Address: Darlinghurst
Price: $2,320,000
Type: 2 bed + 2 bath + 1 car + private roof terrace
A high-end renovation elevates this apartment - the perfect Sydney base for a future of international travel
Brief
This client had already made the big move out of a Paddington terrace and into a beautiful Elizabeth Bay art deco apartment, just a few years prior. He adored the apartment. But what he hadn't anticipated was how much he'd miss being outside. With no terrace or balcony and no place to sit outside in the morning sun with a coffee, this initial compromise, seemingly minor, turned out to be one he couldn't live with.
So, this second attempt, was a sharper brief. To find a similar calibre of apartment but with access to a sunny outdoor space for at least part of the day. He’d also recognised that it was important for him to have a second bedroom so family could come and stay. The apartment needed to be move-in ready and dedicated parking was a non-negotiable.
Style was wide open. He was equally drawn to both art deco and contemporary warehouse conversions. Opposite ends of the spectrum, as long as the fundamentals were there. The budget range was broad from $1.8m through to $2.7m+, but ideally circa $2.5m - enough to buy the right home without tying up equity he’d rather spend on travel.
Challenge
While the brief was clear, the geography wasn’t. Suburbs were initially broad, and the client had already seen a handful of properties he liked before he was ready to buy. One in Fairfax Rd, Bellevue Hill; another in Chalmers St, Surry Hills; and a house in Watson St, Paddington. These were all useful because they told me what the client responded to, but less useful because each one was wildly different to the other.
Sometimes it’s hard to define what you truly want and in retrospect it becomes clear. I didn’t want that to happen again for this client. And because of the fundamental errors made in the last purchase, I considered it crucial to invest time in really testing the parameters of this brief. On every client, I spend a lot of time on the hierarchy of attributes in a purchase, because inevitably compromise is necessary. It is crucial that the compromises are the least impactful to overall satisfaction. On this brief, that was especially important.
Problematic too was that it is exceedingly rare to find the desired style of apartment (art deco or warehouse) with outdoor, sunny space. As the search progressed, it became clear that we weren’t talking just a Juliet balcony for a quick coffee either. But rather a space large enough for lunch with a group of friends.
Solution
I tested the edges of the brief deliberately and each property along the way taught us something.
Chippendale This off-market warehouse conversion delivered against the brief on paper. Slickly renovated, well within budget and with an outdoor space suitable for an 8 person table. But walking the surrounding streets made it clear that the area just wasn't for him. The search had revealed something useful - this client was more conservative in his suburb choice than he first expected to be. Our search area had already tightened.
Surry Hills A beautifully executed apartment in an exceptionally well-built building, and strong value for its size. He was keen. But before going further I wanted him to sit on the large balcony properly, not for 30 seconds at an open. On a Saturday, I asked him to spend at least half an hour out there alone, playing with his phone and enjoying the sun. By the end he knew. With the street noise rising up to the balcony he wouldn't feel comfortable entertaining friends and family there. The apartment was right. The setting wasn't.
Paddington The perfect apartment struck off through our due diligence process. The NSW government's draft Edgecliff-Woollahra precinct state-led rezoning proposal allows for significantly taller buildings around Edgecliff station. The draft maps showed some neighbouring risk, but the live commercial real estate listing I uncovered selling the site opposite confirmed it. While discussions with the council duty planner vs the commercial selling agent led to two very different potential outcomes for the site, the uncertainty was high. There was a very real prospect that the apartment’s northerly sunny aspect could be disrupted by any new development. And while there is a chance nothing will happen there, my client couldn’t live with the possibility hanging over him. Peace of mind was an important part of the brief, even if it wasn’t formally written down.
Bellevue Hill The client kept coming back to one of the apartments he had seen many months ago – it had been withdrawn from the market. I did some digging to determine whether the historical vendor would be open to selling now. I discovered that the apartment had been rented out for a period of 12 months and that the owner was now living overseas. I was able to negotiate a potential purchase however the vendor was not willing to meet what we felt was a fair price. This gave my client the confidence that all potential options had been fully explored, and enabled him to move on with other decisions comfortably.
While initially we were looking for just enough outdoor space to have a coffee in the sun, the search unearthed a preference for entertaining and the ultimate desire to be able to host luncheons indoors and out.
Result
We landed in Darlinghurst, right on the cusp of Rushcutters Bay, in an apartment recently renovated by a renowned interior designer to the highest specification. This apartment was neither art deco nor warehouse style, but it had everything that opened and shut - from a Miele steam oven to a small bar nestled at the top of the stairs, along with expansive outdoor entertaining areas.
The second bedroom works as both a study and a guest room, with a bespoke convertible sofa bed, so family can stay without the apartment feeling like a hotel the rest of the year. And the outdoor space that was missing in Elizabeth Bay now exists in full: a private roof terrace, with a built-in bbq, built-in sun shading and room for both a dining table and sun loungers.
The strata report threw up some challenges, as they often do. Not only was I able to speak to the strata manager in relation to some of the core issues, but I was able to find and talk to another owner with a similar top floor apartment and their feedback on recent works gave us context and clarity. That was helped further by a discussion with the chairman of the strata committee. Empowered by this information beyond the opaque strata report itself, my client felt confident enough to proceed.
As always, the numbers were run to determine where value sat, based on a range of factors including truly comparable, recent and local sales. This gave us a band in which we felt the property might reasonably trade given current market conditions.
At $2.32m it came in under the client's $2.5m target, leaving funds free for travel. Items of the vendor’s furniture designed specifically for the home were also negotiated, saving a lot of time and effort down the track.
The second downsize did what the first was unable to. It retained the simplicity of apartment living, with the convenience of a building manager, provided accommodation for visiting family and gave back outdoor access - crucial to maximise the enjoyment of Sydney’s climate.
“A real professional, with high-level analytical, decision-making and problem-solving skills - all essential for a great buyer’s agent. In addition, Mark is a great listener and highly intuitive, most of all focused on getting his client the best outcome. I couldn’t be happier with his service.
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Little luxuries throughout such as a steam oven, integrated appliances and sound system, underfloor heating in the bathroom - even a motorised wall mounted television.
