45 Castlereagh Crescent, Macquarie sells in Canberra auctions for $2.86 million

The mid-week auction of 45 Castlereagh Crescent, Macquarie attracted six bidders, one of which secured the grand home for $2.86 million.

Completed in 2019, the two-storey house is described as "imposing but friendly" in its listing description.

It features six bedrooms, four bathrooms and a four-car garage, all on a 1406-square-metre block.

The seller and builder of the home, Qi Zhang, said he built the house for two reasons.

"We needed a bigger house, we've got three kids and we've got parents living close to us," he said.

"The second intention is because I'm the builder, presenting for Prof Homes, and I wanted to actually build some sort of display for the company as well.

"So this is why I built such a big house."

The family never intended to sell the property so soon, but an even better block of land in Bruce caught Mr Zhang's eye.

"We've got an even better location and we've got even closer to the [children's] school, closer to the parents as well," he said.

Mr Zhang said plans are already underway to build "another mansion" at the new location.

Mr Zhang couldn't decide on a favourite room in the Macquarie property, saying he likes "every corner of the house".

Among the home's most impressive features is a large kitchen with butler's pantry and a dining room with six-metre-high ceilings and space for 20 guests.

It also includes a home theatre, a granny flat downstairs and a swimming pool at the rear.

Despite Canberra property prices softening across the board and the median house value recently falling below $1 million, the auction result shows there is still strength in the market.

The previous record for a standalone house in Macquarie was a five-bedroom home that sold for $1.73 million in late 2021.

A block of land at 3-5 Blackman Street, primed for a seven-townhouse development, also sold last year for $2.4 million.

Mr Zhang knew his home was worthy of the house price record for the suburb.

"I don't think there's any houses close to what we actually have," he said.

"Definitely it was going to break the record for Macquarie but we were expecting to break the record for the whole Belconnen area - we were very close."

The Belconnen suburb record was set earlier this year when a luxury Lawson home sold for $3.05 million.

Michael Wang and Peter Fitzpatrick of Independent Gungahlin marketed Mr Zhang's home for sale.

Mr Wang said despite a campaign with private inspections only, there were lots of keen buyers through the door.

"Through the campaign we received a lot of interest because of the grand nature of the property, it's really eye-catching," he said.

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"So we had nearly 50 inquiries and we had about a 40 private viewings.

"We ended up with six bidders on the day and there were four people actively bidding."

The price was slightly higher than the seller's reserve price, which Mr Wang said was about $2.7 million to $2.8 million.

All bidders were Canberra locals, including a few who were already living in the Belconnen area.

Newly built or renovated homes are in high demand across Canberra, Mr Wang said, due to rising building costs and delays.

"Especially only seven weeks away from Christmas," he said.

"They're all live-in owners [looking to buy], they're all finance-ready, the suitcases are ready."

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