41 Simmons St Enmore
Uninhabitable but full of potential… selling for $159,000 more than the renovated neighbour 10 months earlier
The property
41 Simmons Street Enmore is a two level, three bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1 car space house in a dilapidated state and not liveable in the current condition. In need of urgent repairs. A 196sqm block, with rare off street parking for this street / location, it has a great shell. No existing plumbing upstairs, but if you wanted to renovate within the existing shell you would definitely be able to restore the beauty. With today’s cost of renovations, you would easily be looking at $200,000 if you kept the floor plan as is. Probably $500,000 if you started moving the kitchen and bathroom around.
Almost of note was the antique stove and traditional washing basin included with the sale.
The property had been held by the same family for nearly half a century.
The sales campaign
The property was presented on market with a standard campaign concluding in auction. Renovator delights often do proceed to auction, as people do not get emotionally caught up in the “I must have this one”, but builders / home DIY’ers battle it out on the day based on their own budgets.
The property came to market with a guide of $1,600,000.
The Auction | 4 active bidders
The long silence of an opening bid…
Ricky Briggs the auctioneer was met with absolute silence from a relatively healthy size crowd when he called for an opening bid. It was clear those registered were there to see what everyone else thought it was worth.
After a minutes silence, he asked the bidder in his direct line of sight to throw out a number. He got what he asked for. Bidder 1 went with a $1.4m only to have it knocked back and not accepted by the selling agent Blake Lowry or Ricky. Bidder 1 respectfully increased his bid to $1.5m and the auction was officially open.
You could almost have thought he might have it at that point it took so long to find a second bid.
Bidder 2 eventually comes in at $1.52m
Bidder 1 and 2 take it back and forth to $1.575m which appears to be where bidder 1 who thought they were in for a bargain drops out.
Bidder 3 tries to make an entry with a $5000 bid, but the auctioneer knocks it back, taking minimum bids of $10,000 at this point. Bidder 3 enters then a $1.585m.
The action is underway
Bidder 2 and 3 battle it out up to $1.65m, when bidder 4 comes on the scene at $1.66m.
Fair play to bidder 2 who was there to mean business and battled it out confidently up to the $1,800,000 mark. This appeared to be a financial sticking point for both bidder 2 and 4, as the bids drastically changed pace at this point.
Are we “on the market”?
Bidder 2 is keen to know from the auctioneer if the property is “on the market”. His question is not directly answered, but it becomes evident somewhere around $1.75m that the property is going to be sold.
Bidder 2 moved to $5,000 increments (now accepted by the auctioneer) and bidder 4 was replying with $1,000 bids trying to ensure he didn’t pay any more than needed.
Bidder 2 holds it at $1,820,000 when bidder 4 comes back with his fourth $1,000 bid taking it to $1,821,000.
The auctioneer kindly offers bidder 2 a $500 bid to stay in (pretty generous given the knock back of a $5,000 bid just moments ago). He isn’t interested in spending another $500 on the purchase price. Not when $500 could be used to replace the stove.
Bidder 4 with their $1,000 increments sealed the deal at $1,821,000. SOLD.
What this result says about the market
The time for a bargain is not now. These have passed. Proof is very simply evident by the house down the street, 17 Simmons Street Enmore that sold in July 2022 for $1,662,000. A similar, 2 level, 3 bedroom home. This one had 2 bathrooms and was newly renovated & very well presented. Granted, did not have parking.
$159,000 extra for a completely unliveable property, with a car spot.
The other interesting sale on the same day was 14 Marmion St Camperdown - just a 14min walk away. This sold for $1,810,000 so only $11,000 less and was move in ready albeit, not recently renovated. The difference - 14 Marmion is a 2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car. Effectively the market is saying the cost of a 3rd bedroom right now is as much as turning a property from uninhabitable to move in ready.