Angus Geddes hoping for fat profit in Potts Point terrace sell-off

Fat Prophets co-founder Angus Geddes is further rejigging his property portfolio as he prepares for the renovation of his three terraces on Victoria St, Potts Point in Sydney’s east.

52 Victoria St, Potts Point, which was sold on Friday.

Fat Prophets co-founder Angus Geddes is further rejigging his property portfolio as he prepares for the renovation of his three terraces on Victoria St, Potts Point in Sydney’s east.

Geddes has listed an investment apartment in the The Hensley complex nearby. The Bayswater Rd offering through Simon Exleton at McGrath Double Bay comes with $1.75m price guidance.

There’s an August 13 auction scheduled for the two-bedroom, two-bathroom courtyard apartment in the 2019 Woods Bagot-designed complex.

307/37 Bayswater Road, Potts Point.

Last year Geddes pocketed $7.45m from the sale of his high-rise Omnia, Potts Point ­apartment.

His newly acquired, $11m row of terraces was formerly the Kanga House backpacker premises and now part of the Knightsbridge-style revival of the leafy precinct. The heritage 1890s terraces, comprising 18 bedrooms, will become a single residence.

Geddes, who will retain his Tamarama apartment to use as a weekender once the renovations are complete, toiled at BT and JBWere before starting his then weekly online investment tips newsletter in 2000.

Victoria Street’s latest deal came on Friday when the grand three-storey terrace of late international jeweller Tony White was sold by his ­architect partner, Alexander Michael. The ­8m-wide terrace had been bought in 1978 for $85,000.

JaneSchumann of Raine & Horne had been seeking $10m the terrace, which sits opposite Embarkation Park.

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Gold Coast buzzing

The Gold Coast was the weekend’s most active prestige auction marketplace with considerable under-the-hammer sales success. They included the $5.9m sale of 80 Admiralty Drive, Paradise Waters through Sam Guo and Julia Kuo in collaboration with Ryan Ward of Kollosche Prestige.

There were five active bidders after the trio had undertaken 42 inspections. The home last sold in late 2020 when purchased by the Zheng family from ADCO Constructions chair Judith Brinsmead for $3,988,888.

There was a $4.5m sale of a sub-penthouse in the La Sabbia, Surfers Paradise complex through Tolemy Stevensat Harcourts Coastal Prestige. The whole 25th floor apartment, with 329sq m space, was for sale for the first time since its $3.55m purchase in 2006. Stevens had six registered bidders at the auction, which saw hour-long behind-the-scenes negotiations before its under-the-hammer sale.

“It was the highest price achieved in the building’s 25-year history,” Steven told Competing Bids.

A $3,015,000 sale occurred at 16 Cheval Court, Benowa Waters through Teresa Berger at The Professionals Vertullo Real Estate. It was a 660sq m home on a 1233sq m waterfront block on the Nerang tributary.

Meanwhile Shaun Kaddatz at Harcourts Coastal continues negotiations on the Beach House on Ephraim Island, Paradise Point. The jeweller John Calleija had bought the tri-level property with 30m of water frontage for $3,795,000 in 2017.

Kaddatz advised it was passed in at $3.8m. “The seller is asking $4.2m, so it should be sold within a week,” he said.

The house comes with a 59ft (18m) berth in the island’s secure marina.

There’s also now $4.5m-plus asking expectations through Ed Cherry at Harcourts Coastal for the striking home at 171 Golden Four Drive, Bilinga. The Shane Denman-designed cylindrical home which rises four storeys just metres from the beach was built by Andrew and Jasmine Smith of Mericon Constructions.

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Clearance sale

Across the smaller capital cities, Adelaide again recorded the strongest preliminary clearance rate at 71 per cent, followed by Canberra (59 per cent), Brisbane (39 per cent) and Perth (36 per cent).

Brisbane, with 182 homes taken to auction, had the nation’s top advised result with the $10.21m sale of the home of the late Queensland accountant, company director and tourism entrepreneur, Jim Kennedy. He lived at the Hawthorne home from 1989 until he passed away last September, aged 93. Listed by his widow, Robin, the Leura Terrace home had last sold at $1.4m in 1989. It was a suburb auction record price back then – and again on the weekend.

There was bidding from four of the five registered bidders for the four-bedroom home on 1215sq m with a pool, pontoon, boat ramp and views across to the Teneriffe woolstores.

16 Leura Terrace, Hawthorne.

It was announced on the market at $10.05m by the Ray White agent Matt Lancashire.

“We fielded hundreds of inquiries from expats in Asia and the UK, buyers in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and across South East Queensland,” he said.

After 4870 online views, there were 60 buyer inspections conducted. It was sold to a local family.

Kennedy started his business life in the 1960s as owner of the then largest independent chain of electrical equipment stores in the country. His first tourism venture came in 1972 on Moreton Island, followed by his South Molle Island acquisition. He purchased Daydream Island in 1981 for about $2.5m from Gold Coast’s Bernard Elsey, and sold it six years later for $12.5m to the Michael Hale-led DGA Group.

Kennedy, appointed to the board of the Commonwealth Bank at just 39, was also board member of the ASX, Qantas, Suncorp, Santos, Pacific Dunlop, the Australian Postal Commission and GWA. He was also the inaugural head of the Queensland Investment Corporation in the late 1980s. He was once among the most influential business leaders in the country, before experiencing relevance deprivation syndrome in his retirement.

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Melbourne’s best

There were 712 auctions in Melbourne last week. Of the 595 results collected so far by CoreLogic, 57 per cent were successful. The top advised sale was a $3,975,000 sale on the beach at Frankston. The 2020-built home at 74 Gould St had three bedrooms, three bathrooms and a home office. The previous cottage, Tanglewood was demolished after its 2016 sale at $1.4m. Set on 565sq m on Long Island Beach, there had been a $775,000 build estimate for the two-storey home, which came with a $3.3m to $3.6m price guide from Harcourts agent Natalie Robinson.

74 Gould Street, Frankston.

The beach saw a record $5.05m sale through Vicki Sayers at RT Edgar in April: a knockdown home on 1200sq m which had sold in 1981 for $90,000. The prior record had been set only a week earlier at $4m, also on Gould St.

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Burradoo buy

In Sydney, 678 homes were scheduled for auction last week. Of the 530 results collected so far by CoreLogic, 56 per cent were successful. Withdrawal rates remain high, with 25 per cent pulled from auction. Some 26 per cent of the results sold under the hammer. Pre-auction sales accounted for 30 per cent.

Weekend pre-sales included Parkfield, the Holly Rd, Burradoo listing that had $7m hopes. Southern Highlands selling agent Corina Nesci declined to reveal the price of the 1ha estate, including stables.