21 Hodgkinson Street, Griffith sells for $1.9m ahead of big auction weekend in Canberra

Canberra's auction numbers will more than double this weekend as sellers hope to lock in a deal before Christmas.

There are 165 Canberra homes scheduled for auction for the week to Sunday, compared with 80 last week, CoreLogic records show.

The auction frenzy kicked off early on Thursday when more than a dozen homes went under the hammer.

Ten bidders registered for the auction of 21 Hodgkinson Street, Griffith, an original three-bedroom cottage on more than 1000 square metres of land.

Nearly all of the 70 inquiries over the sale campaign were from owner-occupiers looking to knock down the existing house build their dream home, selling agent Christine Shaw of Blackshaw Manuka said.

There was also interest from buyers looking to make use of the ACT government's new incentive allowing two dwellings on some RZ1 blocks, Ms Shaw said.

"Being 1019 square metres, the second generation living aspect was quite apparent with some of those people," she said.

Buyer feedback on the property had been in line with the land value, which was $1.4 million.

Three of the 10 hopeful buyers "were still in play" after bidding reached $1.7 million, Ms Shaw said.

"It's just rare to get such a flat block," she said.

Meanwhile, a home in Theodore sold for $866,000 at auction on Thursday, with two registered bidders.

The property at 29 Cochrane Crescent features four bedrooms and offers mountain and valley views from its elevated location.

Selling agent Kate Coultas of Ray White Canberra said the agency had strong results from its auctions throughout the week.

She said there was solid buyer activity in the market right now, with a good number of buyers attending inspections and registering to bid.

A renovated five-bedroom home in Garran is among the houses set for auction on Saturday.

Selling agent Steve Whitelock of Belle Property Canberra expected a strong turnout for 5 Rusden Street, Garran.

"We've had plenty of buyers through the doors ... things are shaping up for a good auction," he said.

The price guide is in the mid-$1 million range.

The influx of auctions could be a sign that sellers were keen to settle prior to Christmas.

There was only about 50 days left before the banks and solicitors close for the end of the year, Mr Whitelock said.

"People are looking at getting their property transacted prior to Christmas and time is running out," he said.

The auction boom is happening elsewhere in the country too.

CoreLogic has reported 3522 capital city auctions for the week, marking the first time since late May 2022 the number of scheduled auctions has exceeded 3000.

Auction numbers are still well below the record volumes recorded in late 2021, but well above last week's capital city auctions (2463).

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This week's auction activity is also 83 per cent higher than this time last year when 1921 capital city homes were taken to auction.

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