Prominent auctioneer Damien Cooley, well-known for his appearances on television show The Block, has uttered the word that has made a Dubbo family's dreams come true - "sold".
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The founder of Sydney-based company Cooley Auctions switched from the metro to the regional market for a day to perform the honours as 12 Buninyong Road went under the hammer on Monday.
The house sold for $520,000 at an onsite auction that attracted spectators.
- READ ALSO: Astley Cup 2020 cancelled after rule changes
It was the first property auction of The Agency Central West NSW, which arrived on Dubbo's real estate scene in February, led by Monica Henley and Justine Campbell.
Last month national company The Agency announced it was partnering with Cooley Auctions in NSW to bring the independent auction service to its agents and clients.
Mr Cooley, the company managing director with a team of 17 auctioneers, headed west for his first auction at Dubbo.
The property's sale under the hammer was a "great result for everybody", he told the Daily Liberal minutes after concluding the proceedings.
"Today's auction is a result of the culmination of three, four weeks of really hard work, and all that preparation that goes into auction day is what makes auction day," Mr Cooley said.
"So I get to be the one that looks good on the day, and close the sale out, but really the hard work's done leading into auction day.
"So full credit to Monica, Justine and Laura for preparing their buyers...
"Great turnout, we had a terrific crowd of spectators, we had a couple of registered bidders who were here, one in particular who was super keen to be buying the property and it's particularly exciting for us to sell to that buyer.
They're a lovely family and I'm sure they're going to have many terrific memories here at the house.
- Auctioneer Damien Cooley
"They're a lovely family and I'm sure they're going to have many terrific memories here at the house."
The Agency Central West NSW reports strong interest in the property, with 17 groups coming through, under COVID protocols, at the first open home.
Ms Henley said the buyer was local and "a really deserving buyer".
"It's a bit of a special day for them, they've had 30 years of challenges and they're going to be able to move their adult disabled child here as well, and so the whole thing is amazing really, a great outcome," she said.
"It's come together beautifully and thanks to Damien..."
Damien Cooley on The Block
Mr Cooley said The Block, Nine's reality television show that follows couples as they compete to renovate properties and sell them at auction for the highest price, had been "unbelievable" for his career and he had enjoyed auctioning on the series more than 10 times.
"I've won it five, so hard to pick a best moment but probably one of the most interesting or controversial moments that I've been involved in is two auction scenarios," he said.
"One where I was endeavouring to negotiate with the highest bidder live on TV tomorrow to get an increased offer from them because we'd had a sale in the building, and I was using that recent sale to explain to the buyer how this property we were selling was worth more.
"That was when I was auctioning for Kim and Chris.
"Most recently when I did my last auction for Bianca and Carla, that auction was a great auction, that auction I was able to really try and guide the bidding, not accept bids, pushing for $50,000 increments.
"And that's really the role of the auctioneer, not to stand there and just take whatever people offer you, but your role as the auctioneer is to get the best price for the seller and every time I go into a block auction, I go into there with the intent of not just getting the best price but also winning for the contestants, and making sure I do the best job that I can.
"Whether that property is worth $500,000, $1 million or $3 million I go into every single auction with the same intention of getting the best result for the owner.
"Also, in the most transparent way to the buyer."
The auctioneer who in 2009 set an Australian record for the highest price for a single dwelling sold at auction predicted The Agency Central West NSW team would have a big impact on the Dubbo market.
"They're incredibly transparent, lovely people, they have everyone's best interests at heart and I think that when you can mix that in the same combination of being great at what you do, they've got a good recipe for being very successful in this market," Mr Cooley said.
The Agency Central West NSW arrives in Dubbo
Ms Campbell said she and Ms Henley had talked about teaming up for a long time, and at the start of this year they had made it a reality, and were "working under The Agency banner".
"And then Laura Dunkley has come on board as a property partner, which is super exciting," Ms Campbell said.
"Laura is an amazing human, and super talented, real estate is one of her three businesses, actually, so we're really excited to have Laura on board as part of the team, for sure."
Despite starting out just as the coronavirus pandemic hit, the new business had been "very happy with the consistency" the Dubbo market was showing, Ms Campbell said.
"When we were in the heart of the initial COVID, the one-on-one inspections did enable us to spend more time and better understand what our purchasers were looking for," she said.