He'd only just cleared his throat. Called everyone's attention to the auction. Looked briefly for a patch of shade out of the sun. There was none. Boy what a stinker of a day. Then thump. In soared that final, clinching bid to startle auctioneer David Watson.
''It went from $1.1 million to $1.35 million in a heartbeat,'' Watson, of L.J. Hooker, Manuka, says. ''It was just that quick the bidding was back and forth, then we jumped $200,000. Last year it was like pulling teeth to get to that level, now it is rolling off the cuff.''
On a 1150sqm block, the five-bedroom home with Tasmanian oak floorboards, wine cellar and downstairs flat was hotly contested. The bidders were mums and dads intent on sending their children to private secondary colleges in the Red Hill neighbourhood. They had put everything on the line as they stood with their children on the neatly clipped lawns of an Endeavour Street backyard where 80 people had claimed all the cool spots before Watson started screaming.
Five registered bidders left empty-handed.
L.J. Hooker Tuggeranong principal Mario Sanfancesco, who has recently sold homes under the hammer in Red Hill and Yarralumla for $1.375million and $1.5million says a buyer's voice and actions tell the auctioneer where they're at in the sales process. ''It is not uncommon for people bidding that they've been looking for two years and have missed out on half a dozen properties.''
Six years ago house prices spiked after Canberra's horrible firestorm destroyed more than 480 homes. In 2007 they spiked again, enabling home owners to quickly climb the property ladder. Herron Todd White director and valuer David James says first home buyers injected even more confidence into the market this year.
For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times
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