Surry Hills home sells for $2.3 million with dad's bid You may think you have what it takes to win a home at auction, but one young Surry Hills buyer proved that sometimes it's nice to have a helping hand – or a dad who can bid for you. On Saturday, a stylish two-bedroom Surry Hills terrace at 53 Marshall Street sold under the hammer for $2.31 million after just four active bidders took to the stage.

The property, which has a sleek contemporary renovation, had a reserve of $2.1 million and sold for $210,000 above that. It's understood the vendor bought the property for just $2.207 million in June 2025, meaning they made a $103,000 profit in just 12 short months.

According to Domain Group, the property was one of 812 scheduled auctions in Sydney last week, with just 49% of them clearing. The clearance rate is broadly comparable to lockdown-era lows.

This week's results suggest a slight improvement on last week's clearance rate of 47%, but Domain's chief economist Nerida Conisbee warned that there's still a lot of uncertainty about what will happen to pricing in Sydney.

'Auction markets tend to skew more owner-occupied, so it's not necessarily showing up the impact on the investor market, but I think overall the market remains still very, very weak, and... not showing any signs of an uplift,' she said.

The auctioneer said one of the first bidders to the stage was a couple from Mosman, but they were quickly replaced by a Bellevue Hill investor who tried to push the price up. The buyer who won the house in the end was a young first-home buyer who used her dad to bid for her.

'I don't know how much they paid, but I think it was $2.31 million,' said Cadan Hickey, a selling agent from Ray White Touma Taylor. 'If you look at any home that was sold between 2021 until now… most of those homes are selling for a loss.

A three-bedroom apartment at 3/261-263 Bunnerong Road in Maroubra sold for $1.075 million to a downsizer who had sold their property in the suburb but wanted to stay local.

'It was a very competitive auction,' said selling agent Paul Spanoudakis from Raine & Horne Maroubra. 'But in the end, the downsizer who had sold their property in the suburb but wanted to stay local walked away with the prize.'

And in Cronulla, a two-bedroom apartment with ocean views sold for $1.67 million to a downsizer from the Shire.

'It's on the Esplanade in Cronulla, it's in a respected building that people know, and it's on a cul-de-sac street,' said selling agent Mitch Kenyon from McGrath Cronulla. 'There's still investors from my perspective that have been out there looking to buy things. Seems like the 'smart money' is buying now.'

Australian Housing Market

The Australian housing market has been volatile in recent years, with property prices fluctuating depending on various economic and market factors. The current clearance rate of 49% suggests a slight improvement, but experts warn that there's still uncertainty about what will happen to pricing in Sydney.

Clearance Rate

The clearance rate refers to the percentage of properties that sell at auction compared to the number of properties scheduled to go to auction. A lower clearance rate often indicates a slower property market.

The young buyer in Surry Hills was able to secure the property she wanted with a little help from her dad. Whether you're a first-home buyer or a seasoned investor, the current property market presents a number of challenges. With the help of experts and a solid understanding of the market, however, it's possible to navigate the complex world of Australian real estate.