Trophy homes: Opera delight for Monarch Investments head Peter Icklow; uber agent John McGrath looks for warehouse conversion

Developer Peter Icklow has profited $1.3m from a $6.5m sale in Sydney’s Opera Residences. Uber agent John McGrath is looking in the city’s inner west.

Sydney’s new Opera Residences, for which Peter Icklow bought an apartment in advance five years ago.

Head of developer Monarch Investments, Peter Icklow, has profited by a notional $1.3m from the sale of his investment apartment in Sydney’s Opera Residences for $6.5m.

Icklow bought the apartment five years ago and, due to a delay in its construction, was required to settle the sale only in November at the agreed purchase price of $5.2m.

One week later, buyers purchased the apartment for $6.5m. Icklow reckons his two-bedroom apartment is one of the best in the building given it is north-facing and positioned just under the penthouses overlooking the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Circular Quay.

After stamp duty, Icklow says the apartment cost him about $5.5m and, taking into account interest and agent commissions, he says he is happy with the outcome. He adds that he takes a “no guts, no glory” attitude towards investment.

“If you make the right decision, real estate can be a good long-term investment,’’ says Icklow, who has an apartment in the nearby Bennelong Toaster building as well as a house in St Ives, north of the city. The Opera Residences sale was negotiated by Adrian Wilson, principal of Ayre Real Estate. The buyers are a local couple.

McGrath upbeat on inner west

Celebrity real estate agent John McGrath, who is presently living in Sydney’s Breakfast Point, likes Sydney’s inner west so much he is looking to buy a warehouse conversion, adding that he would be happy purchasing in any number of suburbs in the popular area.

John McGrath. Picture: John Feder / The Australian

“Somewhere between Leichhardt and Drummoyne,” said the founder of McGrath Real Estate, which has just expanded off the mainland to Tasmania, opening its first office in Launceston.

McGrath is presently renting a luxury penthouse in Breakfast Point – one of his top-pick suburbs.

McGrath sold his ­split-level apartment in Walsh Bay for $8.65m in 2019. “Breakfast Point still feels like you’re on holiday when you come home at night,” McGrath says.

Estate offers escape from city life

Surrounded by more than 20 boutique wineries as well as scores of local producers, country folk Jenny and Ian Hocking have listed their Woods Close estate in the popular Murrumbateman village near Canberra given they have decided to move back to Victoria.

The 4ha estate includes a dressage arena, several sheds, a swimming pool and a separate office, while the modern-style house features five bedrooms and two bathrooms. Marketing agent Ray White’s George Southwell said the property offered a wonderful opportunity for those wanting to escape city life, but the Canberra CBD was only 30 minutes away.

The property will be auctioned on February 17, with Southwell expecting it to sell for at least $1.7m. “We are originally Victorians who moved to the NSW/ACT border to support our daughter’s sporting career at the AIS,” said Jenny Hocking.

Southwell says 60 per cent of the agency’s Murrumbateman inquiry is out of Sydney, but this property will attract both the Sydney and Canberra market. “It’s got quite extensive equine facilities, but it would also suit car aficionados,” she said.