A couple with two daughters in their twenties outbid architects at auction on Saturday for a $2.5 million combined home and office space in Glebe.
A couple with two daughters in their twenties outbid architects at auction on Saturday for a $2.5 million combined home and office space in Glebe.
By Kristy Johnson
March 29, 2025 — 12.19pm
A combined home and office space in Glebe sold for $2.5 million at auction on Saturday to a Balmain family that plans to convert it into a home.
The four-bedroom, one-bathroom, three-storey terrace at 139 St Johns Road has a retail and commercial space on the ground floor and bedrooms on the upper levels.
The property had a guide of $2 million. Ray White Glebe’s Matthew Carvalho declined to reveal the reserve but said it was “in line with buyer feedback, which was in the early $2 millions”.
All three registered bidders were active. The buyers were renting in Balmain after living in New Zealand for five years. They have two daughters in their twenties. They outbid architects from the inner west who intended to use the ground floor as an office and live upstairs.
Bidding was slow to begin, with an eventual offer of $1.9 million. From there, bids rose in varying increments. It was one of 977 scheduled auctions in Sydney on Saturday.
Carvalho, who sold the property with Ray White Commercial City Fringe’s Kristian Morris, said mixed-use properties appeal to a certain demographic.
Carvalho said the slow start was likely due to bidding tactics and not the impending federal election or next rates decision on April 1.
“The tempo we’re seeing out in the market this year is buyers are a bit more calculated with the way they are bidding,” he said.
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Records show the property last sold for $365,000 in 1990. Glebe’s median house price declined 5.3 per cent to $2.5 million in the year to December on Domain data.
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In Gladesville, a home that was offered for the first time in more than 70 years sold for $2.45 million to an owner-occupier from Ryde.
The three-bedroom, one-bathroom, deceased estate at 33 Albert Street was guided at $2.25 million, which was also its reserve.
There were six registered bidders, two of them active. The buyer went back and forth with a family who were keen to get into the Gladesville market.
The auction began with a vendor bid of $2.1 million and rose in varying increments.
Cassidy Real Estate’s Neil Robson said a federal election has never had an impact on the residential property market.
“I’ve never seen a federal election have any impact on house prices in Sydney. It might have an impact on commercial or industrial properties,” he said.
Gladesville’s median house price rose 6.6 per cent to $2.8 million in the year to December on Domain data.
Kristy Johnson – Kristy is a property reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.
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