A modest bungalow in Maroubra with ocean views sold at auction for $7 million on Saturday, well above its $6.5 million reserve, after a developer competed with two owner-occupier bidders. The buyer plans to demolish the house and build a new home. Ray White director Angus Gorrie said the result surprised him. Across Sydney, Domain recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 45 per cent from 490 reported results, with 184 auctions withdrawn. In Como, a family upsizing bought a five-bedroom home for $3.14 million, while an Alexandria apartment sold for $1.31 million after being passed in.
Ronan Keating and his wife Storm have lodged development application plans with council for a new three-storey home to replace their Tamarama beach cottage. The five-bedroom property was bought under Storm's name for $6.3 million, and is understood to be an investment. The architectural plans say the existing building is structurally unsound. In Double Bay, the late Ervin Vidor's widow Charlotte Vidor has listed their penthouse with a price guide of $21 million. A former governor's Snowy Mountains home is also on the market with a $950,000 price guide.
The owner of Akuna, a Point Piper waterfront home in Sydney, has listed it for $55 million. He bought the property for $60 million three years ago. The home has a rare Chinese-style boathouse, a deepwater jetty and a harbourside pool. Agent Steven Chen says the owner is realistic about the price. The house has five bedrooms, a 758 square metre block and approved plans for an extra level and a lift.
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A Sydney waterfront home once admired by Elton John is being quietly marketed with a $130 million price guide through Forbes Global Properties. Elton John named the Point Piper property the Bang & Olufsen House because of its tinted glass and flat roof. He made an $11 million offer in the 1980s but later withdrew it. The house was bought for $33.5 million in 2013 and is currently home to beauty entrepreneur Shelley Sullivan. If sold at the asking price, it would match the current Sydney house price record.
