30 Albion Ave, Merrylands, sold for $1,091,000, $111,000 above reserve at auction today

A WESTMEAD couple upgrading from a unit bought a home in Merrylands for $1,091,000, $111,000 above reserve at auction today.

McGrath Parramatta agent Franco Di Lorio had four bidders register for the three-bedroom, two-bathroom home with garage on a 600 sqm block at 30 Albion Ave.

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And two of those who registered were active. The opening bid was $850,000, rising initially in $25,000 increments.

The dining room at 30 Albion Ave, Merrylands, opened to a level, manicured back yard.

Once it got to $1 million, it was down to $1000 bids.

“We expected a couple more bidders but they didn’t turn up,” Mr Di Lorio said.

The Merrylands auction was one of the better ones.

There were 555 auctions scheduled across Sydney today. With 276 of the results reported to CoreLogic this evening, the researcher’s auctions commentator, Kevin Brogan, put the preliminary clearance rate at 51.09 per cent.

That’s more than 2 per cent lower than last Saturday.

The home at 30 Albion Ave, Merrylands, has been well looked after

Last week in the Parramatta region, there were 34 auctions with a clearance rate of 42 per cent.

When asked why this one performed so well when so many other homes in the west are failing to find a buyer, Mr Di Lorio said: “This one was just 200 metres to Merrylands station and the shops.

“At 600 sqm, it was a good sized block, with future development potential for a dupled.”

However he said that the buyers simply intended to live in the home and were attracted to it by its location, well-presented condition and manicured garden.

The kitchen at 30 Albion Ave, Merrylands, is a decent size

“At the end of the day, two people just really wanted it,” he added.

It could also have something to do with pricing it right for the current market.

Mr Di Lorio said a house in a nearby street had passed in at $980,000 last Saturday through another agent.

“The vendor had wanted $1.4 million, though then he told the auctioneer he would be happy with $1.2 million, but then after it passed in he said he would have taken $1 million,” he said.

“It certainly is hard to get a good result in this market, but we did it today.”

The underbidders at Albion Ave were a family from Auburn.

The vendors could no longer manage the garden and are downsizing to an apartment.

CoreLogic figures show they had bought the home for $185,000 in 1992.