A vacant block in Corrimal held by the same family for 57 years has sold under the hammer for more than what many houses in the suburb fetch.
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It was one of 26 properties to sell under the hammer in the Illawarra over the week, with a 66.7 per cent clearance rate reported by CoreLogic, based on a total of 39 results.
The property, at 9 Daphne Street, sold for $1,145,000, well above the current median house price of $900,000, recorded in July by CoreLogic.
Listing agent Adam Blackmore of McGrath Thirroul said that a "Wollongong local" secured the keys after beating out four other active bidders, one of whom was a builder who had been considering building a duplex on the site.
The new owner planned to build a family home on the block, which has never had a house on it.
Interest had been strong as a result of the block's flat layout and northern aspect, Mr Blackmore said.
"It was ready to be built on. It didn't need anything knocked down ... there were a variety of development opportunities [for it]," he said.
"Normally land is up in a hilly area, it's on a big slope or it's been subdivided and has a shared driveway. This block had no easements or anything like that, so it was basically a blank canvas," he added.
The new owners of 38 Evans Street, Wollongong also plan on constructing their dream house there, but may need to take the wrecking ball to the existing structure first.
The four-bedroom, two-bathroom property on a 734 square metre block, had a wider than average street frontage at around 18.29 metres.
Prospective buyers for the property - described as "very dated" by selling agent Daniel Hastings of MMJ Wollongong - included those who wanted to renovate the existing structure and those seeking to rebuild either a single or multiple dwellings.
There were 10 registered bidders for the property, with nine believed to have placed bids.
Originally marketed with a guide of $1.35 million, it sold for $1,695,000.
The result, "a significant step up" on the reserve price, was a reflection of demand for properties with wide street frontage, Mr Hastings said.
The winning bidder planned to rent out the home in the short term before likely proceeding with a knock-down-rebuild project to construct a new home.
Demand for land wasn't just restricted to established suburbs, Mr Hastings said.
He also sold three lots in the Parkside precinct at Kembla Grange at auction on Wednesday.
The blocks were being sold by the developer and are expected to be registered by mid-2022.
Three blocks were sold on the night, a 369 square metre block at Lot 42 sold for $472,000; a 405 square metre block at Lot 31 for $505,000; and a 483 square metre block at Lot 13 for $585,000.
Jack Needham
Jack has been writing about real estate since 2015, covering residential and commercial property markets throughout Australia for the likes of Smart Property Investment and Domain. He has also spent time in the United States researching real estate trends, with a focus on housing affordability issues, for the California Association of Realtors.
Jack has been writing about real estate since 2015, covering residential and commercial property markets throughout Australia for the likes of Smart Property Investment and Domain. He has also spent time in the United States researching real estate trends, with a focus on housing affordability issues, for the California Association of Realtors.
