100yr old cottage smashes reserve price as online auctions defy lockdown

While thousands of Canberrans remain in lockdown for the near future, it seems as though virtual house hunting on Zango has provided for the perfect escapism.

A picturesque cottage in Wallaroo that was listed with Zango and Ray White drew in 80 groups for inspections, 9 registered bidders for a virtual auction, and a staggering sale price of $1.925 million.

Listed with Mark Johnstone of Ray White Canberra, the impressive sale of 44 Holmwood Road in Wallaroo is indictive of the high demand for property in Canberra – lockdown or no lockdown.

“It was an outstanding outcome for how Ray White and Zango team up to achieve outstanding results,” said Mr Johnstone.

No. 44 Holmwood Road was due to have an in-person auction on 12 August at 5pm, but the ACT Government’s snap lockdown announcement put a spanner in the works.

“The announcement came in the afternoon and by 2pm we came up with a solution to still be able to have the lockdown and comply with the rules,” said Mr Johnstone.

“The auction kicked off without any hitches, the bidding commenced, and people fought it out.”

“It was an extremely busy and chaotic couple of hours.”

The idyllic three-bedroom cottage ended up selling for nearly 30 per cent more than the set reserve price.

Mr Johnstone was amazed at the outcome of the highly anticipated auction and said the Ray White team was prepared for the shift to an online auction.

“Even last year when Covid restrictions lifted, we continued to offer the option of remote bidding and live streaming auctions,” he said.

“Even within days of the lockdown being announced we had buyers who were bidding remotely so we were very well versed and prepared.”

According to Zango data, the property was last on the market in 2007 when it sold for $790,000. Wallaroo has a current median sale price of $1.2 million. This is a drastic increase from last year when the median sale price was just $300,000.

The property itself is situated on approximately 25 acres in the Hall region and about a seven-minute drive to Canberra.

Newly renovated, the three-bedroom home combines the ideal rural lifestyle with the benefits of the city nearby. Original features have been retained – including an expansive veranda, original open fireplace and high ceilings.

And if these original features aren’t enough to add to the charm – a full sized Yurt is located at the front of the property. What is a yurt? I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have to look it up.

“A Yurt is basically a studio room that doesn’t have any bathrooms or kitchens in it,” said Mr Johnstone. At No. 44, the former owners used the Yurt as a teenager retreat.

Mr Johnstone said that a key selling feature that attracted such popularity by active buyers was the land, location and views on offer.

“The property is closer to Civic that some of the Tuggeranong suburbs,” he said.

There is even an historic train carriage adjoined to the property that is suitable as an additional living space, accommodation for visitors or an opportunity to run an Airbnb.

Mr Johnstone said that despite the latest lockdown, interest from people wanting to enter the Canberra property market has remained high.

“Enquiries are continuing to flood through as they have been all year and we are responding to them as quickly as we can,” Mr Johnstone said.

And at this rate – house hunting online for the perfect home on the outskirts of Canberra seems like the ideal lockdown activity…even if it is just to browse.