It was one of 25 auction results collected at the time of publishing, with CoreLogic reporting a preliminary clearance rate of 84 per cent for the week, up from the 67.9 per cent final result for the week prior.

The one local bidder of the ten registered dropped out soon after the auction of 11 Bukari Street started, according to listing agent Charlie Zeidler of One Agency Zeidler Walder, with bidding quickly escalating beyond their budget.

Ms Zeidler said that the number of out-of-town buyers was consistent with what she'd witnessed in other recent campaigns, with Sydney-based bidders often outmuscling local buyers at auction.

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Bidding for the property opened at $900,000, with five active bidders placing a total of 23 bids to reach a sale price of $1,175,000.

The winning bid was placed by a young couple from Sydney, Ms Zeidler said.

The four-bedroom house was an attractive proposition due to its design and location.

"It presented so beautifully and it just had an abundance of light," she said.

"It's city fringe, so the access to get onto the motorways is right there and it's got cafes, it's family friendly [with a] choice of schooling options."

The auction was held online given restrictions had only recently changed, and Ms Zeidler expected her agency would continue with a hybrid auction offering until the end of the year.

The reserve of $1.05 million had been adjusted up following buyer feedback during the campaign.

She said the level of stock being released onto the market in coming weeks would determine whether a similar result was achieved before year's end.

$1 million the new normal for first-time buyers

It wasn't just Sydney-based buyers driving activity during the week of auctions, with a Wollongong-based couple scoring the keys to their first home for $1.15 million on Tuesday night.

The three-bedroom property at 16 Dudley Street, Wollongong sold "well above reserve" according to listing agent Adam McGrath of Ray White Shellharbour.

He said $1 million-plus for a first home would have been inconceivable in years past but was fast becoming the new normal.

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"Especially among professional couples ... We're seeing more and more of it. Unfortunately you sometimes have to take the gamble to get into the market," he said.

There were nine registered bidders for the property, which had been held for more than two decades by the same family.

Investors scoop entry-level Berkeley pad

Two local investors went head to head to secure a three-bedroom house at 275 Northcliffe Drive, Berkeley on Saturday.

The property, sold via online auction for $616,000, represented the lower end of the Berkeley market according to listing agent Ali Yagmur of Domain Illawarra Real Estate.

"At $616,000 [this property] definitely represents the lower end of the market," he said.

Investors were particularly keen on entry level properties in the suburb, Mr Yagmur said, though Berkeley was finding favour with first-home buyers and established families as well.

"A few years ago [it was different] ... Now you're not going to find anything for under $600,000 or $650,000," Mr Yagmur said.

There were five registered bidders in total for the north-facing property, which was on the market on account of the vendor entering a nursing home.

Lakefront property sells in just four days

At the other end of the Berkeley price scale, Sydney-based buyers keen to avoid competing with other bidders landed a decisive pre-auction offer on a waterfront property just four days after it was listed to market.

The Camden-based couple paid $1.03 million for the property at 12 Holborn Street, Berkeley on October 8.

The three-bedroom, one-bathroom renovated property is situated opposite Lake Illawarra and had been scheduled to go under the hammer on October 29.

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Mr Yagmur had been advising buyers of a price guide of $1 million-plus for the property.

He said the result was remarkable both for the speed at which the property sold and when comparing the result to other recent results on the street.

"We listed it just after the long weekend and it sold on the Friday," Mr Yagmur said.

"We had 18 enquiries and a couple of different offers during the week," he added.

A four bedroom house at 16 Holborn Street sold for $687,000 in September 2020 while a three-bedroom house at 26 Holborn Street sold for $712,000 in December.

The new owners of 12 Holborn Street plan to demolish the existing property and build their dream home, Mr Yagmur said.

The property is tenanted until June 2022.

Mr Yagmur said it was becoming clear that Berkeley was no longer exclusively a value suburb, with $1 million-plus sales likely to become increasingly common.

"The last 12 months ... It's doing wonders for the area. A lot of people are starting to realise that it's a nice little spot there, where before it was predominantly housing commission now a lot of families are wanting to come and live there," he said.

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