Hornsby Heights House Sells For $1.6m In Massive Turnout

A renovated house in Hornsby Heights has sold $362,000 above reserve in a result that “knocked the socks” off the young family selling it.

The three-bedroom house at 35A Montview Pde attracted a massive 23 registered bidders despite auction turnout in Sydney trending downwards in recent months.

Six bidders fought for the property before a young family from Gordon won the keys for $1,662,000.

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Selling agent Domenic Maxwell from Ray White Upper North Shore said they were “on the market” when bidding opened at the $1.3m reserve.

Auctioneer Jason Keen kicks off the auction at Montview Pde. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“It was significantly above expectation,” he said.

“It was only on 437sq m which is a bit smaller than the average block size for the area.”

“Ultimately the renovation kicked people into gear and leveraged it up to this price point.”

He said most of the interest came from young families and first home buyers looking to crack the market, with the quality of the renovation holding the most appeal.

Vendors Lachlan and Kathy Pappas with kids Louis (left) and Romeo (right) after the sale. Picture: Sam Ruttyn.

Winning bidder Jen Ramli happy after bidding finishes. Picture: Sam Ruttyn.

Winning bidder Jen Ramli with husband Hendrik Schoenmaker and daughter Hazel. Picture: Sam Ruttyn.

Nearly 200 groups inspected the property and 54 contracts had been issued before it was brought to auction by Jason Keen on Saturday.

Vendors Kathy and Lachlan Pappas purchased the house during the market peak of 2017 for $1,202,000 after spending just 10 minutes walking through it.

“It was all original,” Ms Pappas said.

“We saw so much potential to update it – it had such good bones.”

A stunning renovation at 35A Montview Pde was its main attraction. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

35A Montview Parade, Hornsby Heights.

Having bought when the market was hot, Ms Pappas said she had managed her expectations around how well the property would do this time around.

She said they were “beyond thrilled” with the result, which “knocked their socks off,” and are now looking to upsize to another renovation project in the local area.

The house was one of 1,099 properties scheduled to go to auction in the week ending March 13. This was a 10 per cent increase from the number of auctions held the week prior and a 36.4 per cent jump from the previous year.

The Hornsby Heights auction drew a crowd of 23 registered bidders. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

The auction clearance rate continued to fall last week with 69.2 per cent of properties successfully selling under the hammer.

While fewer properties sold above reserve, there were several standout results across Sydney on Saturday.

One of these was at 21/43 Lindfield Ave, Lindfield, where a three-bedroom apartment sold for $2,790,000 – a massive $390,000 over reserve.

21/43 Lindfield Ave, Lindfield sold for $2,790,000.

Ray White Upper North Shore’s Jessica Cao said the vendors were pleased with the result, having upsized to a house in the local area.

A two-bedroom house with original carpets in Cabramatta sold just above reserve for $1,255,000.

A crowd watched on as four of the eight registered bidders competed for 24 Eurabbie St, which last changed hands 65 years ago.

24 Eurabbie St, Cabramatta sold for $1,255,000.

The house had barely changed since last selling 65 years ago.

Selling agent Henry Thai with the vendors following the auction.

Selling agent Henry Thai from LJ Hooker Cabramatta said it was a good result for a two bedroom house.

And a “shovel ready” house in Kings Langley with DA approved plans to build two separate dwellings sold for $1,805,000 following a long battle between two bidders.

The auction at 93 Solander Rd unfolded in short, sharp punches of $10,000 after the opening bid of $1.3m kicked off proceedings.

There were 12 registered bidders with some bidding online and others beat to the chase by the two active participants. A crowd of about 50 watched as bidding crept over the $1,725,000 reserve.

93 Solander Rd, Kings Langley sold for $1,805,000.

“A lot of the market was indicating around the $1.4m mark and we saw the reserve as very healthy,” said lead agent Darren Starr of Darren Starr Real estate Beaumont Hills.

Michelle and Michael Potts had purchased the house on 935.8sq m 20 years ago for $348,000. They said the result was exciting.