A two-bedroom, heritage-listed house in Reid, designed by renowned architect Kenneth Oliphant, sold for $2,025,000 in a hotly contested online auction on Saturday.
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Thom Eriksson-Lake of Blackshaw Gungahlin said the online auction was well attended by keen local bidders, who were enticed by the 1045-square-metre block and its ideal location within walking distance to Canberra's CBD.
"We actually couldn't do any open homes, because we put it onto the market just as the new restrictions came in, in terms of physically showing people," he said.
"We had 10 or 11 registered bidders and really furious bidding between at least three of the bidders."
Mr Eriksson-Lake said the sale was an opportunity for a buyer to secure a slice of Canberra's history, given the original house - built in 1940 - still stands.
The late Kenneth Oliphant is considered a prominent and important architect in Canberra's housing history, specialising in a variety of styles such as Mediterranean and tudor style.
While the house itself is in need of significant work, it was the large parcel of land that piqued the interest of several buyers.
"It's heritage listed in really nice part of Reid, completely original, it had a really nice backyard and a level block, I think that interested a lot of people," Mr Eriksson-Lake said.
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The property's heritage status will likely require the original facade to be retained, however there is ample opportunity to extend or rebuild parts of the house.
The $2 million-plus sale is one of the highest on record for Reid, where the median house price at May 2021 was $1,887,500, according to CoreLogic.
The record for the suburb is shared by two properties - 3 Geerilong Gardens and 14 Currong Street South - which both sold for $2.5 million in 2019 and 2020 respectively.