The Sell: Sydney’s craziest property sales during the boom of 2021
Sydney’s property market went berserk last year, with house prices skyrocketing despite the pandemic. Jonathan Chancellor lists the nine craziest sales of 2021.
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The amazing property price growth of 2021 was apparently only the third-highest in history with its 22 per cent national price jump.
Realestate.com.au economist Paul Ryan advised there was a time in the late 1980s that saw 29 per cent annual growth and there was 111 per cent national growth in 1950, after the lifting of wartime sale restrictions.
My gut feeling was that Sydney’s 2021 was crazier than the late 1980s which I reported on. Back then, my favourite sale was when Point Piper’s Paradis sur Mer, or Toison D’or for the purists, sold at $19.2 million in 1988. By March 1990 it had resold at just $13 million.
Before we get too far into 2022, which although patchy is beginning to show some signs of price exuberance, here’s The Sell’s list of the craziest sales of 2021.
1. Mollymook
The $10 million sale of a Mollymook beachfront last October was the standout.
Its vendor Roland Gill, director at Standard Investments, had bought the four-bedroom Shipton Cres home for $2.26 million five years prior in 2016 — and done nothing apart from maintenance.
The house on 1163sqm, and came with a gate leading onto the sand.
There were 13 bidders registered when it was bought by Caroline Magick, who has settled without any registered mortgage.
Raine and Horne agent Ben Pryde had been guiding $6.5 million.
2. Elizabeth Bay
Hotelier Bill Gravanis owned his three-bedroom, two-bathroom Elizabeth Bay apartment for only 14 months, paying $5.5 million for the 151sqm unit in 2020.
His October sale settled last week at $7.6 million, with the 230sqm space sold to Holly Griffith, the daughter of former IPH chief executive David Griffith and his wife Penny.
Holly took a mortgage with the bank of mum and dad.
The apartment’s previous $2 million gain took a decade.
3. Woollahra
Georgina Varley, a director at private equity house Adamantem Capital, whose partner is Allens’ partner Gavin Smith, was the $13.3 million buyer of the Woollahra mansion, Weeroona.
The Federation residence was sold off-market by the departing AMP chief Francesco De Ferrari and his wife Elisabetta De Ferrari-Wicki.
The sale came just 11 months after it was bought for $7.5 million, with a $616,000 renovation by architect Michael Robilliard in the meantime.
De Ferrari is now in Zurich, back at Credit Suisse.
4. Avalon Beach
Socialite Tiffany Tilley scored a flipping windfall at Avalon Beach.
She gave the four-bedroom residence a makeover in the 18 months she owned it, having paid $3.06 million.
Tilley secured $4.5 million through Christie’s, who sold it to architects Alex and Janine Koll. The sale easily made up for the $300,000 loss Tilley took in Paddington in May 2020, as the pandemic initially hit market sentiment, when she sold for $3.9 million having paid $4.2 million in 2018.
5. North Bondi
North Bondi saw the $11,235,000 sale of the home of Bellevue Hill-bound EverBlu deal-maker Adam Blumenthal and his wife Annabelle Shamir.
They did virtually nothing to the six-bedroom Murriverie Rd home in the two years they had it, after paying $6.3 million.
They sold it to recruiter Jason Johnson and Portia Thompson, a MindBody Inc sales consultant.
The Wentworth Courier noted the 78 per cent price hike was “the talk of the eastern suburbs for a week”.
6. Killcare
A Killcare weekender sold for $3 million, just seven months after its $1.8 million sale in 2020.
The Beach Drive home resold after little more than a striking whitewash, through Cathy Baker at Belle.
7. Bondi
Interior designer Chloe Matters-Oddi and estate agent Adrian Oddi more than doubled their money on a Bondi semi bought for $2.7 million just two years earlier when accepting a record $6,225,000 offer last October.
There had been her lavish $720,000 renovation at the Denham St semi, which was bought by young entrepreneur Dale Brett.
The couple are now restoring a freestanding Bondi home, settling last month at $7.85 million.
8. Bellevue Hill
It was Charley Zaitony who bought a Bellevue Hill house that sold at an “aggressive” auction for $12.2 million last October, double the $6.1 million two years prior.
Angela and Paul Epstein, who became tenants in common rather than joint tenants during their brief ownership, did no renovations.
The 1964 Bulkara Rd home sold through Sotheby’s Michael Pallier, who gave a $8.5 million guide. There were 12 registered bidders.
9. North Bondi
Westfield heiress Monica Saunders-Weinberg added a North Bondi property to her portfolio spending $8.6 million on a Hastings Parade duplex.
It had traded 14 months earlier at $4.05 million when bought by art director Aaron Crothers and costume designer Jackline Sassine for $4.05 million.
PARK LIFE FOR O’NEILS
Four years after their marriage, Deborah Symond-O’Neil and Ned O’Neil have finally found their eastern suburbs family home. They are off to Centennial Park.
They have told close friends they are set to move into a recently sold Lang Rd trophy home listing that was tipped to fetch $20 million. Listing agent Ben Collier at The Agency wasn’t telling The Sell anything, nor were there any celebratory postings on the couple’s social media.
The couple, married in 2018 when they booked out Hamilton Island’s Qualia resort for the three-day-long celebration, reside in Elizabeth Bay.
The apartment is owned by her father John Symond, the former Aussie Home Loans boss, who paid $4.1 million in 2011.
O’Neil is the son of property developer and yachtie Denis O’Neil, and his mother is interior designer Charlotte.
Symond O’Neil is founder of online fashion website Mode Sportif, while O’Neil works for the family development company, Addenbrooke.
The couple welcomed their son Beau in February 2020 and baby girl, Violet, last October.
Their intended home is a five-bedroom, six bathroom Federation home overlooking the park.
It was offered by retired colonel Andrew MacNab and his wife Melanie, who bought it three years ago from Wesfarmers senior executive Ed Bostock and his wife Emma for $13 million. Over recent times it has been architecturally redesigned by Luigi Roselli, with interiors by Alexandra Kidd.
The home had some 7700 views from buyers on realestate.com.au before its mid-week sale. The price is substantially up on the suburb’s previous record high of $16.5 million, when arts patrons Dr Gene Sherman and her husband Brian bought just down the road.
LARRY TAKES THE FLOOR
Seven’s The Chase Australia host and co-host of The Morning Show Larry Emdur and wife Sylvie are off to live in Darling Point.
No confirmation, but the couple seem set to list their apartment in The Rocks following their recent whole-floor 200sqm-plus Darling Point apartment purchase.
It was bought from Naomi Penny, the widow of Professor Ron Penny, the pioneer of clinical immunology, who died in 2019.
And in a busy month for the Emdur family, they have listed Skyridge, their popular Kangaroo Valley Airbnb because they now spend most of their weekends at Berowra Waters, where their $1 million waterfront purchase made last June is getting a major renovation.
There are regular video postings of the works, with Emdur telling his social media followers “our time, attention and focus is required for another exciting, but all-consuming project, so we’ve reluctantly decided to place SkyRidge on the market”.
Their son Jye Emdur, of Ray White TRG, has the Kangaroo Valley listing, which was bought 18 months ago for $2.15 million from the architect Alexander Michael.
It is a striking barn-style getaway built from shipping containers, with plenty of steel, glass and polished concrete floors.
Michael constructed the four-bedroom home after he purchased the vacant 3.95ha Mount Scanzi Rd block in 2016 for $185,000.
“SkyRidge is a social media star in it’s own right, and is one of the area’s most successful short-stay rental performers,” Jye’s marketing advises.
It’s a $1250-a-night hire run through Kangaroo Valley Escapes, a boutique management agency.
BARILAROS’ FAMILY HOME OFFLOADED
The regional matrimonial home of former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro and his wife Deanna has been sold for $2.56 million.
The sale follows the couple’s split, which emerged after Barilaro quit state parliament last October. She took full ownership of the Jerrabomberra home last month.
The home was built by the Barilaros in 2008, five years after the 1083sqm building block cost $207,000. The modern four-bedroom, four-bathroom home is located on an elevated block in a cul-de-sac with views across to Black Mountain tower.
Belle Property Queanbeyan agents Ryan Broadhurst and Aaron Papahatzis secured the sale at around three times the suburb’s median house price.
Last October the couple sold a Rushcutters Bay investment apartment for $1.52 million.
The property separation is not complete because John and Deanna retain their jointly owned luxury 94ha Dungowan Estate at Oallen, which is available as a $1950-a-night rental. It was purchased for $2.015 million in 2014.
JONES ACQUIRES SOUTHPORT HOME
Broadcaster Alan Jones has been confirmed as the $12.25 million buyer of the Southport home of Gold Coast couple Brett and Rebecca Frizelle.
The Frizelles bought the main river home in 2013 for $4.2 million, and then undertook a renovation over two years under the guidance of architect Bayden Goddard.
It has one of the best views, stretching across the river to the city skyline spanning from Southport to Broadbeach.
The paperwork shows that Jones’ niece Tonia Taylor and her husband, tennis coach Justin Taylor, hold 12 per cent of the acquisition.
It was marketed through Michael Kollosche of the Kollosche agency.
Despite his bad back, Jones has been busy with social media postings, and his appearances on Stephen Cenatiempo’s Canberra radio show on 2CC, but is yet to resume his podcast, Direct to the People in 2022.
Jones still owns a Crown Towers, Surfers Paradise apartment that cost $332,000 in 1997.
$6.55M RECORD SALE FOR OATLANDS
One of Oatlands’ most charming homes sold at auction on Saturday for a record $6.55 million.
It was offered by Colin Wilson, an ophthalmologist, who has lived in the 1920s bungalow for almost five decades.
Ellis Street is one of the most sought after in Oatlands, which ensured there were eight registered bidders at the onsite auction.
Given the lack of heritage protection from Parramatta Council, most wanted to bulldoze the single-level house that sits on a 2750sqm block.
It was initially on a 6640sqm holding when bought by the Wilson family in 1974 for $132,000 from the Cooma-born retired grazier Clifford Solomon. At the time it had Bettington Rd access.
With a shady balcony and stone features, the double-brick home also has exposed timber beams and high ceilings. A chef’s kitchen makes for modern living.
The price guide had been $6 million through McGrath Parramatta agent Sandra Aquilina for the four-bedroom, two-bathroom home with 40m street frontage.
The previous record was $5.65 million in 2016 for an art deco-inspired four-bedroom house on 2783 sqm.
The realestate.com.au website puts its median house price in Oatlands at $2.08 million. Oatlands has seen a compound growth rate of 9.2 per cent for houses over the past five years.
NO SALE FOR COOPER AND MARSH AT TAMARAMA
Still no sale for Wayne Cooper and Sarah Marsh in Tamarama.
Their designer residence was pulled from its mid-week auction. It first hit the market last April with $10.5 million guidance that rose to $13 million by October.
Raine & Horne agent Alex Lyons was guiding $11.5 million for the five-bedroom, five-bathroom house this time.
It last traded in 2011 for $5.5 million, which was a loss at the time for former Bluestone Mortgages co-founder Craig Mullan, who paid $6 million two years earlier for the five level Carlisle Street property.
Perched above Tamarama Park on a 284sqm block, its features an eight-person lift.
Its fifth bedroom has been converted into a walk-in closet with bespoke wardrobes for Cooper’s extensive wardrobe.
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