54 Underwood Street, Paddington on its initial listing.
The agents adjusted it to $950,000 plus after a bit of buyer feedback.
The auctioneer Adrian Brookman accepted a $950,000 opening bid, with three of the four registered buyers, putting in bids before the $1 million knockdown price.
According to RP Data, the median house price for Paddington sits at a record $1.52 million.
It is a weatherboard terrace on an 185 square metre holding, reflecting $5400 a square metre sale price.
That's quite some discount to the typical price per square metre in the prestigious inner east suburb.
An Australian Property Monitors analysis of 2013 sales data, commissioned by Fairfax Media, has revealed Paddington a narrow second to Point Piper when its comes to just how many square metres buyers get for $1 million in Sydney’s million-dollar suburbs.
In Point Piper APM estimated $1 million gets buyers 79.8 square metres. It's typically 81 square metres in Paddington.
The survey of Sydney’s most expensive suburbs by median price per square metre highlighted the importance of prestige and city proximity in the pricey world of often postage stamp sized property.
Darlinghurst was in third place with a $1 million getting 81.2 square metres, followed by Surry Hills at 85.6 square metres.
The what buyers get for $1 million results were as follows:
- Point Piper 79.8 sqm
- Paddington 81 sqm
- Darlinghurst 81.2 sqm
- Surry Hills 85.6 sqm
- Lavender Bay 93.1 sqm
- Woollahra 102.6 sqm
- Darling Point 108.5 sqm
- Watsons Bay 113 sqm
- Kirribilli 114.8 sqm
- Edgecliff 117.9 sqm
- Birchgrove 123.4 sqm
- Double Bay 124.9 sqm
- Balmain East 125.6 sqm
- McMahons Point 127 sqm
- Bondi Junction 134.2 sqm
(Source APM Fairfax Media)
The $1 million Paddo terrace with backyard dunny was among the estimated $1.1 billion in property available for purchase this weekend across Sydney.
The record offering of 1,111 auctions across Sydney had 250 units and 850 houses for scheduled Sydney auction.
The Saturday before Easter weekend is traditionally a big weekend for auctions, ahead of the quieter winter hibernation.
This year carried the spring 2013 momentum, and the later Easter on the calendar allowed the chance for more vendors to join the listings rush.
Australian Property Monitors research assistant Neil Tan advised that this weekend's 1,107 Sydney offerings was some 196% higher than the same weekend last year.
The last Sydney record auction bonanza was the 990 offerings on 14 December in the lead up to Christmas 2013 when $584 million in sales came based on a $900,000 median house price and a $605,000 median unit price. The December 14 revised success rate was 71% with the December 21 last-minute run securing a 68% clearance rate.
There was another bumper $584 million in sales secured on the 22 February weekend based on a $1.08 million house median and a $720,000 unit median sale price, with a revised 81.7% success rate.
The initial Saturday night figures from APM have been running at 80% for 10 consecutive weeks, but increasingly revised down to around 75% after final results have been tallied. Last weekend's 73% revised result suggests the record run is finally waining under the extraordinary weight of huge auction listing numbers.
Cooley Auctions notched up a 76% success rate at 161 auctions across Sydney today.
Auction Services clearance rate for Saturday April 12 was 83% from its 58 auctions.