The 504-square-metre home at 44 Calvert Street, Ashton, with views of the Gungahlin area from its backyard deck, attracted more than two dozen observers, including 10 registered bidders.

The opening bid of $920,000 kicked off the bidding process. Two parties attempted to make simultaneous offers of $933,000 and $950,000, but Jeremy Grobben, auctioneer for the Canberra agency team, accepted the higher offer.

The opening bidder countered with an offer of $970,000, with prices increasing in $10,000 increments until they reached $1 million, at which point the opening bidder withdrew from the competition.

A new bidder then increased the price by US$5,000. A second bidder added another US$5,000 as a counter-offer.

The new bidder increased his offer to $1,020,000, at which point Lisa Harper, the property's selling agent, announced that the home was on the market. As there were no further bids, the hammer fell. The auction ended in less than four minutes.

Harper said she was not surprised by the swift and intense bidding and noted that the property had a lot to offer.

"Located at the back of Casey, with the conservation area on the doorstep and views of the area behind, there is a lot to love," she said.

"But there is also potential, whether a new buyer wants to extend it, build or change the structure at the back ...... they have that option."

Harper said sellers had used the property as an investment "in the last year or two". She added that the new buyers had purchased the property to expand and that they had seen the house three times throughout the campaign.

Looking ahead, Harper said she expects strong results throughout the auction.

"I think now is the time to buy, and if you don't buy in the next four to five months, you're going to miss the boat," she said.

Elsewhere, Jason Roses of VERV Real Estate agrees that while auctions remain strong, "things are always tougher".

"Gone," he says, "are the days of auctions with 10-plus bidders." Things are slower now; we need more time to convince buyers and sellers to meet to some extent."

Roses recently sold 8 Hoody Street in Foulds after failing at auction. Although the sale of the home attracted more than 100 onlookers, it went through after 30 minutes for $2.35 million. It sold for that price only a few hours later.



"We had about five registered bidders, which was encouraging, and we certainly saw some competitive bids, but it was a long, drawn-out auction," Roses said.

"It was the most stressful negotiation of my life, but we closed the deal two and a half hours after [the auction] ended. There was a lot of back and forth between the seller and the buyer, but it was a great result."

The sale price was the second highest in the Fords.

"The highest sales in the Fords were achieved in 2021, which is the peak year for real estate, so achieving this result in 2023 when we have multiple rate hikes and [market] uncertainty represents an incredible result," Roses added.

"There will be some buyers who are quite cautious about rate hikes and the market and, of course, there will be some sellers who want to maximise their sale prices ...... As a result, the process of reaching an agreement has become more difficult, but the market is still hot at all levels."