A property deal to be proud of

A London-based Macquarie Group banker has sold at a profit and bought at a discount in some impressive manoeuvring which has landed him and his wife a Pittwater property.

The coastal views from the Palm Beach property which sold for $5m.

London-based Macquarie Group veteran Arthur Rakowski has pulled off perhaps the best property deal of his life.

Rakowski, who has been with the so-called millionaires’ factory since 1992 – and is one of the founders of Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund – and wife Stephanie have sold their Palm Beach retreat and bought on Pittwater.

Their spartan hillside Palm Beach home, bought for $3.1m amid the early 2020 pandemic price panic, has been onsold for $5m.

They have now emerged as the discount $12.5m buyers of the luxury Clareville home on Pittwater of expatriate corporate adviser Simon Mordant and his wife, Catriona.

Three floors of luxury on Hudson Parade at Clareville.

The Mordants had initially hoped for $15m to $16m when their luxury property was listed last April, marketed as being “an undeniably sophisticated home with Zen-like simplicity”.

The three-level home comes with a home office, library and a temperature-controlled wine cellar. There is a pool, boathouse and jetty.

The Mordants built the three-bedroom, three-bathroom house in 2010. The then Caliburn chief executive had Tanner Architects design the home, costed at $1.2m, for the 1210 sq m Hudson Parade holding.

The three-level home has views across Pittwater.

The Luminis executive co-chairman now spends most of his time in Italy at Umbria, where he oversees his dry gin venture, Quattro Gatti.

The couple retain a Sydney CBD bolthole in Broughton House.

Rakowski sold the Bynya Road, Palm Beach property, which overlooks Whale Beach, to family law solicitor Susan Warda.

The son of Mieczyslaw Rakowski – the second last communist prime minister of Poland – migrated to Australia in 1982 having studied journalism at the University of Warsaw.

Darlinghurst penthouse’s big price tage

Sydney’s Darlinghurst had the nation’s priciest auction listing when a whole-floor penthouse was offered at a price guidance of $15m.

There was no official price result reveal, but the four-bedroom, three-bathroom New York-style residence with 513sq m of space fetched $15.2m in what was a one-bid onsite auction.

The Stanley Street home atop Angus House had loft-inspired interiors featuring exposed brickwork.

The whole-floor penthouse at Sydney’s Darlinghurst was Australia’s most expensive auction listing for the week.

The whole floor, open-plan layout features a commercial-grade kitchen opening to the expansive dining and living area, bar, billiard room and four car spaces.

It was winner of the NSW Master Builders Association best renovation in 2023 costing more than $3m and conducted by Kinn Construction.

It last traded in 2016 for $5,555,000 when bought unrenovated by radiologist Dr Jonathan Seeff and wife Rachelle from the building’s developer, Theo Onisforou.

The 1930s building had been converted into 17 apartments in 1998 by Onisforou – the then investment manager for Consolidated Press Holdings – in a partnership with tycoon James Packer through their highly successful development company, Dorigad.

The building had previously been the headquarters for the Moran family healthcare group.

The penthouse has recently been a $7000-a-week short-term rental accommodation, and its occupants have included the Rüfüs Du Sol dance group.

Sydney market rolls on

A newly-built six bedroom house at 45 Fowler Crescent, Maroubra in Sydney has sold for $7,125,000.

The 450sq m property, last sold in 2018 for $2.55m, was auctioned by Ray White agent Nader Hotait who marketed it as “showcasing a sophisticated new look whilst offering a high-functioning design for family life”.

Sydney had 49 prestige $5m-plus weekend auction listings; just eight were reported to have sold under the hammer and eight sold prior.

CoreLogic’s Tim Lawless reported Sydney’s overall success rate as 71.4 per cent across 981 auctions. The preliminary rate was down from 74.4 per cent a week earlier, which was revised on final figures to 65.3 per cent.

Melbourne buyers take a breather

Melbourne’s weekend auction success rate also eased slightly.

Its preliminary rate was down to 70.3 per cent from 72.1 per cent in the previous week where the final tally was 64.5 per cent, according to CoreLogic.

A total of 1376 auctions were held across Melbourne which was down slightly from the 1437 auctions a week earlier and it’s expected to be less this week given the Labour Day long weekend in that state.

The top sale was at Canterbury when the home at 50 Wentworth Avenue sold for $6,075,000.

Buyers’ agent Mal James noted that there were three bidders for the house offered with a $4.95m to $5.4m guidance.

It was announced on the market at $6,075,000 having last sold in 2017 for $4,225,000.

James noted there were plenty of bids with an “8”.

Gracedale in Melbourne’s Malvern hadn’t previously been on the market for about 40 years.

Melbourne’s next priciest was $5.35m for Gracedale, the four-bedroom, four-bathroom 1890s Italianate villa in Malvern.

Offered for the first time in four decades, the 1254sq m Elizabeth Street property had been listed through James McCormack at Marshall White with $5m to $5.5m hopes.

The opening bid was $5m and the home was announced on the market at $5.28m.

There were just the two bidders for the house, which was last sold in 1984 for $283,000.

Fimiston, the 1938 art deco Kew home that last sold in 1983 for $270,000, fetched $4.62m. The Burke Road home with its Streamline Moderne facade on its 1802sq m holding attracted four bidders.

Retired tennis champion Ash Barty and her pro-golfer husband, Gary Kissick, did not secure a buyer for their South Yarra home.

The Nicholson Street property now comes priced at $1.975m having been listed with a $1.85m to $2m auction guidance. It cost $1.88m in 2022.

National volume rising

The national volume of auctions held last week was the highest so far this year with 2773 homes going under the hammer, and 4 per cent above levels at the same week last year, according to CoreLogic.

The preliminary national clearance rate sat 69.9 per cent, after holding above 70 per cent over the past two weeks.

Perth saw the top price among the smaller auction markets.

Perth’s top sale at Dalkeith was sold under the hammer – $6.15m for a house by architect Philippa Mowbray.

The Tuscan-inspired residence was built in 2000 and was renovated in 2014.

The sellers of 36 Watkins Road, Dalkeith are off to Singapore.

There were seven registered bidders, of which four were active at the auction through Vivien Yap at Ray White Dalkeith Claremont.

“The buyers had peered through the gardens last year and fell in love with it,” Yap advised.

The sellers are relocating to Singapore but will retain a base in Australia.

It had last sold in 2009 for $5m.

Brisbane had the lowest preliminary clearance rate at 55 per cent across 185 auctions.

The Dalkeith property’s back yard is immaculately manicured.

Its top sale was 31 Mayfield Street, Ascot with the four bedroom house, selling for $4,011,000.

All three registered bidders were local families.

“The winning bidders lived in the next street,” Ray White selling agent Alexander Shean said.

With 140 homes taken to market, Adelaide had the strongest preliminary clearance rate at 77.9 per cent.