Smaller and older homes – some bordering on uninhabitable – drew the stiffest competition at auctions this week as buyers sought cheaper entry points into some of Sydney’s most popular suburbs.

A rundown Ryde house on a 461sq m block, considered smaller for the area, was among the most hotly contested properties, attracting 10 registered bidders and a crowd of about 100 onlookers.

The strong competition for the Christine Ave house pushed the price well above expectation.

Agent Nathan Belcastro of Melrose Estate Agents revealed prior to the auction that he expected the house to sell for about $1.7m, with the reserve set at $1.695m.

The property instead sold for $1.92m, which Mr Belcastro said was a welcome surprise for the family of vendors, who had owned the property since 1958. “They’re over the moon,” he said.

Auctioneer Michael Garofolo calls bids on a Ryde home that sold for nearly $2m.

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It’s understood the buyers were a local family with plans to renovate the property and move in. Many of the other bidders had wanted to bulldoze the home and replace it with a modern house.

Mr Belcastro estimated it would cost at least $500,000 to renovate the property up to a modern standard. “It needs plenty of work,” he said.

Bidding started at $1.65m, which auctioneer Michael Garofolo of auction house Cooleys said may have knocked out many of the registered bidders.

“It was from the (eventual) buyer and he did say after the auction that this was part of his strategy … we still had three people making bids passed $1.8m and they traded lots of blows. It was a very strong auction.”

The Christine Ave home in Ryde needed work. Picture: Melrose Estate Agents

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Mr Belcastro added that, despite the higher price paid at auction, the price for the property was still well below those paid for modern houses on larger blocks.

“I think the buyers saw value. The location was ideal, close to a lot of good schools and shops. Most properties in this part of Ryde will cost a lot more.”

Competition was also strong at the auction for a dated Blackett house.

The Parkes Crescent home went to auction with a guide of $600,000 and sold for $685,000. Agent Meshel Bahnam of Ray White said there was a lot of interest in the home because it was one of the cheapest in the area. “It needed a renovation,” he said.

58 Parkes Crescent, Blackett was one of the cheapest house sales at $685,000.

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In East Ryde, a house on Cox Rd sold for $3,485,000, $285,000 over reserve through Pello agent Michael Dowling.

It comes as auction clearance rates continue to fall. About 65 per cent of sales were a success last week and the week prior, down from 75 per cent earlier this year.

Auctioneer Clarence White said the market was weaker than the numbers suggested.

62 Coxs Road, East Ryde sold for $285,000 over reserve.

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“It’s worse than most sellers think it is because the clearance rates don’t show just how much of a grind it is to sell properties at auction right now,” Mr White said.

“Prices are going up, but not for everything. A lot of the time, sellers are expecting more than where the market is at.”