Perth property market: Rare auction sees huge Nedlands property sell $400k above asking price

A leafy and narrow street in Perth’s western suburbs was packed for the auction of a massive and rare offering, which sold for nearly $2 million. A crowd of more than 100 packed Kingston Street in Nedlands on Saturday to watch as 24 registered bidders vied for the 1113sqm deceased estate. Brought to the market by Ray White Dalkeith’s Vivian Yap, the property sold for $1.92 million, about $400,000 above the asking price. Nestled on a cul-de-sac near the QEII medical precinct and just streets away from Kings Park, the two bedroom, one bathroom home — despite needing some upkeep — had a sales campaign of just a few weeks. Ms Yap said registered bidders had come from across the globe, including France, Malaysia and Rockhampton in Queensland. The sale was a far cry from the £16,000 paid by the original owner in 1927. Ms Yap put the hot interest down to the size of the landholding in the tightly held area, with the successful bidders attracted to the size of the block. They are expected to build a new house on it. While there are suggestions the Sydney luxury property market is starting to wane, Ms Yap said the $3 million-plus market was one of the strongest segments in Perth. Michael, one of the estate’s executors, pointed to a towering 10 metre pine tree at the back of the home where he grew up. “In 1961 that was on top of our TV as a Christmas tree,” Michael said. He said he and his siblings hoped the sale of their mother’s home could help them pay off their own mortgages. “We know that places are scarce and this is in a brilliant location,” Michael said. Following the auction, the executor said he was “delighted at the price, but sad to farewell our family home”. Ray White WA chief executive Mark Whiteman gripped the audience as he auctioned the property, describing the home as having a “character of a bygone era”. A young man started the race with a $1m bid, with the auction briefly a two-way race between the opening bidder and his first challenger. Then the race swung wide open with a $1.4m bid. As bidding reached $1.8m, Mr Whiteman drew a laugh from the crowd when he reminded them “the more you pay, the more it’s worth”. As the pressure rose, one bidder remarked, “I’m going to have a heart attack,” but was reassured “the hospital is close”. At one point a man became frustrated at the pressure a resistant buyer was under, calling out “you can’t auction like that, he (the successful bidder) should have had the home 10 minutes ago”. A young family put in the $1.92m bid, which, despite relentless pressure from the team of agents, held. Mr Whiteman said auctions were the most transparent way to sell a property and the sales method that delivered the best price for clients. “It’s a great find in this location, but we certainly got every last possible dollar,” he said. Mr Whiteman said though auctions had been Ray White’s preferred method since 1902, he had been noticing larger crowds as Perth’s property market turned white hot. Last week there were 12 auctions in Perth, with a clearance rate of 83 per cent — higher than any other Australian city and about 20 percentage points higher than in Sydney or Melbourne, where much larger numbers of properties sell under the hammer every weekend.