In the end, only nine properties went under the hammer at the first of two auctions for unpaid rates and charges at Central Coast Council chambers on Tuesday, February 27.
Another four were expected to be auctioned on Wednesday, February 28, when Coast Community News went to press.
When Council originally flagged its intention in April last year to sell properties on which rates or other charges had not been paid for more than five years, over 70 homes were on the list.
That number was whittled down to about 42 by the end of the year when the list of properties officially went on the market.
By auction day, the first tranche for properties in the north of the Coast was down to 10 and one more was pulled just before the auction started.
More than 60 people attended the first auction.
An opening offer of $10,000 was not accepted when bidding opened for the first property at 39 Teragalin Dr, Chain Valley Drive.
After the real bidding started at $250,000 the three-bedroom, three-bathroom home was sold for $410,000.
Next came a block of land at 128 Emu Dr San Remo.
Bidding started at $120,000 and went up 21 times until it was sold for $365,000.
It took 24 bids before the hammer fell at $484,250 for land at 20 Mossman Ave, Bateau Bay.
At one stage it looked like the eventual owner had secured the property at $450,000 when the bidding faltered for a time but it picked up and the eventual owner seemed to have it in the bag at $470,000.
Agents checked with Council to see if the property was “on the market” at that price; it was.
But another four bids saw the price climb to $484,250 before the hammer finally fell.
Next came 60 Glenning Rd, Glenning Valley.
The write-up said it was both 8.39 acres and 8.39 hectares.
Someone in the audience noted the discrepancy.
The bidding started at $250,000 and climbed up and up to about $600,000 before it was clarified that the land was actually 8.39 hectares.
“That should immediately double the price,” the auctioneer said.
The property was on the market at $725,000 and eventually – after a total of 39 bids – sold for $780,000.
It still wasn’t 11am yet but about half the room left.
All that was left was three car parking spaces and a couple of slivers of land between properties.
The three car spaces in a block of units at 18 Coral St, The Entrance, were sold to the sole bidder for $2,000 each.
The spaces could only be sold to residents of levels 4, 5 and 6.
The 56m2 sliver of land at 56A Pacific Hwy, Ourimbah was “likely to only have value to the adjacent properties” the marketing material said.
There were only three bids between two people and one conceded the battle at $5,000.
The last auction on Tuesday was for a 12m2 triangle of land at 77 A Swadling St, Long Jetty.
Only one person bid.
They increased their original offer of $1,000 to $2,750 and it was accepted.
It was all over on day one by 11.05am.
Merilyn Vale
Wow I didn’t know the Selling like that
when is a next auction and where do you advertise them