Sydney auctions: Fibro house in Western Sydney sells for $1.4m amid housing shortage

A grimy fibro house in Sydney’s west became the target of an unlikely bidding war when 21 buyers registered for the online auction.

The rundown house on Patterson St in Ermington sold under the hammer for $1.408 million, $258,000 over the reserve.

It became clear early on that the auction would be hard fought, with many of the offers coming in as the auctioneer was trying to explain how proceedings would unfold.

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Auctioneer Michael Garofolo of Cooley Auctions received an opening bid of $950,000. There were 36 bids placed, the last 20 of which came from two buyers.

The auction was one of about 450 scheduled this weekend across Sydney – a slow start to the usual spring selling season due to lockodwn.

Selling agent Rocco Ranieri of Richardson and Wrench-Parramatta said the house was beyond salvaging and would likely be knocked down.

“It was an extraordinary price given the condition of the house,” Mr Ranieri said. “$1.2 million would have been a fair price but this was higher than we expected.”

The site was not suitable for duplexes and the buyer was considering replacing the derelict fibro home with a large, modern house, Mr Ranieri said.

A modern house on the site could potentially be worth $2 million. Factoring in building costs, it could take years for the owner to get equity, the agent said.

“This was not a quick flip,” Mr Ranieri said. “At that price, it’s a long-term play.”

Mr Garofolo said the Parramatta region being one of the LGAs with tighter lockdown restrictions was having little bearing on how auctions were playing out.

“Demand is still high, the auctions are super competitive,” he said.

Mr Ranieri added that many buyers were reaching the point where they were bidding whatever it took to secure property and were not prioritising finding “good value” as much as in a normal market. “We have buyers who have been looking so long they’re happy to just jump in with whatever beats the other buyers,” he said.

The Ermington market has been heating up. Earlier this week, the suburb record price was smashed with a sale at about $2.15 million.

The owner had purchased the property on Boyle St for $911,000 a year ago and spent nearly $450,000 on the construction of a new home.

The property sold through Belle Property-Ryde agent Alex Macri.

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