The Enmore property, listed with a price guide of $1.7 million, features a striking timber‑and‑glass rear wall, soaring ceilings, period fireplaces and lead‑light details. Two registered bidders participated; the reserve was originally $1.7 million but the vendors, who had owned the home for nearly three decades, agreed to meet the market and accepted the winning bid of $1,686,000.
The winning couple, a young pair buying their first home together, outbid a local upsizing couple. Raine & Horne Newtown’s selling agent Adam Freitas said the owners had originally planned to live in the house but never did, opting to rent it instead before deciding to sell as they approached retirement.
Freitas described the broader market as “not great,” noting that buyers are “scared” and that uncertainty surrounds potential further Reserve Bank interest‑rate hikes. He warned that another rate rise could be announced later this month.
Sydney’s auction market showed mixed signals last week. Domain recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 48 percent from 481 reported results, down from 53 percent the week before, as the number of scheduled auctions rose to 796 and 177 auctions were withdrawn and counted as unsold.
A clearance rate below the 60 percent threshold is generally seen as indicating a seller‑biased market, while the current 48 percent figure remains just above the June low of 47 percent that followed the May budget’s changes to the tax treatment of investment properties.
Other notable sales highlighted the market’s variability: a Lane Cove family home sold for $3.1 million to a neighbour after a competitive bidding war, and a Glebe terrace fetched $1.795 million, both achieving prices above their respective reserves.
Agents such as Cameron Nicholls of Nicholls & Co noted that properties offering unique features—like river views in Lane Cove—can still attract strong bids even in a softer market, suggesting that scarcity and location continue to drive demand.