KIPPILAW, a historic homestead near Goulburn, NSW, has sold for $4.2 million after a two-year sales campaign in which its price was slashed by almost half.
Located two hours south of Sydney, the 180-year-old Georgian estate has eight bedrooms across a homestead and guest cottage and 160 hectares of prime farmland.
Formerly owned by Sydney businessman Robert Rich, it sold to an undisclosed buyer at the end of a 52-hour online auction on Wednesday afternoon conducted by AuctionsWorkOnline.com.
The auction system has in the past been associated with small, discrete sales, including units and distressed assets, but high-end rural property agent Chris Meares said it has the capacity to boost activity in the flagging rural market.
"We expect to conduct about 50 per cent of our work this year using the system," he said.
Low turnover levels in rural property has created an environment where buyers are unsure where to pitch their bids, he said.
The online auction system with an inbuilt starting bid provides greater clarity to interested buyers spread across a vast geographic region, while a real-time bid tracking system guarantees transparency, Mr Meares said.
"In the sales we've had to date, we've noticed activity levels increase quite dramatically," he said, adding bids in the latest auction came in from as far afield as Hong Kong, London and Adelaide.
Meares will offer Lark Hill, the Mitchell family's Goulburn estate up for auction online on Monday, March 17.
Nearby property "Bongalabi" owned by the Mullins family will be released for online auction in the following week.
Lark Hill is expected to sell for between $3 million and $4 million, and Bongalabi is expected to net between $3.5 million and $4.5 million.
Kippilaw was built by the pioneering farming family the Chisholms in 1837, and fronts the Wollondilly River. It has formal gardens including rose gardens, a sunken garden and an avenue of mature oak trees.
