Director sells $51.75M worth of property in July amid pandemic

DESPITE the COVID-19 pandemic, Ray White Upper North Shore Director David Walker has defied all the negative speculation, selling 18 properties for a combined value of $51,751,000 in July.

“We've focused extremely hard on matching buyers with properties and that has culminated in four off-market sales for the month,” Mr Walker said.

“We're pricing properties realistically to attract competition and urgency. In uncertain times, sellers are choosing agencies and agents with proven track records.

“The experience of our business gives vendors confidence that even in what is perceived to be an unpredictable market, they have the best team working in their interest.

“In a good market, any agent can sell a house - whereas at the moment, there’s a flight back to quality and owners don’t want to risk selling their biggest asset with an agent that doesn’t have an experienced team with proven results.”

The highlight of the 18 deals came at 27 Cherry Street (above) in Warrawee as the breathtaking five-bedroom home sold for $5,350,000 after being on the market for just seven days.

“We had 33 individual inspections during two open homes and the buyer was a young family who have been renting in the area while waiting for the right property to purchase,” Mr Walker said.

“The appeal of this home was its north orientation on the block, and the quality of the full brick, custom Felton Constructions build.”

Mr Walker said his team had two properties that drew a particular amount of interest – with the first being at 12 Kintore Street (above) in Wahroonga.

“We had an overwhelming 180 individual group inspections and 43 contracts issued during the four-week auction campaign,” he said.

“It came down to 18 registered bidders on the day and one lucky buyer who eventually bought it for $3,910,000 – a whopping $410,000 over the reserve price.

“With a partially completed renovation, this property presented an outstanding opportunity to capitalise in one of Wahroonga’s premium streets.

“The second came at 2A Laurence Avenue (above) in Turramurra as it presented a rare opportunity to secure a 1,100sq m north to rear block overlooking Turramurra Memorial Park.

“This is the only street with north to rear blocks facing the park, only 14 properties are in this street, with this being the only sale in eight years.

“We held one open home that saw 63 groups inspect and 10 contracts issued with multiple offers. The home was taken off the market in just three days to a local family building their dream home.”

Mr Walker said in the current climate, demand outstripping supply and the lack of stock was working in the vendor’s favour.

“In an area where there’s still strong demand, buyers who are looking to upgrade or downsize are able to take advantage of historically low interest rates,” he said.

“All indications are that low stock numbers will continue, and with a shortage of properties available for buyers to choose from, I believe sellers can still achieve a great outcome for the balance of the year.

“We don't know what's around the corner, but we do know that right now buyers are plentiful, interest rates are low, and stock is still limited, creating high demand for particular homes.”

If the sales in Warrawee, Wahroonga and Turramurra were not enough, there was one final sale of the month that if you blinked, you would have missed it happening.

“Our quickest sale of the month came at 15 Coolabah Avenue (above) in Turramurra where the newly built home, that was meant to hit the market on the weekend, sold in three hours,” he said.

“We showed one buyer through prior to our first inspection, and within three hours, we were signing contracts.

“After a 12-month build process, and the vendors spending countless hours preparing it for sale, all their hard work paid off with an incredible sale result of $4,400,000.”