Inner west buyers battle for $14m Drummoyne waterfront home at auction

An inner west buyer paid $14 million for a waterfront Drummoyne house with direct beach access and harbour views under the hammer on Saturday.

The six-bedroom home at 44 St Georges Crescent was well looked after by the same family for 40 years.

SOLD - $14,000,000

44 St Georges Crescent, Drummoyne NSW 2047

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Five parties registered, all from the inner west, and three bid on the home with a boatshed, which was initially guided at $12 million.

Bidding opened at $11 million, with $250,000 increments driving the price up before they shortened to $50,000 and $20,000. After thirty minutes of bidding in the living room overlooking Cockatoo Island, the property sold before a crowd of 50, including 10 members of the vendor’s family.

Selling agent Matt Ward of McGrath Hunters Hill didn’t disclose the reserve but said “the vendors were thrilled that it hit the reserve”.

“[Waterfront homes are] something that people aspire to – to be able to look at the water and the city and Harbour Bridge view is something that this side of Sydney, especially on the waterfront, doesn’t really come up very often,” he said.

The waterfront house last traded for $400,000 in 1984, records show.

The inner west buyer has a building background and will be making improvements for his family. The vendor plans to downsize locally.

It was one of 923 scheduled auctions in Sydney on Saturday. By Saturday evening, Domain Group had recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 62.6 per cent from 850 reported results across the week, while 218 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.

In Strathfield, the owner of 2 Jersey Road, purchased in 2023 for $4.35 million, sold his front yard for $2,875,000.

SOLD - $2,875,000

2 Jersey Road, Strathfield NSW 2135

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The corner block was 535.7 square metres and had dual access from two streets, making it attractive to developers interested in building a duplex.

Five parties registered, all developers, and four actively competed. Bidding opened at $2.1 million, which was above the $2 million guide.

Bidding rose in $100,000 jumps which then fell to $50,000, $25,000, $1000 and $5000 increments. The block sold for $375,000 above its $2.5 million reserve to a developer.

“It was raining at the time. We had to have umbrellas out, we had to try and shield people,” James Kaye of Belle Property said. “So the weather could have been better. But it didn’t stop those buyers from coming out, seeing the value there.”

Kaye said the vendors were happy with the result, adding that the subdivision sale would fund their new build, as the original structure had already been demolished.

In South Coogee, an upsizing Maroubra family secured the keys to a five-bedroom, move-in ready house for $4.7 million.

Three registered, and all actively bid on the home guided at $4.4 million, with swimming pool, at 133 Moverly Road.

Bidding opened at $4 million, with $50,000 and $25,000 bid increments until it sold bang on its $4.7 million reserve.

SOLD - $4,700,000

133 Moverly Road, South Coogee NSW 2034

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NGFarah’s Martin Farah said it was good value for the size and for the area. “The home was done with a lot of quality. All the little things were done right.”

The vendor is relocating within the same suburb.

The property last traded for $2.3 million in 2019, records show.

In Marrickville, a sweet single-level semi sold for $2.1 million. The two-bedroom courtyard semi at 26 Charles Street sold well above the vendor’s expectations. The reserve was $1.7 million.

SOLD - $2,100,000

26 Charles Street, Marrickville NSW 2204

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Eleven registered to bid and seven were active; some were first home buyers, some upsizers and one was an investor.

Bidding opened on the street in front of the house at $1.5 million, with $50,000 bid increments before they dropped to $20,000 and $30,000 rises. Then the increments climbed again to bold $40,000 and $50,000 offers towards the end.

BresicWhitney’s Frederico Fraga-Matos said the vendor was “pleasantly surprised”.

“He was a carpenter, so he was very houseproud.”

The semi last traded for $175,000 in 1994, records show.

After 30 years there, the vendor will be changing lifestyle with a move to the Central Coast. The buyer had been renting locally in Marrickville.

AMP’s chief economist Dr Shane Oliver said Sydney’s clearance rate of 62.6 per cent was still a fairly soft outcome for Sydney.

“The basic problem remains that there’s been a pickup in listings, 1345 listings [last week] compared with 1185 a year ago,” he said. “Part of that is seasonal, but part of it is forced listings on the fact that it’s still high interest rates.

“And at the same time, demand is being constrained by those high interest rates.”