Sydney houses of distinction emerge as latest property collectibles

Home-buyers in Sydney are increasingly on the lookout for distinctive houses with a style all of their own.

They might be by a well-known architect, have a quirky design in an interesting setting never seen anywhere else, or might have gained fame – or notoriety – because of previous inhabitants.

“People just love finding something different to an ordinary cookie-cutter kind of house,” says Langulin agent Louisa Jackson, who’s selling the iconic White House at 9 Forbes Street, Paddington, a quasi-warehouse in the kind of suburb that rarely sees them.

“A lot of houses these days feel the same but we’re finding purchasers are looking beyond them; they’re looking for something unique, something individual, something they won’t see anywhere else.”

It’s that difference that’s now proving a real lure. For instance an Ed Lippmann-designed contemporary home, with glass walls framing the stunning bushland setting next to the Garigal National Park in St Ives, has been the focus of a huge amount of interest.

“It’s like anything designed by Harry Seidler,” says Forsyth Real Estate agent Jonathon Stone, of the house at 12 Burraneer Avenue. “It’s rare, it’s one of a kind and the fact that it’s been built right into the landscape … It can’t be repeated.”

Collectibility relies most often on the architect who designed the project, believes Anthony Puntigam of Phillips Pantzer Donnelley. People who love modern homes will always race to buy a house built by their favourite – and he names MHN Design Union as one of the most popular around the eastern beaches – while others have their favourites among older, or even late, architects, like Leslie Wilkinson.

“But then there are others proving very collectible that are a blend between the old and the new,” he says. “They may have beautiful ornate features, like pressed metal ceilings, but then they may have been transformed into something that’s very liveable.”

He quotes a home on Chesterfield Parade, Bronte, with a restored original façade from the late 1890s, and a modern addition behind, that sold in early 2015 for almost $5 million, after a staggering 300 groups turned up for an inspection.

McGrath Neutral Bay principal Nigel Mukhi says he’s having a similar experience with an apartment he’s marketing. At 29 Bay Road, Waverton, and with a price guide of $1.9 million, it’s very different to the regular offering, with two living areas and a study giving it much more of the feel of a house.

“I think there’s a lot of stuff that’s stock standard but if you can get something special – in a positive way – that makes it really popular,” he says. “There’s much less of them around to choose from.”

Another beautifully collectible home currently on the market is Peter Stutchbury’s Invisible House, concealed within a ridgeline of the Megalong Valley in the Blue Mountains.

Sydney Sotheby’s Realty‘s Giorgio Koula says many of the potential buyers – most of them from overseas – are looking at the 2014 Australian House of the Year, for sale between $7 million and $7.7 million, as almost a work of art.

“They’re treating it as a collectible, as an investment, as something that will increase in value over time, like an antique car,” he says. “They might only use it themselves if they come to Australia for two weeks or three months of the year, but they want to own it because it’s so beautiful, prestigious and valuable.”

Mid-Century Modernist homes are also becoming rarer which can mean a lot of interest whenever they come up on the market. Richardson & Wrench agent Mark O’Brien has been overwhelmed by the volume of interest in one he has,15 The Quarterdeck, Middle Cove, expected to sell for around $3.5 million.

“In my 25 years, I’ve sold just three,” he says. “They’re so limited and there are so few around, that they become very collectible.”