Apartment owners spot opportunity to sell in tightly held suburb of Woollahra

It’s a tightly held spot in Sydney’s prestigious suburb of Woollahra where grand old terraces are selling from upwards of $3 million.

But it’s the apartment blocks on one end of Queen Street causing a flurry of activity among eager sellers who have spotted an opportunity in the booming property market.

In just five months, three apartments in two neighbouring boutique art deco buildings at 164 and 166 Queen Street sold above expectations at auction, and on Saturday, a tiny 53-square-metre unit set a building record after it sold for $1,105,000.

It was one of about 790 properties scheduled to go under the hammer on the biggest auction Saturday of the year so far.

By Saturday evening Domain Group had collected 579 results and put the clearance rate at 81.4 per cent.

“Hungry buyers devoured the surge in auctions listings this weekend with yet another boom clearance rate,”  Domain chief economist Dr Andrew Wilson said.

The one-bedroom apartment with a small separate kitchen, dining alcove and raised rear courtyard lured three bidders on the day, but it was a Sydney-based woman, with a representative bidding on her behalf, who tussled with two other parties to secure the property by paying $100,000 above its reserve price.

That figure puts the small unit just under the $1,178,000 median for all apartments in the suburb, according to Domain Group data.

The median apartment price in Woollahra, where blocks rarely exceed four stories, has risen 17.8 per cent in the past six months, compared to 12.4 per cent for houses, driven by a broader uptick in the market in prestige postcodes, according to Domain Group chief economist Andrew Wilson.

“The supply and demand equation in inner-city suburbs like Woollahra means it’s not at all unusual to see building records broken. It’s a tightly held market and we’re seeing a definite shift to apartment living,” Dr Wilson said.

Listing agent James Agostini, of Sotheby’s International, said its location as well as its outdoor area ensured plenty of interest from about 70 parties – a mix of downsizers and young buyers – who viewed the property prior to auction.

“The position, the proximity to Queen Street village, the location to amenities, transport, and the associated lifestyle were the big drawcards,” he said.

According to Mr Agostini, the opportunity to buy an apartment on Queen Street usually came up only once every 12 months or so, with the previous owner having held the property since 2007.

But Saturday’s auction comes just five months after a near-identical unit on the floor above shocked residents with its $1 million price tag.

And last month neighbouring 6/166 Queen Street sold for $1.51 million – a whopping $300,000 over reserve – in an auction attended by Hollywood actor Rachel Griffiths and property developer Theo Onisforou. Mr Agostini said the lock-up garage and larger floor plan warranted the higher price tag.

Anticipation of a strong result on Saturday had been high following June’s shock auction result. “I was in attendance at that auction, and when it sold for $1 million we all thought ‘wow’!” Mr Agostini said.

Neighbours, too, were buoyed by recent results.

“We’re owners in the building, so a good price for them is a good price for us,” another “Alpha” owner among the crowd of 20 said.

Mr Agostini said the buyer was yet to decide whether to use the building – which has a tenant in place on an expired agreement – as an investment property or whether to move in herself.

She had been searching for a property in the tightly held area for “a good couple of months”.

Elsewhere on Saturday, a four-bedroom, double-brick house in the north-western suburb of Oatlands sold for $1.703 million to a family looking to buy back into the area.

Six parties bid for the property which was being offered for the first time since it was built in 1969.

At the Luxe on Eve development in Erskineville, 43 apartments sold within the first three hours of being released, with prices ranging from $595,000 to $1.35 million.

A three-bedroom penthouse, one of two in the boutique Bronte Place development in Bronte launched on Saturday, sold for $4 million.