Crappy two-bedroom home sells for $8million in Sydney

Daily Mail​

a day ago

A crappy two-bedroom home has been sold for more than $8million in Sydney.
But it's not the home buyers were interested - with the 676 sqm block could house 14 apartments, a pub, a fitness centre or a daycare.
The 16 Walker Street home in Rhodes, 12km west of the Sydney CBD, attracted a crowd of 150 to Saturday's auction which got competitive.
'We thought it would go for between $7milllion and $7.5million and the important thing was we got a really good price,' selling agent Vanessa Kim told Daily Mail Australia.
'There were so many buyers there, but it was a bit like hide-and-seek among them in the crowd.
'It was the only house like that in the street so it was a lonely project but we sold it for an unbelievable price.'
The bids started at $6million and went up in increments of $25,000 and $20,000 to $7.2million.
It went up in $10,000 bids to $8million, before eventually being sold for $8,150,000.
The two-bedroom, one-bathroom property was the last freestanding home on a street filled with high-rise apartments.
Ms Kim, who is an award-winning real estate agent at Strathfield Partners, gave the owners a key piece of advice to ensure the bidding became more competitive.
'It's a winter market which means there's not as many properties on the market but I mentioned to the owner that the best time was to sell was in the winter,' she said.
'There's not so many properties on the market but in spring it's flooded. When there's too many properties on the market, people have a lot of choices.
'I said to the old owner, "you must sell in winter and we'll get a top dollar".'
The demanding owner was hoping to get $9million however as an $8million reserve was set.
'It's not a normal house, it has a lot of potential,' Ms Kim said.
'We had several inquiries for a lot of future development.'
The home last sold in 2017 for $978,000 and before that, it was bought for $1.7million in 2012.
The property is so old that it still has a small outhouse in the backyard, but it has had some work done to it.
Developers have had their eyes on the property for some time now as it sat squashed in between high-rise buildings.
In 2022, it was leased for $900 per week and at the time the elderly owner refused to sell her humble home to developers for less than $20million – even while neighbours labelled her home an eyesore.
She had reportedly fought against property giant Billbergia, who started construction on Rhodes Central a few years prior, to stop building unit blocks around her property.
It is understood she lost that bid.