A trophy home perched on a cliff in Seaforth has sold for $15.7 million, surpassing its $15 million guide, as a Sydney family bucked the trend of a softer auction market.
The six-bedroom, seven-bathroom property at 41 Battle Boulevard features a signature spiral staircase that winds through all five levels.
Four bidders registered, and three actively competed, for the luxurious waterfront residence, which includes a jetty with two yacht berths, an infinity pool and a lift.
Bidding opened at $14.6 million, with mostly $100,000 bids in front of a curious crowd of almost 100 in the living room with splendid water views, until it sold.
The family, from Sydney’s lower north shore, will live in the home.Credit:
BresicWhitney’s Anna Chen declined to share the reserve but said the vendor was thrilled with the final result. Records show the house was last traded for $11.3 million in 2020.
“Like I said to all the purchasers and the buyers … it is a King of Seaforth, one of a kind you wouldn’t be able to regulate today,” Chen said, referring to the council’s floor space ratio requirements. The property has an internal size of 1100 square metres on a 1600 square metre block.
The buyer is a lower north shore family who will live in the home, while the vendors are moving out of the area.
BresicWhitney’s chief executive officer and auctioneer Thomas McGlynn said, despite the market being considered a buyer’s market, “for quality real estate there is still really strong buyer interest”. The property was one of 1052 scheduled auctions in Sydney at the weekend.
By Saturday evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 63.9 per cent from 628 reported results, while 133 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.
First home buyers land $3.43m terrace in Annandale
A first home buyer couple secured the keys to a three-bedroom terrace in Annandale for $3.43 million.
The property at 63 Albion Street was well proportioned with high ceilings and beautifully detailed throughout.
Five registered to bid and three actively participated. They were mostly couples and were supported by a small crowd of locals in the living room.
The bidding started off slowly, but once it hit the reserve price of $3.3 million, the pace picked up until it sold.
Darren Pearce from BresicWhitney Inner East said a renovation was done 10 years ago.
“The butler’s pantry and laundry is really nice off the kitchen … it’s a really practical house,” Pearce said.
The buyers are upsizing from Surry Hills. The vendors are selling after their children outgrew the space.
Records show that the house was last traded for $1,325,000 in 2013.
Buyers’ agent nabs $1.43m Elizabeth Bay pad
A buyers’ agent purchased within his “core market” of Elizabeth Bay on Saturday, securing a 61-square-metre art deco apartment for himself with a winning bid of $1.43 million at auction.
Eleven registered and four actively bid on the two-bedroom, north-facing unit with harbour views. Guided at $1.3 million, the property is located at 19/8 Onslow Avenue.
“If you’re in an art deco building, it’s definitely desirable,” Ray White’s Renee Cross said, adding that the property was uninhabitable in its current state and would need some work.
The buyer plans to live and retire there, and the vendors were nine beneficiaries.
Epping cottage fetches $3,001,000
A charming four-bedroom Federation cottage in Epping changed hands after 40 years for $3,001,000.
With a price guide of $2.8 million, the home at 5 Willoughby Street drew a crowd of 100 to the backyard auction, featuring an elegant oak tree that had attracted the vendor to the property decades earlier.
Four bidders registered, all of whom actively participated – primarily families from the nearby suburbs and inner west.
Bidding opened at $2.4 million, with $100,000 bids pushing it to $2.8 million. From there, $50,000 bids took it past the $3 million reserve, until it sold under the hammer.
A family from Kellyville bought the home, while the vendor plans to downsize. Records indicate that it last changed hands for $129,000 in 1983.
Softer clearance rate, buyer market ‘subdued’
AMP’s chief economist Shane Oliver said Sydney’s clearance rate of 63.9 per cent was soft for this time of year.
Oliver noted seeing a big pick-up in listings compared to a year ago, which could be evidence of distressed selling.
“At the same time, buyer demand is a little bit subdued by the ongoing high level of interest rates, which is resulting in relatively soft auction clearance rates.”
Oliver expects the market to remain soft until interest rates start to come down.
“It’s possible we can get a cut in December, but the more likely scenario seems [to be] in February next year for the first cut.”