20 Rosslyn St

The house that attracted 17 bidders

PHOTO: 20 Rosslyn St, Bellevue Hill attracted 17 bidders and sold $1m over price expectations

An old home has attracted 17 bidders at auction and sold more than $1m over price hopes. Can you believe the price it’s sold for?

Real estate in Sydney’s eastern suburbs appears to be setting its own pace, bucking the widely reported downward trend.

Gavin Rubinstein, founder of TRG, says the proof is in the numbers with his agency ticking over more than $120m worth of property before February’s end.

Despite PropTrack reporting Sydneywide values have been falling at their fastest rate in a decade – down 7.27  per cent in the year to January 31 – Rubinstein says low supply and competitive bidding are keeping prices buoyant in the east.

At a recent in-room ­auction evening, Rubinstein and colleague Evan Cheung sold an original five-bedroom bungalow at 20 Rosslyn St, Bellevue Hill — owned by the Magney and Go family since 1985 when it cost $350,000 — for $7.4m, more than $1m over price expectations.

The home has dated interiors.

The home has dated interiors.

But this view, potentially, from a second storey.

But this view, potentially, from a second storey.

“We had an incredible 17 registered bidders,” Rubinstein said.

“The highest offer we had during the course of the campaign was $6.2m, which is what we were guiding, but it sold for $7.4m.

“Essentially, it was land value.”

Among the $123m in sales for the shortest month on the calendar, Rubinstein says the TRG team made a number of hefty sales, including 71 Wentworth Rd in Vaucluse for “more than $10m”, 52 Cranbrook Rd in Bellevue Hill “in the mid-$7m range” and 4 Courtenay Rd, Rose Bay for “about $6m”.

There’s a pool for the kids in the back yard.

There’s a pool for the kids in the back yard.

And already there’s a view of the Bridge... if you crane your neck!

And already there’s a view of the Bridge… if you crane your neck!

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Other sales were a six-bedroom home at 66 Chalayer St, Rose Bay, which sold for $7.5m — a street record — at an auction on the last day of the month.

TRG’s Zac Rabin had been guiding $6m.

The shallow pool of A-grade stock is the driving force behind the east’s momentum, according to Rubinstein.

66 Chaleyer St, Rose Bay, sold for $7.5m — a street record — at auction on the last day of the month.

66 Chaleyer St, Rose Bay, sold for $7.5m — a street record — at auction on the last day of the month.

“It comes down to the lack of choice for buyers who are after quality properties in extremely desirable locations,” he says.

“And realistically I don’t see – at least not at this point – a correlation between reports that the market is cooling and what’s actually happening at the coalface.

“I’ve got to acknowledge Oliver Lavers and Cae Thomas, who made an incredible $30m and $20m in transactions respectively.”

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