MP splurges on some Sydney seaside luxury
Federal Labor MP Andrew Charlton and his wife have reportedly spent $12m on a property in the Sydney suburb of Palm Beach.
Federal Labor MP Dr Andrew Charlton has reportedly spent $12m at the pricey Sydney playground of Palm Beach with barrister wife Phoebe Arcus.
The hillside luxury La Palma property last traded when it was bought by the late publican, John Toohey, and his widow Anne for $4.68m in 2002.
It hit the market last September with the hope of achieving $15m through Belle agent Peter Starr, who declined to comment. It ranks as this year’s highest-priced house sale to date in Palm Beach.
The couple retains a Bellevue Hill house but Charlton’s official residence is a $2m apartment in his electorate at North Parramatta.
The purchase ranks as the most expensive addition to the 530-strong ownership tally of the 227 federal members of the 47th parliament.
Research shows almost 40 per cent of the politicians with property investments don’t list any rental income status.
Billiards king’s residence
A bumper 11 homes were scheduled for weekend auction in Albert Park, as local estate agents clamoured to avoid the upcoming Melbourne Grand Prix interruption.
Its headline listing failed to find a buyer when a four-bedroom Edwardian home was up for sale for the first time in nearly 100 years.
The Kerferd Rd house was listed by the acclaimed Lindrum billiards family.
It was 1927 when the professional cueist, Frederick William Lindrum II, an Australian billiards champion at the age of 20, bought the house for £3700.
His son, Walter Lindrum, who held the world professional billiards championship from 1933 until his 1950 retirement, inherited the house in 1943.
After he died in 1960, the house was owned by his third wife, Beryl. She died five years later and the house was bequeathed to Irene, Walter’s niece – known as Dolly Lindrum – who died in 2019 aged 96.
The updated house, with 4.2m ceilings, ornate fireplaces and leadlight detailing, was offered for sale by Tam Lindrum, the great-niece and goddaughter of Walter.
The property had a $8.5m to $9m price guidance from agent Simon Cowling of Jellis Craig Port Phillip. The opening bid was an $8.5m vendor bid with the auction shut down after its subsequent $8.7m vendor bid.
The nearby listing of a two bedroom property at 119 Ashworth St took the mantle of Melbourne’s top known weekend result when it fetched $6.85m, having come with a price guidance of $6m to $6.5m.
The sale price was up on the $6.7m paid in 2021, but down from the $7.25m paid in 2019.
The ivy covered stables conversion by past owner designer Jane Charlwood sits on a 703 sqm holding which the marketing suggested “brilliantly fuses rustic original character with state-of-the-art style”.
Queue for Kew home
Kew had Melbourne’s second highest advised sale when the five bedroom, four bathroom house at 44 Malin St fetched $6.35m. It was well above its $5m to $5.5m guidance from Sam Wilkinson of Kay & Burton.
The opening bid was $5.7m and buyers agent Mal James noted the strong opening offer resulted in three attendees separately asking if it was on the market.
The opening bidder held off the competition after it was announced on the market at $5.8m.
Another listing to soar beyond guidance was 62 Tivoli Rd, South Yarra, when bidding from two parties took the sale price to $5,006,000. The guidance had been $4.4m to $4.8m from Walter Dodich of Kay and Burton, who announced it as on the market at $4.86m.
“At the top end we continue to feel positive about where the market could be going,” James advised.
Hamilton misses the top money
Toomoo, Brisbane’s top weekend auction listing at 86 Hillside Cres, Hamilton, was passed in at $8m. The 1912 home, featuring a vestibule, octagonal salon, bay windows, timber fretwork, wraparound deep verandas and pressed-metal ceilings was offered through Matt Lancashire of Ray White.
It was last sold in 1997 for $1.12m and its renovation was then undertaken by Wilson Architects.
Terrace property passed in
No joy for start-up entrepreneur Stephen Dash whose designer Paddington terrace was passed in at $12m given his intention for his upgrade to a $48m estate in Bellevue Hill.
Dash, who founded student loan marketplace Credible, bought the Steve Koolloos-designed terrace in 2021 for $10.3m. It was listed with a price guidance of $11m.
There was a vendor bid of $7.25m for 50 Windsor St.
Sydney’s highest-known result, via the Auction Snitch app, was $6.6m for 3 Prince Rd, Killara – a five-bedroom, three-bathroom house on 1075 sqm with views over the ninth fairway of the Killara Golf Course. The app, which seeks to enhance price transparency, advised it was 32 per cent over its price guide.
Sydney saw the pre-auction sale of 30 Esther Rd, Mosman for $9.4m.
Capital city auctions humming
With 2723 capital city homes going under the hammer last week, it was the second busiest this year. And according to CoreLogic’s Tim Lawless the preliminary clearance rate held up well at 74 per cent – 1.1 percentage points higher than the previous week.
Sydney was the only capital city which had a lower preliminary clearance rate at 74.8 per cent – down from 76 per cent.
Melbourne’s preliminary clearance rate bounced back to 72.4 per cent, which was its second highest so far this year.
Adelaide, with a 92 per cent preliminary clearance rate, was topped by the sale of the four bedroom house at 45A Linden Ave, Hazelwood Park, at $2.05m.
At 69.9 per cent, Canberra was the weakest capital city. Its top sale came pre-auction when a five-bedroom mid-century modern house at 17 Olympus Way, Lyons, was sold through Belle Property for $1,685,000. It had sold for $1,605,000 in 2021.
Weekly volume on a high
This week, with the last Saturday before the Easter break, will see 4276 auctions scheduled which PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty said was the highest weekly volume so far this year. Victoria has 1972 and New South Wales 1579.
“More properties hitting the market is good news for buyers, providing them more choice compared to the same time last year,” Flaherty said.
The Melbourne offerings include the Kensington home of former Melbourne Rebels rugby player Tom English, who has relocated to Sydney after retiring last year due to a neck injury. He has joined the family business, Bricor, a supplier of point-of-sale terminals.
His three-bedroom, one-bathroom unrenovated residence at 25 Chelmsford St comes with $900,000 to $990,000 price guidance through Rendina Real Estate agent Lou Rendina.
It has had 4487 page views on realestate.com.au.
It has been rented periodically since bought in 2019 for $976,000, given his career took him to play in Japan.
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