Little interest: Jason Little’s Manly mansion passed in at auction
Clearance rates rose for luxe local listings this weekend, but former Wallaby and current Goodman boss Jason Little saw his family mansion passed in at auction.
There were no bids when the Manly house of Goodman Australia chief and former Wallaby Jason Little and his wife Bridget went to weekend auction.
Auctioneer Vic Lorusso presided over the sparsely attended Saturday afternoon event, which was restricted to registered bidders.
Well-informed locals gleaned a $15m post-auction offer was secured by Jake Rowe at The Agency, but it was not enough to secure the sale of timber-clad residence in Manly’s Spring Cove estate.
There had been $15m to $16.5m guidance ahead of the auction, which was pushed back a week.
Designed by Iain Halliday’s BKH, the cul-de-sac home sits on 860sq m amid Dangar Barin Smith landscaping
Looking towards the eastern suburbs, it comes with beach, bushland and Sydney Harbour views.
The Littles purchased the Catholic Church leasehold building block in 2014, around the time they sold their Mosman home for $5.6m.
The leasehold renewal is set for 2096.
The five-bedroom, four-bathroom house has 432sq m of living space across two levels. The main living space comprises two lounge areas set on either side of its kitchen, complete with a curved Elba marble-topped island bench and a built-in eight-seat Corian dining table. Its appliances include two Wolf ovens, an integrated Sub-Zero fridge-freezer and two Miele dishwashers.
It is one of 38 homes in the 2.7ha estate developed by joint venture partners Denwol Group and Oakstand.
Little, who played in three World Cups in the 1990s, and Bridget are off to Bondi Beach, having purchased an apartment off the plan for $23m atop the Hall & Campbell development.
Strathfield on top
The nation’s top weekend sale notification was in Sydney’s inner west at Strathfield, where a new seven-bedroom, seven-bathroom house with an internal lift fetched $8.9m. The opening bid was $8.5m with four of the six registered bidders participating, after 286 groups inspected the site.
The Myrna Road home, which attracted 23,826 page views on realestate.com.au, had a $7.9m to $8m guide through McGrath agent Jessy Antaky.
It was an architectural collaboration by ES Designs and PTI for Buildup Development. The building block cost just north of $3m in 2021.
The interiors were by Coco Republic.
The home featured a Control4 smart home automated system, with 16 zones.
Its grounds have a resort-style pool, spa and cabana, plus an outdoor barbecue kitchen with a deluxe BeefEater with a rotisserie function.
Clearance rate rising
Sydney’s overall preliminary clearance rate rose to 76.5 per cent, up from 74.6 per cent in the week prior.
The highlights included the $1.82m paid for the two-bedroom home at 223 Denison Road, Dulwich Hill, which was advertised as an “untouched Victorian terrace” and “a dream for renovators”.
There had been a $1.3m guide for the derelict house on a 189sq m corner holding.
Tim Lawless at CoreLogic noted the national preliminary clearance rate rose to 72 per cent last week, up from 71 per cent in the week prior, which was revised down to 62 per cent after final results.
Melbourne recorded the highest auction volume at 840 homes. Its preliminary clearance rate sat at 69.8 per cent, up from the previous week’s 66.9 per cent.
Melbourne’s top result came when the three-level period home in Aberfeldie, in the inner northwest, fetched $4.9m through McDonald Upton agents Joe Zucco and Georgie Maggs.
Their guidance for the four-bedroom, three-bathroom house had been $4.3m to $4.6m.
Set on a 904sq m Beaver Street holding, it came with a solar heated pool and basketball court.
Due to the wet weather, the auction was conducted in the 10-car basement by auctioneer Milo Rasinac.
There had been 40 inspections after 6790 page views on realestate.com.au.
There were three bidders after the auction opened at $4m.
It was announced on the market at $4.5m and two bidders pushed it to $4.9m.
“It was purchased by a young family that were in the area before Covid and are now coming back,” Mr Zucco said.
“They had always admired the home. Our vendors were ecstatic with the result,” he added.
It last sold in mid-2019 for $3.85m, also through McDonald Upton.
Triggs sells
Melbourne’s second priciest sale came post-auction in Albert Park at $3.9m.
The three-bedroom Victoria Ave terrace attracted a $3,855,000 bidder, having been listed with a price guide of $3.85m to $4.05m.
It sold through RT Edgar agent Gerald Betts, who noted only two buyers turned up on Saturday, whereas 75 groups had inspected it during its 39 days on the market.
It last sold in 2015 for $2.8m when bought by then-president of the Australian Human Rights Commission Gillian Triggs and her diplomat husband Alan Brown, after which it quickly became a $1600 per week rental offering.
Adelaide shines
In the smaller auction markets, Adelaide recorded the highest success rate at 84 per cent, followed by Perth in an unusually busy week at 70 per cent. Brisbane’s success rate was 60 per cent.
Adelaide’s top weekend result came when a five-bedroom 1890s bluestone home at 115 Princes Road, Mitcham, sold through Toop+Toop agent Glenn McMillan for $1.9m, having come with a $1.75m guidance.
Brisbane’s top result was $4.1m at Hendra to a local buyer after 38 buyer inspections of Stirling, a four-bedroom Queenslander at 55 Sefton Road.
“We fielded hundreds of inquiries from expats in Asia and the UK, buyers in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and across Southeast Queensland,” said Ray White agent Matt Lancashire.
Queensland’s top result came on Friday when $5.85m was paid for an auction offering at Miami through Kollosche Broadbeach agent Marco De Vincentiis.
The Brakes Crescent house, set 150m from the beach in an elevated position, has a 450sq m floor plan.
It was offered by Mark Stephenson, a director of Beneficium, which delivers various services in resort and timeshare management and marketing.
Auction activity
PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty says auction levels remain elevated for this time of year, with 2200 homes slated to go under the hammer this week and a further 2000 in the following week.
“The rise in homes for sale is providing buyers with more choice and is taking some of the heat out of the market,” Flaherty said.
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