property guide 2009 - Domain.com.au

EASTAND
INNERCITY
Outlook is
bright if
price right
DEMAND for east and inner-city properties
remains strong, especially near the beach or
cafe precincts like Surry Hills, Paddington
and Potts Point, local agents say.
‘‘There are still plenty of people coming to
open inspections,’’ Raine & Horne Bondi
Beach’s Mary Anne Cronin says.
‘‘Renters have been squeezed by the rising
rental market and the interest rates make it
attractive to buy, especially for units under
$500,000 and semis under a million dollars.’’
Bresic Whitney Estate Agents’ Ivan Bresic
reports some weakness in the prices of
Paddington terraces last year.
‘‘There were some beautiful homes in
Paddington that sold for $2.5 million and
would have sold for $3 million six months
earlier,’’ he says. But inner-city terraces and
apartments have generally done ‘‘extremely
well’’, with some of the prime art-deco
apartments and character terraces being
resold ‘‘without dropping in price at all’’.
Some agents are reporting distressed sales
among prestige $3 million-plus homes in the
The general view .. . ‘‘really good properties are still selling,’’ says agent Rick Nolasco.
Photo: Robert Pearce
eastern beaches and blue-ribbon
harbourside suburbs such as Vaucluse,
although Christies Great Estate’s Bradley
Pillinger is predicting more $20 million-plus
sales in Sydney through this year.
‘‘We sold more houses for over $20 million
last year than Sydney has ever had before and
there will be more again in 2009,’’ he says.
Laing + Simmons Double Bay’s Bart Doff
is also confident about the outlook for
prestige eastern suburbs property.
‘‘If it’s a good property and it’s priced
realistically, then it sells,’’ he says.
L.J. Hooker Double Bay’s Rick Nolasco
agrees. ‘‘People have lost on equity markets
and had margin calls but the really good
properties are still selling,’’ he says.
‘‘Turnover will happen at the lower end
because there are more people who can
afford property and those that have been
Millers
Point
Elizabeth Bay Darling
The
Rocks Potts Point
Point
Point
Piper
Sydney
Haymarket Darlinghurst
Surry Hills
Waterloo
Zetland
Mascot
Botany
Woollahra
Queens Park
Kensington
Randwick
Eastgardens
Matraville
Kingsford
Double
Bay
Bondi
Maroubra
Malabar
Watsons
Bay
Vaucluse
Rose
Bay
Dover
Heights
North
Bondi
Bondi Beach
Tamarama
Bronte
Clovelly
Coogee
South Coogee
Little Bay
burnt in equities are steering towards real
estate for stability.’’
Andrew Hoggett, Richardson & Wrench
Potts Point/Elizabeth Bay principal, says his
market’s diverse buyer base means he has
not yet seen major price drops.
‘‘We are seeing the days on market stretch
out but I think our market has been buffeted
in confidence rather than price,’’ he says.
‘‘We have such a mix of buyers – emptynesters,
professionals and first home buyers
– that we are holding up OK.’’
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THE SUN-HERALD PROPERTY GUIDE 2009 27