A penthouse in Bondi Beach set an all-time record
A penthouse in Bondi Beach set an all-time record as the most expensive apartment ever to have sold on auction in Australia.
When James Mayo, former yachting world champion, but the Notts Avenue penthouse up for auction, seven bidders registered. Mayo bought the four-bedroom, four-bathroom property for $9.8 million from property mogul, Vaughan Blank in 2016.
The penthouse which has a stunning view of Bondi Beach started the auction at $14.5 million. This was right in the middle of guide predictions of between $13 million and $16 million.
Cooley Auctions, represented by auctioneer Damien Cooley took the bidding up in increments of $250,000 until the bids reached $16.5 million. After that, the bidding slowed somewhat and the auctioneer threatened to pass in the penthouse. At this stage, the eventual buyer, a new bidder offered $16.8 million.
As the property reached $17 million so the bidding accelerated again in increments of between $50,000 and $100,000.
By the time the gavel fell five of the registered bidders had made 65 offers. The penthouse is the most expensive to sell an auction in Australia. It is also one of the most expensive residential properties ever to sell at an auction in the country.
In September a five-bedroom home in Vaucluse broke the Australian auction record when it sold at a whopping $24.6 million. A Rose Bay home was sold in 2019 for $23,56 million. A few days earlier the same house had been passed in at $23.25 million.
The suburb record for Bondi Beach was set in 2013 at $21 million for a double penthouse on the top of the Bondi Pacific. At the time, the off-plan sale set a record price for an Australian apartment.
Before the auction, the newly sold penthouse drew the attention of buyers both locally and internationally. The auctioneer, Damien Cooley, expressed his delight at the sale. He said that it is difficult for sellers, buyers and their agents to determine what the actual market level is at the moment. So, world-class properties such as this penthouse are recalibrating the market.
The north-facing penthouse in Notts Road has open living areas and a vast glassed-in deck. It boasts panoramic views of the famous Bondi Beach. It is located in a suburb that draws the rich and famous. Perched just above the Bondi Icebergs the area has been the pick of the top-end property buyers for years.
Having sold his penthouse, Mayo will soon settle into the beachfront house that he bought for $36 million last year from Michael Zammit in Point Piper.