Auction of three homes together in Stockdale Street, Dickson draws a crowd in Canberra

The three Stockdale Street houses sold for $4.6 million following a day of post-auction negotiations.

Together the homes span about 2100 square metres of land and are zoned for multi-unit housing of up to three storeys.

A crowd of about 30 people gathered on Stockdale Street to watch the auction unfold on Friday morning.

Three bidders registered but only two participated.

Bidding lasted about half an hour, with hushed calls from phone bidders in between and a few pauses from the auctioneer to speak to the three sellers.

But the homes failed to hit the sellers' reserve price and were passed in at $4,450,000.

Negotiations between the top bidder and the sellers continued throughout the day until the final sale price was agreed to.

Selling agent Terry Cooper of McIntyre Property said the sellers were "absolutely delighted".

"They can move on with their lives and they've got a price that they're happy with," he said.

Mr Cooper said it was a solid result given single homes had recently sold in Dickson for less than $1.3 million.

He would not disclose the buyer's identity but said they were a well-known local builder with previous projects in Canberra's inner north.

The builder's development plans were still some way off, Mr Cooper said, as they had negotiated a "longer-than-normal settlement".

"That also suited the sellers, they're in no rush to move out," he said.

It was an emotional day for the sellers, including Fay Greenwood, who has lived there since 1960, and family-friends of the Greenwoods who owned the home two doors up.

The third seller was a young couple who had only purchased their home in about the last five years.

Last week, Mrs Greenwood told The Canberra Times of the life-long friendships she forged with her neighbours over her 63 years living on Stockdale Street.

Reflecting on years of street parties and holidays away with the neighbours, the 88-year-old grandmother said it was "a different era to what it is now".

"We have had a fantastic, happy life here and I wouldn't change anything," she said.

"We all got on so well together, we just about went everywhere together."

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While combined sales were a rare occurrence, Mr Cooper said Friday's result proved some sellers could achieve a premium price together.

"In the right circumstances, with the right zoning and the right attributes to the properties, by all means the combined value is much higher than the individual properties would be worth," he said.

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