41 Vaucluse Rd, Vaucluse attracted four registered parties at the auction.
A Vaucluse mansion that traded for $16.6m six years ago sold for $23.22m under the hammer on Saturday, the highest auction sale of the year.
It’s also one of the highest sales by auction in the country ever, although there was one freakish $45.1m result in Rose Bay last year.
The result also means the vendors made more than $1m per year from the property and they’d done only a cosmetic reno prior to putting it up for sale.
In a normal market, agents would generally opt to sell properties at this level — a six-bedroom mansion with iconic harbour views — in an expressions of interest campaign, but times are tough.
“We wanted to create a sense of urgency with a deadline and provide an opportunity for buyers to compete for it,” says selling agent Paul Biller, who had the listing for 41 Vaucluse Rd.
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The property, on a 950sqm block, was owned by Elaine Huong and Dzu Nguyen, records show.
It has dream views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge …
… and the city skyline.
“This was always going to be a popular property, regardless of the state of the market.”
The strategy worked.
With auctioneer Clarence White presiding, the auction lured four registered parties, and three competed from $20m.
There were a couple of $500k bids and a range of $100k and $200k bids up to $22m.
From there it was down to two bidders who offered $100k and $200k bids; and from $23.2m came two $10k bids.
The winning couple were apparently thrilled to have secured it at that price.
“The vendors did a cosmetic reno before they put it on the market, but in the long term you’d want to knock it down and build a new house,” Biller said.
“A new house here there would be worth $50m.”
The vendors had done just a cosmetic reno prior to listing it.
… But it screams potential.
It’s likely the new owners will eventually knock down the six-bedroom home and build a new one, which would be worth more than $50m.
Despite the challenging market, Biller said he and his team had sold $50m worth of property in the past few weeks.
“In a challenging market like we’re in now, you need a professional who knows how to navigate the environment,” Biller said.
“There are homes on this street sitting unsold for months, and we’ve sold this in three or four weeks.”
Biller didn’t want to disclose the reserve price. “It was flexible, the vendors wanted to sell, they were prepared to meet the market, it was a great result and they’re very happy,” he said.
“The guide was $22m, they would have probably sold in line with the guide.
“These were genuine motivated vendors who just wanted to get the best from the market.
“So when you’ve got blue-chip property and an attractive guide, everything comes together.”
Records show the Vaucluse Rd home on a 950sqm block was owned by Elaine Huong and Dzu Nguyen.
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