Success In A Very Competitive Market & Auction.
If you’re looking to buy your dream home in Sydney but are finding it difficult due to lack of time, knowledge or experience, then you must continue reading this story to find out how it’s done.
Our Client’s Story
Neil & Tracey* are busy professionals living in Melbourne, but were looking to buy a home in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. With their lack of time, experience and distance from Sydney, they reached out to Aus Property Professionals for our help.
With their daughter currently living in Sydney and looking to move-in to this property for the short-term, it was crucial for us to find a property that would meet her immediate needs, whilst also looking at the long-term picture. The strategy here was to find an investment grade property, that would provide excellent returns and capital growth, so they can expand their property portfolio.
The Location
As Neil & Tracey’s daughter works in the CBD but enjoys the lifestyle the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney has to offer, this was our search area. It is within close proximity to the Sydney CBD, has plenty of cafes and restaurants to choose from and a relaxed lifestyle.
Within our search area, it was important for us to concentrate on the key factors that make the perfect investment. Quiet streets, close proximity to transport and amenities, schools and hospitals, small strata complexes etc.
Challenges
With the Sydney market’s momentum picking up strongly again and the lack of stock, it can be quite difficult for people to firstly find the RIGHT property, and secondly to secure that property for the RIGHT PRICE.
This is where our extensive knowledge of the Sydney market comes in to play. It was crucial for us to educate these clients and provide them with realistic expectations. Not relying on advertised ‘price guides’ as this will only lead to disappointment, as well as them wasting time and money on travels to Sydney.
The property we narrowed it down to was a stunning 3 bedroom townhouse in the heart of Randwick. Within walking distance to the light rail station, Prince of Wales Hospital, ‘The Spot’ (cafes/restaurants), Royal Randwick Shopping Centre, schools and Coogee Beach – this really was the perfect location.
With an auction price guide of $1.6m, we knew that this was too low based on recent comparable sales in the area and the level of activity in the market. We were able to educate our clients that they’ll need a realistic budget of around $1.85m to have a good chance of securing this deal.
Acquisition/Auction
With all the due diligence out of the way, it was time for auction. Neil & Tracey travelled up to Sydney that Saturday morning to inspect the property and fell in-love with it the moment they stepped in.
“This is a property that I could really see myself living in and I can now understand everything you talked about in terms of layout, size, aspect etc” were Neil’s words as he walked through.
With the auction about to start, there were 6 registered bidders with many more watching on. The auctioneer now looking for an opening bid of no less than $1.7m really showed Neil & Tracey that the price guide was quite off. They were pleased that we had prepared them for this, considering they had flown up from Melbourne for this auction and would’ve been left disappointed had they believed they would get the property for around that price guide of $1.6m.
With some strong bidding under way, with $20k increments from the $1.7m price point, we knew this was going to be a very competitive auction. With our bid now sitting at $1.8m, a new bidder emerges from the back but we quickly get back on top of the board.
Things have now stopped. The agent goes out the back to have a chat with his vendors to seek further instructions. Coming back to us, we are told that the reserve price was set at $1.85m (we were right on the money) but they’re willing to sell it to us today for $1.83m – property secured!!
Moral of the story, it’s important to not only believe what you see online or what others tell you, but to do your own extensive research and be well prepared with realistic expectations. This will save you a lot of time and money, and help you avoid disappointment.
