Sydney enjoyed an impressive weekend of auctions, with the clearance rate hovering just under 75 per cent, and a new national auction record, for a Vaucluse harbourside mansion.
The five-bedroom mansion at 42 Vaucluse Road sold for a whopping $24.6 million, going for $10 million over reserve. It breaks the previous Australian auction record for a single property of $23 million for a Bellevue Hill mansion, which sold in 2009 to Lachlan Murdoch.
Funnily enough, Sotheby’s International Realty selling agent Michael Pallier sold both the Vaucluse property, and the Murdoch mansion – breaking his own 11-year record.
The property was the home of late Japanese billionaire Akihito Terada, who bought it in 2013 for $11.7m. It features a heated lap pool, a tennis court, and six bathrooms. It backs onto Hermit Bay.
Bidding opened at $13 million, with a $14 million reserve, and a price guide of $11 million. The winning bid went to a young Chinese couple.
“We didn’t expect that price. It was an astounding auction,” Mr Pallier said.
“It was very competitive, there were bids coming from all over the room.”