Foreign Correspondence

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Vendors wary as $1m home sales slump
JONATHAN CHANCELLOR PROPERTY EDITOR
September 8, 2009

The number of sales of homes for more than a $1 million has dropped dramatically across Sydney.

Estate agents have sold about 2650 houses and units for more than $1 million in the past six months,
a 28 per cent drop on the number over the past two years, according to Australian Property Monitors.

Falling prestige home prices is the main reason vendors are holding on to their homes. The fall in
prices has meant some prospective sellers are trapped, as any sale could be insufficient for their banks.

''But most Australian households, unlike those in the US and Britain, have avoided incurring a price collapse by
holding on, aided by historically low interest rates,'' the head of research at Australian Property Monitors,
Yvonne Chan, said. ''There have, however, been the occasional good bargain buying opportunities for some.''

The founder of Quiksilver, Harry Hodge, and his wife, Sandee, sold their Newport oceanfront home for $12
million last month, 20 per cent less than the $15 million purchase price in August 2007. It was bought
by Sally Sims, wife of Tim Sims, director Australia's largest private equity firm, Pacific Equity Partners.

At Vaucluse buyers paid $3.45 million last month for a contemporary house sold for $5.04 million
in February last year. The 31 per cent fall in price followed unsuccessful auctions in April and July.

The weekend's highest sale under the hammer was $2.26 million for an
extended and renovated 1920s house in Cammeray with Middle Harbour views.

Its listing agent, Justine Ferguson, had marketed it with $2.2 million-plus hopes.

The Pine Street home last sold for $367,000 in 2002, when the 454 square
metre property had now-lapsed development approval for two new houses.

The highest Sydney unit sale at the weekend was $815,000 in
Wollstonecraft for a three-bedroom apartment in the Berkshire Park complex.

It was last sold for $540,000 in 2000. The vendors had briefly sought offers of more than $740,000 in 2005.

There was a 70 per cent weekend auction clearance rate.

http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/luxury/vendors-wary-as-1m-home-sales-slump-20090907-feeq.html