A year after selling their South Coogee home for above expectations, downsizers Leanne and Chris Kourt have found their perfect home in Randwick — and they were happy to pay a premium price.
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 1/72 Coogee Bay Rd had been scheduled to go under the hammer tomorrow but with 16 contracts out on it and lots of interest, they found themselves in a pre-auction bidding war.
They ended up paying $1,825,000 — which McGrath Coogee’s Angus Gorrie said was $325,000 above the expected reserve price.
Mr Kourt said: “We always thought the initial market estimate was lower than what the property was really worth and we’re happy to pay up to secure such a unique property.”
100 Bundock St Coogee sold for $3,615,000 — $115k over reserve — a year ago
Their new low-maintenance home at 1/72 Coogee Bay Rd, Randwick
The market has also been kind to the Kourts, with their four-bedroom family home at 100 Bundock St selling for $3,615,000 — $115,000 above reserve — at auction last March, also through Mr Gorrie.
They were lucky enough to have a couple of people fight for it in a bidding war.
“The challenge for us was to find a suitable property that we both liked in the same area and at the same time feeling comfortable that the market had fallen to be better value,” Mr Kourt said.
Mr Kourt, who is the managing director at Double Bay Day Hospital, said that in the past year, the market has fallen between 8 and 12 per cent in the market segment they’ve been looking in.
Double Bay Day Hospital CEO Chris Kourt. Picture: John Appleyard
Leanne Kourt, who works in faculty liason at the Australian Graduate School of Management in Kensington. Picture: John Appleyard
“We were looking for a three-bedroom, low-maintenance property with period charm that would fit in with our taste,” he said.
“We’re very happy with what we’ve bought — it has a large floor plate with large north-facing balconies, and off-street parking with no pool.”
He also thought it was a great time to buy.
“We thought the timing was good for us because of the uncertainty of a state and federal election meant that the pool of buyers were not willing to buy in the market at the moment,” Mr Kourt said.
The deck at 1/72 Coogee Bay Rd, Randwick features an inbuilt bbq and district view
The living room at 1/72 Coogee Bay Rd, Randwick
“Plus, we were lucky enough to have financial flexibility after selling.”
Mrs Kourt, who works in faculty liason at the Australian Graduate School of Management in Kensington, is also ecstatic about the purchase: “It’s light, airy and the size of a semi,” she said.
The vendors at the Randwick property are architect Michael Sheppard and his wife, Jillian. It was Mr Sheppard who built and designed the home. They’re currently sailing around the world.
This article was first appeared in www.realestate.com.au. Here is the link to the original article: https://www.realestate.com.au/news/downsizers-pay-325k-over-reserve-preauction-for-their-perfect-home/
