Top end of Mosman's property market 'grim' as stock levels plummet
*Article written by Ingrid Fuary-Wagner at the Australian Financial Review. Originally published on Sep 25 2018 at 11:00 PM.
It was a dud weekend for property sales in one of Australia's wealthiest suburbs, Mosman, with six properties scheduled for auction and yet none selling on the day.
While the Sydney harbourside suburb is splattered with multimillion-dollar mansions with water views, not a single house was listed for auction. Of the several townhouses and units scheduled to go under the hammer, just one sold before Saturday. The others either passed in or were withdrawn.
So far this spring, just 42.9 per cent of houses and 45.5 per cent of apartments in Mosman have sold under the hammer, according to Domain Group data.
"The market has definitely shifted, but there are lots of buyers around," according to McGrath's Michael Coombs. Properties often sold in the days or weeks after an auction, as was the case with a three-bedroom townhouse that passed in at $1.9 million on Saturday and was sold by Mr Coombs 24 hours later for $2.05 million.
In the three months to August the number of units listed for auction fell 48.2 per cent from 56 to 29.
Big-ticket sales
Just 34 houses were listed for auction in Mosman compared with 61 over the same period last year.
The top end of the Mosman market was particularly "grim" with stock levels the tightest in 20 years, according to Peter Kelaher, director of PK Property, Sydney's Buyer's Agents. "Stock levels are down substantially because vendors are thinking 'we'll sell it off market, otherwise we'll sit tight and see what happens next year'".
Yet the lack of top-end properties available hasn't prevented several big-ticket sales for the suburb this year.
In July chief executive of investment bank Moelis and Sydney Swans chairman Andrew Pridham set a new record for the suburb when he forked out $25 million on a six-bedroom waterfront residence on a 2400-square-metre block.
Mr Coombs said demand from buyers for homes over $10 million was outstripping supply, which he estimated had dropped by about 30 per cent since last year. "The higher the price, the stronger the Mosman market. People have more money and they aren't relying on the banks [for finance]," he said. "I've got a brand new build at 39A Parriwi Road in Mosman with a price guide of $12.5 million. It's not even ready yet but I've already got 15 groups waiting to look at it, which is a good sign."
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