An 8-year-old boy may have become Sydney's youngest investor after winning an auction for a cluster of five one-bedroom units on Saturday.
Michael Hamdan from Southwest Sydney made the winning bid against six other registered groups to secure the homes for NZ$1,062,000.
The property's selling agent Mark Saleh said the other bidders were astonished when Hamdan made the opening offer, the Daily Telegraph reported.
"I've never seen anything like it," he said. "All the other bidders were a bit shocked."
Hamdan was supported through the auction by his property developer father who said he wanted the 8-year-old to learn about Sydney's property market.
"The property market is difficult to get into, I wanted to train my son up … we saw this as a good investment," he said.
"I'm trying to teach him everything I know. I used to get very uncomfortable bidding at auctions, I know what it's like. I hope this will build up his confidence."
Hamdan led most of the auction and tried to "slow bidding down", the Daily Telegraph reported.
"He attempted some low-ball bids which had to be knocked back, but a lot of people try that … the two of them were having a bit of fun with it," auctioneer Rob Trovato said.
The boy was unable to directly buy the property due to his age, but his father purchased them on his behalf.
Hamdan handed the cheque to the sellers, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Now the family plans to renovate the properties before renting them out.
Hamdan's father said he would be part of the process including picking out the fittings and fixtures.
"(Michael) will be involved every step of the way … he will make the choices."
