A rundown penthouse in one of the world’s most sought after locations in Sydney has sold for a staggering price with the buyer spending up a storm for their kids.
The dilapidated four bedroom apartment, at 5/17 Wilga St in Bondi Beach, went under the hammer for $7.1m on Saturday morning – a staggering $3.1m over its reserve.
The deceased estate was on the market for the first time in more than 30 years, complete with original interiors along with damaged carpets and walls however buyers happily looked past those details to the commanding, panoramic views over Bondi Beach and Ben Buckler.
Cooley auctioneer Jake Moore led the strong auction, with seven of the 15 registered bidders active.
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The wet weather didn’t dampen bidder activity, with an opening bid of $4m followed by fast paced increments of $200K and $100K – with a sneaky $50K thrown in.
In the end, it was a final $100K bid from an online bidder that scored the apartment.
Mr Moore described the auction and result as “just unbelievable”.
“For a dilapidated apartment to sell like that was just amazing,” he said.
“As an auctioneer there’s situations where you don’t need to push too hard and this was one of them … people just wanted it.
“There’s building works to be done, a full renovation. The buyer was literally paying for where it was and that view.”
Raine & Horne – Double Bay selling principal Ric Serrao said the buyer bought the property for their grown up children to live.
“It’s always good when you can get $3.1m over reserve,” he said.
“It was a unique property, the views were sensational.”
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Mr Serrao said they had more than 320 inquiries during the marketing campaign.
“I haven’t had something as dilapidated as that before,” he said.
“It’s hard to price properties with views.
“However the whole building is going to be done up, with a special levy of $1m in works for this apartment alone.
“Everyone is thrilled, the buyers, the sellers.”
The building is a “boutique block” of five apartments which was constructed in 1972.
Parents also came to the real estate rescue for their children in Kingsford.
An apartment, inside 30 Borrodale Rd, went under the hammer for $1.66m with six out of the nine registered bidders active.
Ray White Eastern Beaches agent Cristian De Nigris said the successful bidders were a couple from Dover Heights buying the apartment for their kids.
“A lot of the other buyers were young families looking to move into it but we did have a couple of investors,” he said.
“The lady who bought it was actually undecided on whether to come or not, she had her kid’s cricket game but it was rained out in the end so she decided to come along.”
Meanwhile over in Pagewood, the auction of a deceased estate saw the proceeds go towards the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation.
The home, on Towner Gardens, sold for $2.2m – $100,000 over reserve.
Three out of the five registered bidders were active during the auction led by Ray White auctioneer James Hayashi.
Ray White Eastern Beaches agent Nader Hotait said the buyers were a young family looking to upsize and do a full renovation to make it their family home.
“The auction started at $1.8m, and as soon as it hit $2m, it became quite aggressive with bidding back and forth,” she said.
“The buyers loved that it was full brick and concrete and only one street away from Jellicoe Park. This is the first time the house had been offered so that was obviously a drawcard as well.”
PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty said while buyers were benefiting from the increase in listings, the clock was ticking for those looking to buy before the end of the year.