{"id":939249,"date":"2026-10-24T12:36:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T12:36:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/939249\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T12:36:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T12:36:23","slug":"alexandria-property-auction-first-home-buyer-secures-warehouse-apartment-for-1-305-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/939249\/","title":{"rendered":"Alexandria property auction: First home buyer secures warehouse apartment for $1.305 million"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Robyn Willis\" data-testid=\"author-avatar-image\" height=\"64\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792845380_604_64179db9ef6efe76947feec1575bc58538a8d9b1b51eebd2752ad6a2a1d3bc56.png\"  width=\"64\" class=\"sc-9a01536c-0 libeSR\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"article-datetime\" class=\"sc-5cbbddda-5 hxoHkT\">Updated October 24, 2026 \u2014 4:38pm,first published 1:04pm<\/p>\n<p>Save<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-d1b14060-4 JmUoF\">You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n<p>Remove items from your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/goodfood\/saved\" class=\"sc-3f16ee48-12 sc-d1b14060-2 jyLmZI iQLtAb\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n<p id=\"gift-modal-heading\" class=\"sc-cc1ff359-7 cTuVzZ\">Gift this free article<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-cc1ff359-8 ctIrFC\">Share full article with anyone \u2014 no subscription needed to read it. It won&#8217;t deduct your gift credits. <a href=\"https:\/\/help.smh.com.au\/hc\/en-au\/articles\/10940007258265-Website\" class=\"sc-cc1ff359-9 oicuO\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Learn more<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Share article as gift<\/p>\n<p>AAA<\/p>\n<p>A first home buyer paid $1,305,000 for a two-bedroom apartment in Alexandria, $55,000 over the reserve, on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>Cooley auctioneer Jake Moore took an opening bid of $1.15 million for <a class=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.domain.com.au\/2-145-belmont-street-alexandria-nsw-2015-2021223105?utm_source=smh\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">2\/145 Belmont Street<\/a> in front of a crowd of 30 people gathered in the living room of the apartment in a converted warehouse.<\/p>\n<p>The property was one of 885 scheduled to go to auction in Sydney this week. By evening, Domain recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 45 per cent from 490 reported results throughout the week, while 184 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.<\/p>\n<p>Eleven parties registered for the chance to win the keys, with five active. Bidding went up in increments of $10,000 and $5000, jumping around at times to $6000 and $11,000. A final $5000 bid sealed the deal and the hammer fell.<\/p>\n<p>The property had a guide of $1.13 million and a reserve of $1.25 million.<\/p>\n<p>There is no legal requirement for a vendor\u2019s reserve to be in line with their property\u2019s price guide.<\/p>\n<p>Related Article<a href=\"https:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/property\/news\/the-downturn-s-broadened-sydney-s-median-house-price-falls-to-1-66m-20261022-p615gc.html\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"sc-cba76dee-0 hdiTqm\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"xx\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ebbfb7da504b53566bf02f51963d6c6b363a0fcd.jpeg\"  class=\"sc-d34e428-1 ioInpc\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The vendors, who once lived in the property, moved interstate five years ago and have been renting it out since.<\/p>\n<p>The new owner, who has been renting locally, said he was attracted by the boutique nature of the building, which has just 12 apartments and the \u201cgreat\u201d area, which has cafes and parks nearby. He said cooling market conditions had stopped him from rushing into a purchase.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has given me confidence to wait,\u201d he said. \u201cYou are not worried that tomorrow the property [you\u2019re looking at] will be worth more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sales agent for The Agency, Brad Gillespie, said most buyers were thinking along the same lines.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey are not in any rush to make a decision,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is a lot of window shopping, and they are happy to do the rounds, but unless it ticks all the boxes, they are just waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He described the strong turnout for the auction, which was mostly made up of first home buyers, as \u201crefreshing\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe haven\u2019t had a competitive auction with so many registrations like this for some time,\u201d he said. \u201cIt felt like a normal, traditional campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Auctioneer Jake Moore extols the virtues of warehouse conversions to a captive audience.\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/36201acc41fae6ba91afa0d4ed88c2eefe627311.jpeg\"  class=\"sc-d34e428-1 ldCIuB\"\/>Auctioneer Jake Moore extols the virtues of warehouse conversions to a captive audience.Audrey Richardson<\/p>\n<p>Moore said warehouse conversions were a perennial favourite with buyers.<\/p>\n<p>Related Article<a href=\"https:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/property\/news\/five-of-the-best-homes-for-sale-in-sydney-with-water-features-to-enjoy-20261023-p617xd.html\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"sc-cba76dee-0 hdiTqm\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"26 Mary Street, Longueville, NSW\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/01a1f41f52a908648b30143d485bc2531c7d3f31.jpeg\"  class=\"sc-d34e428-1 ioInpc\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey will always have good interest because they are not cookie cutter,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it was also an extremely realistic price.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In Mosman, a five-bedroom home in the <a class=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/property\/news\/five-of-the-best-homes-for-sale-in-sydney-with-water-features-to-enjoy-20261023-p617xd.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">prestige enclave<\/a> of Beauty Point passed in at $9.85 million.<\/p>\n<p>Only one interested party registered to buy the well-appointed two-storey home at <a class=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.domain.com.au\/36-medusa-street-mosman-nsw-2088-2021178863?utm_source=smh\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">36 Medusa Street<\/a> but then failed to bid. Instead, there was a vendor bid of $9.85 million and the auction ended.<\/p>\n<p>The reserve was also $9.85 million and the property had a guide of $9.5 million to $10 million, which was revised down to $9 million to $9.5 million after the auction.<\/p>\n<p>The potential bidders were a couple who saw the potential in the property as a home for hosting their grandchildren.<\/p>\n<p>Principal of Guildea Residential, Jason Guildea, said he was surprised by the types of buyers who had shown interest in the property.<\/p>\n<p>The vendors are moving out of Sydney to be closer to their adult children.<\/p>\n<p>In Huntleys Cove, a downsizer from Leichhardt paid $1.97 million for a ground floor apartment, $20,000 above the reserve.<\/p>\n<p>Three groups registered to bid for the keys to <a class=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.domain.com.au\/g05-12-karrabee-avenue-huntleys-cove-nsw-2111-2021172458?utm_source=smh\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">G05\/12 Karrabee Avenue<\/a>, with two raising their paddles. Bidding opened at $1.7 million, going up in increments of $50,000 until it reached $1.9 million when it dropped back to several bids of $10,000 before the property sold.<\/p>\n<p>The three-bedroom, two-bathroom property had a guide of $1.8 million and a reserve of $1.95 million.<\/p>\n<p>The new owner, who is originally from the lower north shore, was attracted by the single level and the \u201cfuture-proof\u201d nature of the apartment, which was a deceased estate.<\/p>\n<p>Sales agent for CobdenHayson Lane Cove, George Gialouris, said there was always a market for \u201cA-grade\u201d properties such as this.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith properties like this [buyers] will still pull the trigger [at auction],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Save<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-d1b14060-4 JmUoF\">You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n<p>Remove items from your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/goodfood\/saved\" class=\"sc-3f16ee48-12 sc-d1b14060-2 jyLmZI iQLtAb\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n<p id=\"gift-modal-heading\" class=\"sc-cc1ff359-7 cTuVzZ\">Gift this free article<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-cc1ff359-8 ctIrFC\">Share full article with anyone \u2014 no subscription needed to read it. It won&#8217;t deduct your gift credits. <a href=\"https:\/\/help.smh.com.au\/hc\/en-au\/articles\/10940007258265-Website\" class=\"sc-cc1ff359-9 oicuO\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Learn more<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Share article as gift<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Robyn Willis\" data-testid=\"author-avatar-image\" height=\"40\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792845383_715_64179db9ef6efe76947feec1575bc58538a8d9b1b51eebd2752ad6a2a1d3bc56.png\"  width=\"40\" class=\"sc-9a01536c-0 libeSR\"\/><a class=\"sc-cba76dee-0 hdiTqm sc-b5b9fd03-2 jcGta-D\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/by\/robyn-willis-p537wt\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Robyn Willis<\/a> is a property reporter and the former lifestyle editor for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated October 24, 2026 \u2014 4:38pm,first published 1:04pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":939250,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-939249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/939249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=939249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/939249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/939250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=939249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=939249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=939249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}