Competing Bids: Buyers not game for $4.5m renovated terrace

Sydney’s Middle Harbour took the city’s top auction weekend sale with $14m for a Federation house. But gamer Elliott Watkins, who claims 9.4m YouTube followers, failed to sell his old terrace.

Along Edgecliff Esplanade in the Sydney Middle Harbour suburb of Seaforth, the 1912 Federation-style house above was the city’s top weekend auction sale at $14m.

There were no bids, so no sale when the millionaire gamer Elliott Watkins put his redundant Pyrmont terrace to weekend auction. McGrath’s Jack Sou had guided $4.5m, and placed a $4.6m vendor bid for the strikingly renovated, four-bedroom Victorian terrace with a plunge pool courtyard.

There were just the two hesitant registered buyers at the onsite auction of the home bought for $3.65m in 2017 by the 27-year-old, who is one of Australia’s biggest gaming personalities.

The son of former Coca-Cola Amatil chief Alison Watkins is known in the gaming world as Muselk. He dropped his commerce and law degree, having been an intern at Gilbert + Tobin, to pursue YouTube videos where he has 9.4 million subscribers. His seven postings so far this month have attracted up to 873,000 views.

He’s upgrading to a $9,125,000 home in Tamarama.

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Sydney slowing

Sydney was the busiest auction capital city with some 1028 homes taken to auction, up from 999 over the previous week. The clearance rate dipped to 70.4 per cent of the 859 results collected so far by CoreLogic.

The previous week saw a 74.6 per cent preliminary clearance and 76.9 per cent on the last Saturday in February, showing a trend towards the market weakening.

After 9600 views on realestate.com.au, Wonderview, the four-bedroom 1912 Federation-style Seaforth home, was Sydney’s top weekend auction sale at $14m. The hillside, 1505sq m on Edgecliffe Esplanade property was sold through Clarke & Humel Property.

It last traded in 1982 at $625,000 when bought by Norman Kelso, the then managing director of the Norman Ross retailer.

The price guide had been $10m to $11m.

Sydney’s next priciest sale was $9.15m paid for 28 Shackel Ave, Clovelly though Mark McPherson of McGrath Coogee. It sold to a young family from Bronte, after the vendor lowered their $9.3m written reserve. It had traded at the $5.75m in 2016.

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Balwyn beauty

Melbourne was host to 606 ­auctions, down from 1452 over the previous week, given the Labour Day long weekend. Of the 516 results collected so far, around 72 per cent have been successful. The top advised sale was $3.22m for 36 Monash Ave, Balwyn, a four-bedroom, two-storey family home opportunity in the Balwyn High School zone. The price guide for the 1990-built home had been $2.5m to $2.6m. It had last sold at $810,0000 in 2005.

Meanwhile, $167,000 was paid for beach box 37 on McCrea Beach, where Mike O’Neill from Granger Estate Agents had two bidders after it was called on the market at $160,000.

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Canberra in front

Across the smaller capitals, Canberra recorded the highest clearance rate (87.5 per cent), followed by Adelaide (77.9 per cent) and Brisbane (68.1 per cent).

Adelaide saw a Henley Beach former prize home fetch $4.7m, a year after it was won last April by its vendor as the prize in a charity lottery promoted by the Hospital Research Foundation. Offered fully furnished, the two-level modern home built by Scott Salisbury attracted 15 bidders to sell $700,000 over reserve.

Brisbane’s top sale was $6.2m at Hamilton through Ray White agent Matt Lancashire who had six bidders involved.

In Brisbane, a penthouse in the heritage-listed CSR Sugar Refinery at New Farm, above, sold for $3.5m.

There was also a 300sq m penthouse in the heritage-listed CSR Sugar Refinery, New Farm that fetched $3.5m. A Singapore expatriate had bought the four-bedroom Refinery Pde apartment for $3m in 2013.

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Dalkeith delight

In Perth, eight results have been collected so far, with seven of them reporting a successful result.

Perth had one of its busiest prestige auction weekends for some years. There was a $3.85m sale at Dalkeith through Ray White Dalkeith/Claremont agents Vivien Yap and Patrick Leclezio. The five-bedroom, four-bathroom, two-storey home at 20 Nardina Crescent sits on 1171sq m with pool.

It was built in 2012 for an $880,000 cost, then sold in 2013 at $3.8m.

There had been more than 4000 views on realestate.com.au.

Perth had one of its busiest prestige auction weekends for some years. Above, 20 Nardina Crescent, Dalkeith. It fetched $3.85m.

At Peppermint Grove bidding ended on a $4.1m vendor bid when a 926sq m building block was offered through Yap in conjunction with Mack Hall. The 10 Bay View Terrace offering is directly opposite the local tennis club.

At Cottesloe there was a $2.43m pre-auction sale to a family who intend to renovate the 1969 single-level home at 62 Grant St. It sold through Jody Fewster at Ray White Cottesloe/Mosman Park.

“We had multiple interested parties who wrote up offers, so my seller decided to deal,” Fewster said. “The four-bedroom, two-bathroom property offered two separate living areas – a sunken lounge room with plantation shutters and a second activity/living area, perfect for a gaming room or home office.”

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Perth retreats

As Perth opens itself to the world after its pandemic restrictions, Perth prestige prices are still going backwards, having never recovered from the peak pricing in the last mining boom.

At Peppermint Grove an opulent 2010-built home sold recently at $8m through Peter Burns at Mack Hall Real Estate. It had last sold at $8.5m in 2014, when offloaded by then Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh and his wife Leanne after moving to London to take up the top job.

Walsh had paid $10m in 2010 to buy the Bay View Terrace property.

Last year did see Perth house prices increase, sales volumes grow and days on market shrink. Dalkeith had the highest median at $2.82m, followed by Peppermint Grove ($2.7m), then Cottesloe ($2.41m) and City Beach ($2.24m).

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Record buy

WA’s most expensive settled property sale in 2021 was $13.3m in Swanbourne when Thermomix co-founder Witold Mazur bought an 878sq m oceanfront. The property had previously been a loss-making endeavour for miner Kerry Harmanis, who had paid $6.9m in 2015 and sold at $4.5m in 2016.

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Best of the west

Geoff Gallop, the Sydney-based academic and former West Australian premier, sold his $6.35m Sydney house last year, and has since bought in Sydney’s Haymarket for $4m. Gallop, who served as the 27th premier from 2001 to 2006, bought the Clovelly house for $4.15m in 2010 with his doctor wife Ingrid Van Beek, two years after it was completed. The couple have a long-held weekender in Bundeena near the Royal National Park.

Peter Dowding, another former premier who lobbed in Sydney, rented a Paddington terrace from Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull in 1990 while he was at the Bar, having resigned after being challenged for the ALP leadership by Carmen Lawrence. Dowding, now South Fremantle- based, sold his Broome investment property last November for $1.03m, having paid $1.1m in 2007.

It prompts Competing Bids to wonder about the current Premier Mark McGowan’s ultimate retirement location. Of course McGowan moved to WA with the Royal Australian Navy in 1991, with his family remaining in NSW’s Coffs Harbour. Competing Bids does not believe the well-entrenched McGowan did any house hunting while over in the east this month.