![4 Hixson Street, Port Kembla was passed in at auction, but sold moments later. 4 Hixson Street, Port Kembla was passed in at auction, but sold moments later.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/nxytTGiVvgkfKtUJaBBBHD/4c49d49d-3025-4c4a-9b20-a01b36c896f3.jpg/r149_5_1035_666_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A Port Kembla property has sold to first home buyers within minutes of the auction ending, after nine out of ten registered bidders either didn't turn up or decided against bidding.
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Meanwhile, a three-bedroom unit near North Wollongong Beach has sold under the hammer, although there was a non-registered party ready to swoop in immediately to negotiate if the property had been passed in.
According to CoreLogic's preliminary results, these sales were among the 14 auctions in the Illawarra during the week ending May 14, during which time there was a clearance rate of 57.1 per cent.
![4 Hixson Street, Port Kembla sold for $770,000. 4 Hixson Street, Port Kembla sold for $770,000.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/nxytTGiVvgkfKtUJaBBBHD/53d1fec5-3e1b-45f5-8ca1-958d425583bc.jpg/r152_5_1022_666_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A sizeable crowd watched the Port Kembla cottage go under the hammer on Saturday.
The home was passed in, before selling for $770,000 to first home buyers within five minutes of the auction ending.
The three-bedroom house sits on a large 866 square metre block at 4 Hixson Street, Port Kembla.
Selling agent, Giovanni Zappia from Ray White South Wollongong said there were ten registered bidders, although only half attended on the day. Of those, only one was an active bidder.
Mr Zappia said it wasn't uncommon in recent times for registered bidders to later decide not to attend an auction in person.
"It just seems to be the way at the moment," he said of many bidders sitting on their hands at the auction.
"The reason we do an auction is to find a genuine buyer, and you only need one. Sometimes you get two or four.
"I had another auction recently where there were eight registered bidders and only three showed up. But two of those bidders went for it."
Mr Zappia said a crowd of about 40 people were in attendance.
A bid of $760,000 was placed, before it was passed in with a vendor's bid of $780,000.
Mr Zappia said the sole active bidder then negotiated the sale price post-auction, with the buyer being from Coledale.
"They're in Ireland on holidays, and the mother bid for them," he said. "She was on the phone with the mother the whole time.
"The mother bid on their behalf. As soon as it was passed in, I took them into two rooms and inside five minutes we put the deal together.
"The owners saw the reality, and took that price - auctions educate everybody about the market."
![3/9 Bode Avenue, North Wollongong sold under the hammer. It sold for $1,200,000. 3/9 Bode Avenue, North Wollongong sold under the hammer. It sold for $1,200,000.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/nxytTGiVvgkfKtUJaBBBHD/8d7efdfc-8a4e-472e-8870-3c4bbab6268e.jpg/r99_5_1082_666_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A North Wollongong ground-floor apartment sold at auction for $1,200,000 on Friday.
Selling agent, Christian Zeidler from McGrath Wollongong said there were two registered bidders, including one phone bidder. Both were local buyers.
The opening bid was $1 million, with 13 bids placed between the two bidders. The bidder who was in the room was the successful buyer.
However, Mr Zeidler said there was a third buyer who wasn't able to register to bid, but were "at the auction and keen to start negotiations if it had been passed in".
Mr Zeidler said they were unable to participate in the auction due to their financial position, as well as having just sold an investment property which had an extended settlement.
"Their energy (at the auction) helped push the eventual purchaser up to where they needed to be," Mr Zeidler said.
"We stopped at $1.18 million with the highest bid, and the reserve was $1.2 million.
"We had this third person saying, 'I'll pay $1.2 million, I just can't do it under auction conditions, I can do it private treaty'.
![3/9 Bode Avenue, North Wollongong went to auction, with more than a dozen bids placed. 3/9 Bode Avenue, North Wollongong went to auction, with more than a dozen bids placed.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/nxytTGiVvgkfKtUJaBBBHD/2906d158-3231-444e-b89f-fdfd7fa31880.jpg/r141_5_1022_666_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"So we turned to the highest bidder and told them we were either going to pass it in, or they could buy it at $1.2 million right then. So they chose the latter."
Mr Zeidler said the buyers were long-time North Wollongong residents who had grown up there, been renting in the suburb and looking for a home to buy for a few years.
"It was a real homecoming for them," he said.
![4 Lobelia Street, Albion Park Rail went under the hammer on the weekend. 4 Lobelia Street, Albion Park Rail went under the hammer on the weekend.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/nxytTGiVvgkfKtUJaBBBHD/1764b2cd-bfb7-493b-8f8f-e2882822213b.jpg/r175_68_1003_612_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Meanwhile, a three-bedroom brick home at Albion Park Rail went under the hammer on Saturday, where it sold for $657,000.
The home at 4 Lobelia Street, Albion Park Rail had an auction guide of $650,000 to $690,000.
Selling agent, Paul Spinelli from Spinelli Real Estate Wollongong said there was one registered bidder, and it sold above the reserve price.
Mr Spinelli said the bidder placed two bids, either side of a vendor's bid.
"Their second bid was above the reserve," Mr Spinelli said.
He said it sold to a young family, who planned to renovate and convert it into their dream home.
"They've been waiting for a property that was affordable for them, and this was," Mr Spinelli said.
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