Updated August 29, 2026 — 4:17pm,first published 1:19pmA two-bedroom 1960s walk-up apartment in Clovelly passed in at auction before selling shortly afterwards for $1.5 million on Saturday to first time home buyers.A group of more than a dozen people gathered in the living room at 3/377B Clovelly Road as Cooley auctioneer Jake Moore took an opening bid of $1.41 million, $10,000 above the guide of $1.4 million, from a buyer’s agent acting on behalf of local first home buyers.Another first home buyer couple, the only other bidders registered, followed up with a $10,000 bid. Several more bids varying between $3000, $5000 and $8000 followed, but when the buyer’s agent held the leading bid at $1,458,000, the underbidders paused to confer. The buyer’s agent then bid against himself, making a further offer of $1.46 million.Four more bids followed but when bidding stalled again at a $1,478,000 bid made by the buyer’s agent, the underbidders dropped out, and the property passed in.After a short negotiation in private, the buyer’s agent made a further offer on behalf of his clients and the property sold for $1.5 million, the same as the reserve.There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.Auctioneer Jake Moore provides an acoustic distraction as potential buyers conferred between bids while Belle Property Randwick sales agent Emilee Tayyara looks on.Audrey RichardsonSales agent for Belle Property Randwick Nick Lennan said it was important to be ready for anything on the auction floor.“The buyers who missed out will be regretting not going that bit further,” he said.Positioned less than five minutes’ walk from Clovelly Beach, the apartment in the red brick 1960s walk-up has a north-east facing balcony and a lock-up garage.It has a pub next door and a popular cafe across the street. The well-presented apartment also has parquetry floors and double-glazed windows.Lennan said there was still considerable nervousness and hesitation in the market, especially among first home buyers, though he said it was less evident in Sydney’s eastern beaches suburbs.The unit has a north-east facing balcony and is 200 metres from Clovelly Beach.Audrey Richardson“I am fortunate to work in an area where we are protected,” he said. “It’s a sought-after location and those buying opportunities don’t often come around.”It was unwise, he said, to wait for further price falls.“Unfortunately, people are not participating,” Lennan said. “They are looking for [further] decline, and they are missing out. [The market] will turn quickly, and they will have missed their chance.”The property was one of 532 scheduled to go to auction in Sydney this week.In Petersham, a three-bedroom single-fronted home sold for $2,461,000, more than $260,000 over the reserve on Saturday.Bidding for the home on 244 square metres at 66 Brighton Street opened at $2.1 million. A further bid of $50,000 followed, with bids going up in increments of $25,000, $20,000 and $10,000 before final bids of $5000 and $1000 drew the auctioneer’s hammer.The home, which has large bifold doors and windows leading to a north-facing courtyard, had an advertised guide of $2 million and a reserve of $2.2 million.A buyer’s agent acted on behalf of the successful bidders, a family from Balmain, while the underbidders were a family from Birchgrove. Seven parties registered to bid, with three taking part.BresicWhitney Inner West sales agent Frederico Fraga-Matos said that buyers were attracted by the property’s size and proximity to local amenities such as Petersham Park and Petersham Bowling Club, a popular venue for families.“This particular pocket is pretty tightly held.” Buyers had become accustomed to the “new environment”, he said.“What we are finding now, a lot of the outcomes that happened earlier in the year [such as interest rate increases], they have come out,” Fraga-Matos said. “This is the new environment we are operating in and people are feeling more confident buying.”The renovated property at 66 Brighton Street has large bifold doors that open to a north-facing courtyard.DomainIn Paddington, a one-bedroom apartment with an enclosed, centrally positioned balcony sold for $1.48 million, $180,000 above the reserve.Five parties registered to bid for 17/24 Gordon Street, with four taking part. Bidding opened at $1.2 million, followed by increments of $10,000 and $20,000. The property had a reserve of $1.3 million and a guide of $1,225,000.The successful bidder was a Queenslander who wanted to use the apartment as a Sydney bolthole. The underbidder was a downsizer seeking a property to be closer to family.Buyers were attracted to the contemporary building in the heritage suburb of Paddington. It’s also a flat walk to the shops.DomainLJ Hooker Double Bay sales agent Darran Wyatt said buyers were attracted by the contemporary nature of the building and the fact that it was a flat walk to the shops.Market conditions, he said, felt “normal”.“People are looking to buy and properties are selling.”Property listingsFrom our partners