A pair of downsizers are the new owners of a four-bedroom house in Forrest, after paying $5.37 million for the home at auction.
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It was the second time in less than two years the house had changed hands, previously selling for $5.06 million in mid-2022.
Sitting on almost half an acre of land, the heritage-protected house at 56 National Circuit is believed to have been built in the 1920s and has been sensitively renovated over many years.
The house includes four living spaces, including a home office that could be used as a fifth bedroom, plus an indoor pool surrounded by heated floors.
Described as "private enclave", the corner property is accessible by three driveways off two streets.
![This historic Canberra home sold at auction for more than $5 million. Picture supplied This historic Canberra home sold at auction for more than $5 million. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/146508744/788997b8-c3ac-4740-9dbb-b1e0385c6779.jpg/r0_86_1686_1034_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Three bidders registered for the auction on Thursday.
Selling agent Alexander Smout of Belle Property Canberra said the property was listed for sale on Boxing Day to give potential buyers as much time as possible to view the home.
"One of the [interested] buyers ended up actually being a passive buyer, so someone that ordinarily wasn't in the market, but saw it and then had enough time to be able to dot the Is and cross the Ts and get involved in the auction process," he said.
![The property includes a heated indoor swimming pool. Picture supplied The property includes a heated indoor swimming pool. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/146508744/6963f0a4-bc2a-419a-9421-1d6a546325d4.jpg/r0_79_1550_950_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Most of the interested groups were "empty-nesters" and downsizers, rather than families, Mr Smout said.
He said the $5.37 million sale price reflected the large block size in "one of the best streets in the ACT".
"Then a home that you cannot replicate. It's turnkey, walk in and live there," he said.
![The large kitchen offers views over the gardens. Picture supplied The large kitchen offers views over the gardens. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/146508744/610df091-8e24-4bd0-85da-0300bd1ca520.jpg/r0_79_1683_1025_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Mr Smout said buyers were willing to pay top dollar for a home that required no extra work.
"People are certainly swayed away from anything they need to do a lot of work to," he said.
MORE PROPERTY NEWS:
The Forrest home was one of 60 auctions scheduled for Canberra during the week to Sunday, February 11.
Of the 49 results collected by CoreLogic on Sunday morning, 61 per cent had sold.
![The home includes four bedrooms. Picture supplied The home includes four bedrooms. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/146508744/bd323c55-1193-48ab-846e-06ebc10f9b18.jpg/r0_93_1674_1034_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Last week's preliminary clearance rate of 80 per cent was revised to 59 per cent after the final results were collected.
The combined capital city clearance rate was 76 per cent, the highest preliminary clearance rate since the first week of June 2023.
CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said the auction market had returned with strength.
![One of the home's three bathrooms. Picture supplied One of the home's three bathrooms. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/146508744/0d352219-b6af-429d-946b-00fd443d8d07.jpg/r0_94_1689_1047_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
He said this could be due to a boost in consumer sentiment, as home owners hope for an interest rate cut this year.
"The early part of the year can show some seasonality, however, with both the volume of auctions and the clearance rate coming in high over the past two weeks, it looks like the year has started with a much better fit between buyer and seller pricing expectations," he said.