Harbour views and top-notch addresses within reach in Sydney

A home with harbour views and a blue-ribbon address may seem to be only in the realm of multi-millionaires but agents say there are inroads into some of Sydney’s most desirable suburbs.

A list of must-haves that are negotiable and a willingness to look at older-style apartments with more limited facilities can result in nabbing homes with supreme harbour views in some of the city’s best postcodes.

“If you are prepared to be flexible in your search, you can get something in a prime spot,” said Raine & Horne agent, Dion Markovics.

He sold a three-bedroom art deco apartment in Wolseley Road, Point Piper – home to some of the most expensive real estate in the country – for $1.05 million in June.

“It didn’t have a lock-up garage and there was no view, but it did come with the Point Piper address and lifestyle,” said Markovics.

He said the property attracted interest from both owner-occupiers and investors who saw the blue-chip address offering “a longevity of growth”.

Likewise, a current Bellevue Hill listing of Markovics’, a two-bedroom apartment in Beresford Road, has attracted strong interest with its top-notch address.

“Beresford Road is one of the best streets in Bellevue Hill and in a market where there are premium results across the whole of the eastern suburbs, people want the confidence of a blue-chip address,” he said.

For those who think a Mosman address with sparkling water views is out of the question, there are entry points into the suburb for around the $1 million mark and less.

Such an example is that of a larger studio apartment with uninterrupted views across Mosman Bay, sold under the hammer for $675,000 on Saturday, $125,000 above reserve.

With a price guide of $500,000 to $550,000, the property attracted first-home buyers, investors and people from the country looking for a city pad.

“It is large for a studio at 45 square metres and when people see the view they just fell in love with it,” said listing agent Edwina Carroll of P Leahy Real Estate.

“There is also not much turnover in the lower end of the market in Mosman so it was highly contested,” said Carroll.

There were 11 registered bidders for the apartment is in a well-maintained smaller block built in the early 1960s, with 66 bids made during the auction.

Lower north shore agent David Murphy, of David Murphy Real Estate, said those looking to get a foothold in salubrious suburbs such as Mosman and Cremorne should look to buildings constructed in the 1960s and 1970s.

He said character art deco apartments in these suburbs came in at a higher price, but there were finds around the $900,000 to $1 million mark for two-bedders in the ’60s and ’70s era.

“You have to accept that at this price you will find something in a ’60s highrise, which some might consider dated, and on a busier road,” said Murphy.

“The upshot is that you can find something in Mosman which has all the urban advantages of cafes, restaurants, good shopping and a beach at Balmoral and close to the city.”

In the past week he has sold such a property, a two-bedroom apartment in Cremorne in a 1970s building, before auction for $1.02 million.

A Mosman two-bedder in an older highrise with stunning harbour views has just hit the market with a price guide of $900,000 to $950,000.

Situated on a busier road in the suburb, he said the fact the property had a “little bit of traffic noise” was outweighed by its harbour views for many buyers.

Eastern suburbs agent Georgia Cleary of Bradfield Cleary said high demand and limited stock on the market was causing strong prices for apartments across the eastern suburbs.

At auction last week, four two-bedroom apartments from Bondi to Woollahra were snapped up.

This included a one-bedroom garden apartment in the “consulate belt” section of Woollahra, in the prestigious Lyndhurst Gardens block for $991,000.

Cleary said the result was strong at a time when there was high demand across the east.

“With the tightening of stock its not about where in the east you are buying, it is just getting in the east,” she said.

“Apartments are strong across the board.”

In this environment properties in establishment top-notch eastern suburbs were recording similar results as those that have not been considered as salubrious.