$17.6m Noosa sale leads national auction results

A five-bedder backing onto Noosa Sound and a former AMP director’s luxury Mosman home topped results over the weekend.

31 Witta Circle, Noosa Heads sold for a whopping $17.6m at weekend auction.

Noosa Heads notched up the nation’s top weekend auction result when $17.6m was paid for a five-bedroom, six-bathroom Witta Circle waterfront home.

There were four registered bidders and a big crowd at its onsite auction after its marketing had garnered 3900 page views on realestate.com.au.

It was knocked down to a Melbourne buyer by Gillian and Shane McCauley at Richardson & Wrench Noosa, who marketed it as “a celebration of space, sunlight and breathtaking views”.

The 610sq m property last sold in 2003 for $3.15m to the Melbourne vendors.

The property backs onto the Sound canals.

The $4345-a-night peak season short-term holiday rental is located on Noosa’s Sound next to the retreat of Krissy Marsh, one of the Real Housewives of Sydney cast who bought her abode for $9.8m in 2019.

Auction attendees suggested it was the highest under-the-hammer result ever for the Sunshine Coast.

The prior top advised auction result was when 41 Picture Point Crescent, Noosa Heads, a four-bedroom home nestled into the north-facing side of Laguna Hill on a 1447sq m block, fetched $16.45m in 2021.

A three-level Hastings Street apartment on Noosa’s sand fetched $16.1m under the hammer in 2021.

Last May a hotly contested 40ha beachfront parcel at Teewah Beach Road, Noosa North Shore fetched $16.2m.

Top outcome

Former AMP director Trevor Matthews and his wife Michele sold their luxury Mosman residence, Yoorana, pre-auction, in what likely ranked as the top outcome of the 2645 auction listings of the past week across the nation.

The Plunkett Road listing was price undisclosed, but it is believed to have been about $27.5m. Slightly disappointing as late last year the couple listed with a $30m private treaty guide.

Yoorana at 24 Plunkett Road, Mosman.

The sale highlights the increased occurrence of prestige Sydney vendors taking pre-auction offers, which increasingly suggests estate agents are turning their one, and best buyer, into the purchaser before auction day.

The prestige Sydney market is also characterised by a high number of properties withdrawn from auction, which suggests possibly no prospective buyer on the scene; or the would-be buyers needing extra time to get their finance or sell their own home, or that the price gap between buyers and sellers was too big to go through the auction day motions.

Sydney’s recent tally of sold priors hit 39 per cent of auction listings, much higher than the 28 per cent national pre-auction sales tally, according to CoreLogic.

The three-storey Matthews house has five bedrooms, six bathrooms and an office with a bar. The interiors were by Zobel Interiors. Constructed by master builder FS Hough, it won the 2015 MBA Excellence in Housing Award and was short-listed in the Mosman Design awards.

It sits in landscaped Volker Klemm gardens after the 911sq m holding cost $5.8m in 2004.

Matthews, who stepped down last year as chair of the State Insurance Regulatory Authority, has also listed their Palm Beach weekender with $28m hopes. It was a collaboration between Michael MacCormick, FS Hough and Volker Klemm.

PropTrack had Mosman’s 11 scheduled house auctions over the past week as the third-busiest Sydney auction suburb.

Another Mosman auction listing sold at an undisclosed price, with the BK Halliday updated 1920s Hollywood hacienda-style home offered by former international model Gillian Bailey who had $12m hopes.

Pre-auction sale

An Alec Tzannes-designed Cooper Street, Paddington home listed by Profusion recruitment business founder Rod Jones sold pre-auction for $13.25m.

It was among the 50 prestige Sydney auction listings seeking $5m or more over the past week, up on the prior week’s 33 offerings.

The 1910 Greenway residence at Warrawee was another pre-auction Sydney result. It sold for $8.5m through Ray White Upper North Shore agent David Walker.

The sandstone and brick home has six upper-level bedroom suites, two with ensuites and two with adjoining studies.

Set on a subdividable 2561sq m, its gardens come with a pool, plus rotunda and a koi pond, and with room to add a tennis court.

The weekend listing at 4 Brentwood Avenue, Warrawee, a five-bedroom, three-bathroom house on 1537sq m fetched $8.45m through Carl and Donna Ferris at The Marshall Group.

Sydney’s dearest listing, Claremont, on Wentworth Road, Vaucluse, offered with $21m guidance through Alexander Phillips of PPD, was pulled from auction.

A six-bedroom, eight-bathroom mansion with Swarovski crystal chandeliers at 131 The Boulevarde, Strathfield was pushed back until April 5 auction, offered with $9.5m price guidance.

Prestige listings

Melbourne had just the four prestige auction listings seeking $5m or more, after 33 Molesworth Street, Kew was pushed back to April 5.

Melbourne’s priciest listing Abergwyle, a Victorian-era five-bedroom, three-bathroom residence, now has a $7.15m asking price after being passed in at $6.6m. Richard Winneke and Sebastian Scanlon of Jellis Craig marketed the Loch Street, Camberwell home on a 1065sq m parcel, seeking $7m to $7.7m.

Abergwyle, 3 Loch Street, Camberwell passed in at weekend auction.

It has attracted 4800-plus page views so far on realestate.com.au, having last sold in 1994 for $650,000 and at $675,000 in 1989 when sold by the Cragg family.

It features high ceilings, ornate cornicing, fireplaces and sash windows, plus a 1200-bottle wine cellar, and a modern extension.

Another Camberwell listing, a contemporary Middle Road offering, which attracted 5800 page views, was listed at $5.5m to $6m through Marshall White’s Anthony Smith. The collaboration between Pleysier Perkins architects and InForm now has $5m to $5.5m guidance.

Melbourne’s top weekend auction result went price undisclosed when 7 Grange Road, Kew, sold having been seeking $6m to $6.6m.

Auctioneer Jack Bongiorno noted Melbourne auctions were “delivering positive outcomes for vendors whose properties were correctly priced”.

Strongest market

From 82 results, Adelaide was the strongest weekend auction market, according to realestate.com.au with it being the only city still recording a 70 per cent-plus preliminary success rate.

Its top sale was the Friday afternoon offering of a three-bedroom contemporary townhouse at 17 Stanley Street, North Adelaide, at $1.6m through Andrew and Michelle Downing at Ray White Adelaide City.

Most-viewed

With 15,000-plus page views, the most-viewed residential listing on realestate.com.au last week was 256 Warburton Highway, Wandin North.

256 Warburton Highway, Wandin North was the most viewed house on realestate.com.au last week.

Located near the Yarra Valley, the expansive French Provincial-style home, with a large fountain in its forecourt, has five bedrooms and four bathrooms. Its lower-level bar uses reclaimed red gum from the Jan Juc bridge, providing an industrial edge.

Greg Earney and Aleisha Eadon at Jellis Craig Mooroolbark have the 1.97ha estate listed with $3.4m to $3.7m guidance.

Expressions of interest on the 2010-built home close on April 15.