Young and wealthy buying up in Sydney's hipster suburbs

Hipsters of Redfern and Surry Hills be warned: Sydney’s young and rich set have your favourite neighbourhood in their sights and are willing to pay handsomely for it.

As more of Gen Y’s cashed-up house hunters turn their back on the traditional trust fund enclaves of Paddington and Rose Bay, Redfern is gaining a foothold in Sydney’s prestige property market.

Budding venture capitalist Dan Gammell and his art dealer fiancée Eleanor Cheetham, both 29, moved to Redfern from Paddington two years ago when they bought the Georgian-era home of the late artist activist Brenda Humble for a then suburb record of $2.58 million.

That high was topped a year ago by another 29-year-old, Cailin Maas, a tutor from Sydney University who paid $2.73 million under the hammer for a four-bedroom house on Marriott Street.

Gammell dismisses suggestions he had any financial help from his father, Peter Gammell, the former chief executive of Seven Group and right hand man of billionaire Kerry Stokes.

“This is such a wonderful place to live with its street life, cafes and the community,” said Mr Gammell, investment manager at venture capital firm OneVentures. “We haven’t experienced this sort of community at our past addresses. It’s like living among extended family.”

Rather than call in the demolishers and rebuild on one of the suburb’s largest privately held blocks of 390 square metres, the couple restored it to its original condition, installing a new kitchen and converting the back stables into a casual living space.

What was meant to be the couple’s forever home is now up for sale following their recent $5 million purchase of the converted warehouse in nearby Surry Hills of the late, acclaimed artist Colin Lanceley and his widow Kay.

As the couple trade one precious landmark for another, their Chelsea Street home is again expected to set a suburb record at more than $3.2 million when it goes to auction on August 8 through BresicWhitney’s Shannan Whitney.

“The high end of the local market is gaining momentum at a very quick rate because there are not many uniquely large properties of this calibre available and the smart money knows that as the area undergoes improvement these are the properties that offer the most gain,” said Whitney.

A Surry Hills record of a little more than $7.5 million was set last month when businessman Michael Hayes sold his converted warehouse with its heart-shaped swimming pool.

The former slum neighbourhoods have come a long way in recent years to become home to plenty of  Sydney’s movers and shakers, such as Vogue Living editor-in-chief Neale Whitaker, former Olympic swimmer Eamon Sullivan, rock and roll photographer Tony Mott, and sax player and vocalist Ross Ogden.

More recently, artist Mark Hanham upgraded to a $2.05 million converted warehouse on Bourke Street in February. Late last year chief executive of container ports company DP World Paul Scurrah and his wife Nicole Scurrah, who was chief of staff to former Queensland premier Anna Bligh, bought their Fitzroy Street terrace for $2.6 million.