Same Plan, Same Building, Big Price Difference

It’s not every day that two apartments in the same building are up for sale (wait a minute…), so today is extra special because we have two apartments in the extra-beautiful 1930 “Lyndhurst Gardens” building located in the heart of Woollahra’s prime Consular Belt (which, really, is just Rosemont Street). Funnily enough, both estate agents representing the respective apartments claim it to be a “tightly held” building despite 11% of the block currently on the market. But we will give the agents some credit, as the Radical could only find one sale in the building: Unit 4’s $1.7m 2009 sale). 

Lynhurst Gardens itself has maintained its historic relevancy for quite some time, and not just because of its stunning forecourt. The earliest mention of the block we dug-up in our cursory search was from a 1931 Sydney Herald classified advertising an “Unfurnished Flat, commanding glorious harbour views; Entrance hall with cloak room…living rooms, 6 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, garage, Hot water and rcfrlgetator [sic] services Moderate rent Caretaker on premises” 18 years later, in 1949, the entire block sold in one-line for £65,500. At that time, the advertisement reveals the brick building to hold 18 apartments, the same number that exists today. 

Flash forward to 2012 and the first floor Unit 9 is seeking $2.18m. Top (second) floor Unit 15 wants $3.5m. Both apartments are 171 sqm in size, feature four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a lock-up garage. However Unit 15 has a far superior floor plan with a division of living and sleeping space dictated by a central foyer (reminiscent of a Rosario Candela or J.E.R. Carpenter apartment, of the same time period, in New York City). Unit 9’s floor plan, on the other hand, sucks, with the kitchen crammed in the back and the bedrooms scattered about. But is such a difference in interior walls worth $1.32m?!? 

Georgia Cleary and Linda Juleff of BradfieldCleary are representing the Unit 9 listing, while Penny Timothy and Ian Campbell of Ray White Elizabeth Bay have the Unit 15 listing.