Mould palace sells $230k over reserve

72 Brandling St, Alexandria sold for $2.73m, $230k over the reserve.

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Walking through the front door of the two-bedroom Federation terrace in a lovely tree-lined street in Alexandria, the mustiness was overwhelming.

“Are you registering?” the Raine and Horne agent Adam Freitas asked one of the builder-types walking through 72 Brandling St.

“Nah, not enough mould for me!” the man jokingly replied.

It was hard to believe the old lady, who lived there until a month before her death in March, could have put up with the stench.

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Both bedrooms were covered in mould.

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No wonder the buyers are planning a major reno.

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“She sat in a chair in the lounge room and didn’t move,” her niece, Jenny, said. “She didn’t go into the bedrooms.”

Perhaps that was just as well, as she may have fallen through the rotten floors.

She and her husband had bought it for $21,000 in 1977, records show, and Jenny said “It was their first home and they bought it from an uncle.”

After her husband’s death she let the home fall down around her.

Today, with auctioneer Lucas Cannan presiding, it sold for $2.73m, $230k above the $2.5m reserve, with the attraction being the charming facade and large 292sqm block.

Freitas and his colleague, Duncan Gordon, had five register though just three of them participated.

Nina and Jeff Kuo, buyers in Alexandria with agent Duncan Gordon of Raine and Horne. Picture: Stephen Nicholls.

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The main attraction was the 292sqm block, which is large for the area.

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Buyer’s agent Kellie Landrey put in the opening bid of $2.1m — she’s looking for herself — but after that it was a contest between two parties, a young family looking to upgrade from nearby and a couple who’ve just moved to Sydney from Brisbane, Nina Kuo and her husband, Jeff.

They exchanged $50k and $25k, $20k and $30k bids to $2.42m before bidding stalled.

After a long wait, the agents emerged after talking to the family to make a vendor bid of $2.5m, advising the next bid could own it.

The strategy paid off. It kicked off a bidding war. But the Brisbanites showed their enthusiasm with $40k bids compared with $10k and $5k offers from the locals.

It was no surprise to see the Brisbanites win the prize. “We’re already planning,” Nina said of the makeover.

The stunning addition next door could be an inspiration. They’d first spotted the property online during a recent trip to the UK.

160 Hall St, Bondi Beach sold for $4.45m.

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It had been in the same family for 50 years.

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Meanwhile, another home in the same family for 50 years at 160 Hall St, Bondi Beach sold for $4.45m, slightly below the original reserve, via James Ledgerwood of McGrath.

There were 24 bids, from $3.4m, ranging from $100k down to $20k.

The three-bedroom, three-bathroom 1920s home on a 374 sqm block attracted five registered bidders, four active, with a local couple with two kids the successful purchaser.

Ledgerwood sold 25 Tamarama St, Tamarama, which had a guide of $4.9m, prior to auction, in the low $5m range.

26 Chaleyer St, Willoughby sold for $3.42m, $420k over reserve.

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It attracted six registered bidders.

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A 1940s “knockdown rebuild” at 26 Chaleyer St, Willoughby sold for $3.42m, $420k over reserve via Richardson & Wrench’s Victoria Liu. There were six registered , mainly builders, all planning to build their dream home on the level 515sqm block. There was “aggressive bidding”. initially in $100k increments, from $2.7m, Liu said. The buyer was a builder from The Hills. Auctioneer Ed Riley said: “ A lot of agents are calling the current market a ‘buyer’s market’ — I disagree with that.”

10 Jade St, Seven Hills attracted 15 registered bidders.

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It sold for $1.46m, $110k over reserve.

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There were 15 registered parties keen on what was marketed as “Gem on Jade”, the four-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 10 Jade Pl, Seven Hills which sold for $1.46 million – $110,000 over reserve. And the family that won the keys, one of five who competed, saw the property for the first time last night. Ray White Seven Hills principal and auctioneer Andrew Drane said the fact that the 734sqm block was adjacent to a reserve made it popular. There’s also room for a pool or granny flat.