Two Listings in Mid-Century Block Looking to Capitalize on Building Refurb (and Campbell Parade’s Prestige Bump)

The exterior of the recently renovated ‘Mornington’ block at 3 Campbell Parade.

Back in 2010, hot on the heels of several big ticket sales at The Bondi at 152 Campbell Parade and with several other prestige developments in the works, the residents of the mid-century ‘Mornington’ block at 3 Campbell Parade banded together to refurbish their building to ensure its relevancy in the quickly gentrifying beach suburb. The block enlisted Jaime Kleinart Architects to undergo a $590k cosmetic renovation that saw the building render away its brick facade and add a modern fence and landscaping. The renovation’s objectives worked; and the building that sits at a high point on the southern section of the headland above the iconic Iceburgs saw its first post-renovation sale in August of this year. Unit 6B sold at that time for $2.575m.

Now, two other units in the block are looking to cash in on the newfound prestige of their block and their suburb. The eight storey building has two apartments per floor of comparable size and vantage points owing to the uniquely well-designed layout of the block. Each apartment has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and tandem parking for two cars (a huge boon for the area). Had 6B not sold for such a bold price of $2.575m, pricing of the two units now listed would be a far more formidable challenge. The reason being that, although the prestige of a Campbell Parade address is, by now, firmly established, Mornington’s position at the southern end where far less high-end new construction has taken place (and the proliferation of backpacking hostels still holds) would soften the price. But thanks to 6B, listing agents Damian Lewis and Conrad Panebianco are on the hunt for $2.75m+ for the top-floor Unit 8A. One should note that Unit 6B mustered a rather basic renovation pre-sale that saw its third bedroom converted to a TV room, and the integration of the kitchen and living room into an open plan (see below for the Unit 6B floor plan). 8A has had no such improvements and would therefore require further capital to maximize its potential value. Perhaps the $250k pricing difference is a reflection on the premium paid for a top-floor unit? 

Surprising for the Radical Terrace is the pricing of Unit 3B - on a far lower floor and without a balcony - in the low- to mid-$2mils. Although the unit has had the benefit of a wall torn down to accomodate an open plan kitchen/living room, it’s still in rather shabby shape and is shunted on a truly panoramic view. Raine & Horne agent Max Spartalis has that listing and according to his verbiage, “the tightly held Mornington security block [has] just had a multi-million dollar refurbishment”. Multi-million? Waverley Council disagrees with that. 

The listings: 8A/3 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach
3B/3 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach 

Unit 8A, above with its view-filled balcony and living room, is looking for $2.75m+.

Click below for more listing images of both units, along with floor plans for the two listings plus the recently sold Unit 6B.

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A Real “Green Roof” in Tamarama on the Hunt for $2m

Who doesn’t love a sustainable, aesthetically-pleasing green roof? Certainly not the owners of this Tamarama “penthouse” who transformed a 70sqm terrace into a grass-filled, view-dominated garden. Steven Chen and Cameron Porter of McGrath - Eastern Suburbs have the Fletcher Street listing that is noticeably lacking in interior photos. However, the floor plan is provided and indicates a surprisingly small 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom floor plate for such a top-end price. Then again, the two car prices are certainly a boon, as is the recent sale of a lower unit in the post-war block. Unit 3, also with two bedrooms, a striking view, but certainly no green roof, sold for $1.4m in July. 

The listing: 1/52 Fletcher Street

A Bronte Flip for the Ages…and for $7m

Just three years ago in September 2009, an 1883 Victorian Italianate detached home in Bronte traded hands for $5.3m. It was one of our favourites back then, thanks in part to it being one of very few colonial stock homes in the beachside suburb, but thanks also be to bathroom/living room combo that bridged the utility of a bathroom with the leisure of a lounge room. Nonetheless, just over a year after the new owners acquired the 5-bedroom abode, they lodged plans for a $500k Mary Ellen Hudson-renovation with the Waverley Council that sought the addition of a back porch, staircase, solar panels, and a spa. Only the porch and staircase made it to the final product and the remainder of the renovations were entirely cosmetic interior fit-out based. The renovation is definitely just lipstick on a pig, but it’s damn good lipstick on one of the best pigs out there. 

Unfortunately, there are only two views that we could come across that truly capture the “before/after” nature of this flip. Also of minor sadness is the lack of any new interior photos aside from the new and vastly improved kitchen/living room and the garden level “summer room” (great name, great aesthetic). 

Bethwyn Richards and Ben Collier (the latter whom handled the 2009 transaction of this property) of McGrath have the new and improved listing and are either “quoting $6.5m+” or “in the vicinity $7m”, depending which agent you ask. But we don’t blame them, it’s a difficult property to price; there are very few properties of this nature in Bronte aside from the heritage-listed 1845 Early Victorian homestead Bronte House that gave the suburb its name. However there is one property that shares many a similarity with 424 Bronte Road and that’s Bronte’s price record holder 19 Evans Street. That home sat on a far larger 2,711sqm parcel (424 Bronte is 904sqm) of higher land and sold for an impressive $13.05m after a stunning renovation of its own that saw the addition of a third-storey that captured water views and a large pool. Fun aside: Bethwyn Richards handled that transaction. However, despite 424 Bronte Road situation on a far busier street, it is a level walk to the beach and that’s always a bonus. 

Assuming the home trades hands above $7m, it will be Bronte’s highest priced non-view home…and will make the current owners a nice chunk of change on the side. And considering the size and quality of this house, we have a tough time believing the home will trade for anything less.

The now (above) and the before (below).
 

The listing: 424 Bronte Road, Bronte

Click below for more images of the home as it currently stands and that awesome bathroom/living room at the time of its 2009 sale.

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“Palm Beach in Paddington”…

…or something like that. A 6-metre wide terrace in ‘South Paddington’, the slightly-less desirable and quieter pocket of Paddington south of Oxford Street (that also sits in the City of Sydney council and not the Woollahra Council), listed this week through omni-present McGrath agent Ben Collier. The four-bedroom home with 2-car garage comes with a white-washed “‘beaches’ aesthetc [sic]” that we agree does vaguely remind us of Palm Beach. The plunge pool, outdoor water, and white-bleached flooring definitely help achieve a Northern Beaches vibe. The price, too, reflects a very Palm Beach feeling. This terrace will set you back $3.3m+. 

The listing: 52 Gordon Street, Paddington

Park-Front Terrace for “$3.5m+”, Likely Far More

Few rows of terraces hold as much presence as the string of Victorian Italianates that line Glenmore Road directly across from the Royal Hospital for Women Park. With coveted rear lane access, harbour glimpses, lots at least 50m deep, and a Five Ways-adjacent location, the only downside here is the excessive traffic and buses that roar down the road. (This section of road also holds claim to the highest concentration of pools in the suburb.) With that in mind, “dream team” McGrath agents Ben Collier and Andrew Hackett have landed an extensively renovated (giving it “mullet house” distinction) four-bedroom, four-bathroom (nice ratio!), two-car garaged home with a pool. And although the agents have quoted the price at “$3.5m+”, comps tell a different story:

• 148 Glenmore: $4.75m in Sep 2010 (similar size and quality of renovation)
• 142 Glenmore: $3.1m in Apr 2009
• 140 Glenmore: $4.05m in Dec 2010 (neighbour!)
• 136 Glenmore: $2.0m in Feb 2009 (unrenovated, smaller parcel)

The listing: 138 Glenmore Road, Paddington

Front Row Seat at Bronte for Mid-$7mils

Back in August 2001, 502 Bronte Rd was purchased (presumably by a Mr and Mrs Woodhouse) for $3.3m. An impressive price at the time, but not outlandish considering the triangular plot of land sits above “The [Tramway] Cutting” with due north facing views across Bronte Beach to Ben Buckler and beyond. In October 2003, Waverly Council logged in a Development Application for renovations to the tune of $1.1m by architects Misho & Associates. One year later, revised plans hit the Council books that reveal the floor plan as it currently stands (check them out here). The home, albeit small, is well designed on the interior. And if the owners garner the $7.5m+ they are looking for, they stand to make a nice profit off their $4.4m investment. That said, still languishing on the market is the former home of Lachlan Murdoch a few doors up that strangely shares a similar architectural “vibe” but sits on a far larger parcel and is asking a few million dollars more. Adrian Bo and Bethwyn Richards of McGrath Eastern Suburbs have the 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom listing.

502 Bronte Road, Bronte

PS. Fun facts: another neighbour - 518 Bronte Road - sold for $12.3m in Nov 2006, the Bronte suburb record. Next-door neighbour, 504 Bronte Rd, sold for $7.75m.

Radical Warehouse Conversion & Kitchen Counter for High $4 Mils!

Everything was looking good in this Camperdown warehouse conversion until we saw the price expectations from McGrath agent Brett Talbot. The 4-bedroom, 550sqm home is situated directly across the street from Camperdown Park (score!), is zoned “Light Industrial” (semi-score?), and is priced in the high $4mils (according to where it sits on Domain.com.au and Realestate.com.au). Yikes! Maybe if the home was transported to Surry Hills that price would be justified, but it’s a mighty high price for the Inner West. Nonetheless, we dig it, and think it’s a buy in the $3mils; even up to the $4mil mark. And that kitchen counter? Well, let’s just say it’s pure brilliance. The rest of the home seems to be fit-out to a high spec as well. The bedroom:bathroom ratio and the Japanese hot tub give the bachelor’s pad bonus points. The Radical Terrace has tried in vain to track down any information about the architect or previous sales data. Side question: however do you access the advertised three car spaces? The floor plan offers no hints.

The official listing: 31 Australia Street, Camperdown

Paddington’s Elizabeth St Sell-Off

Three properties on Elizabeth St between Underwood and Paddington Streets are currently on the market. This stretch of Elizabeth St sits nicely in what has consistently been a top-performing pocket of Paddington. However, with the slump of Paddington’s Oxford Street and the exodus of upscale retailers from Elizabeth St between Oxford and Underwood Streets, does that make a residential acquisition here more appealing (quieter?) or more risky? As you’ll see with the comps, prices on this block have been quite stagnant the last 5 years. Regardless of Paddington’s future, we know one thing that holds each of the featured properties back: NO CAR PARKING. And fighting with Grand Nash patrons and the spillover of Oxford Street shoppers is no pretty sight. 

The most gracious of properties on the market is the 9m-wide sandstone-fronted 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom abode at 24 Elizabeth. Listed by Ben Collier and Andrew Hacket of McGrath, the owners are looking in the mid-$3m’s. The home last traded for $3.2m in Oct 2007, not much of a capital gain there. Pictured above and below.

Immediately across the street, and comprising part of a rare row of three-storey terrace houses, we find 41 Elizabeth Street. Featuring Harbour Bridge views from its upper level, the 4-bedroom home is asking $1.695m and is listed through Mark Daley and Georgia Cleary of BradfieldCleary. The three-storey row of terraces has solid comps. Number 39 sold for $1.73m in Nov 2010, 45 sold for $1.625m in Feb 2008 and 51 sold for $1.676m in Nov 2011. Number 41 itself last sold for $1.56m in Jan 2009 and little seems to have been done since that date. Pictured below.

And finally we have 34 Elizabeth Street, listed with $1.5m expectations through Di Jones agents John Anderson and Rohan Aalders. It’s the most “average” of terraces with the prototypical 3-bedroom floorplan and layout. Similar sized neighbour number 32 sold for $1.23m in Nov 2007. Pictured below.

Big Listing on Prestige Pacific St in Watsons Bay

Once a slightly more affordable alternative to Vaucluse, Watsons Bay has quickly come to dominate its neighbour and command some of the highest prices per square metre over the past decade. Because of its aspirational roots, the historic housing stock (with few notable exceptions, including the late, great Villa Porto Rosa that sold for a suburb record breaking $28.1m) is typically weatherboards or humble Victorians (such as 14 Pacific St) with recent additions, renovations, and reconstructions. The recently listed property at 30 Pacific Street typifies the Watsons Bay harbourfront housing stock: Beautifully situated, but in dire need of a renovation to justify its sky-high price. It has a vaguely-federation front, five bedrooms and bathrooms, harbourfront pool and boatshed, and four very important off-street car parking. Listed by Craig Caughlan of McGrath Eastern Suburbs. The Radical Terrace has been unable to land an exact price, but it is indicatively priced around $12m - $15m. That sits within range of recent sales on the block, including the May 2009 sale of 2 Pacific St for $16.45m and the Oct 2008 sale of 20 Pacific St for $12.5m

The official listing: 30 Pacific Street, Watsons Bay

Glen Rhoda - one of Woollahra’s Earliest Homes - Lists at a Loss ($6m)

One of the most significant homes on the Woollahra hillside listed this week. The home was constructed in 1863, one of the first homes (of merit) constructed on the eastern side of Woollahra on what was then called “Denison Road”, the road that snaked up Double Bay to Woollahra and now called Wallaroy Road. Glen Rhoda sits on a flagpole lot down a driveway from the road and is of historical worth due to its Victorian Gothic stylings that have only been moderately altered since construction.  The home last sold in May 2004 for $6.15m, and seeing the owners are now wanting $6m+ for the home, it’s likely they stand to lose some money. Furthermore, for the last several years the property has been off and on the rental market, asking anywhere from $4,000 per week on up to $8,000 per week. 

The listing is held - yet again - by a McGrath Eastern Suburbs, this time it’s Peter Starr. 71 Wallaroy Street, Woollahra