Top end Sydney price revision underway as bank accepts 40% mortgagee loss: Title Tattle

The prestige mansion mortgagee losses are getting bigger. A Seaforth house (pictured above) last traded at $5.08 million in early 2008 has been sold for $3.05 million after auction this week.  That's a $2.03 million loss or 40% price drop. It's by far the most severe realised loss reported amid the prestige property downturn that lingers well after its global financial crisis-induced downturn in 2008. The Fang family initially listed it themselves in early 2010 with hopes of getting their money back on the imposing five-bedroom Old Sydney Road mansion.

The 1,435-square-metre property with harbour views, indoor swimming pool, spa and tennis court had been listed through Raine & Horne agent Stewart Robertson with its mortgagee status obvious to intending buyers. It had most recently been to unsuccessful June auction with $3.6 million hopes and to October 2011 auction when it had $4.5 million expectations. Hitherto most of the misery at the prestige end has been the gap between vendor expectation and the sometime voluntarily accepted sale price, but now its appears the banks have lost patience and mortgagee sale momentum is going to cast a pall over the prestige market, which could be best summarised as suffering a lengthy paralysis.

Myriam Borg, founder of Cre8 Australia, has bought the Dural French-inspired castle Normandie (pictured above), highlighting the crumbling prices in the prestige castle market. Forget the battering ram, ballista, mangonel or trebuchet, as it was the mortgagees-in-possession who sold it off at $2.95 million. The vendors had wanted more than $6.25 million ever since listing it in 2009. Built in 1985 by Bronte Douglass, the founder of Douglass Pathology and his wife, Darlene, the imposing sandstone residence had four bedroom suites, a grand reception hall and a billiard room. In the 2.2-hectare grounds are sweeping lawns, ornamental trees, a tennis court and swimming pool. A title search of the property revealed a mortgage to St George Bank and the National Australia Bank and two caveats and a writ by American Express.

At Woollahra the $5 million weekend sale (pictured above) again highlights the increasingly common trend of sales at well below initial vendor expectations under bank instructions. It had been listed in April with $6.5 million-plus hopes through the same McGrath agent who secured $5 million at its weekend auction. Glen Rhoda, the circa-1863 Gothic-style residence on Wallaroy Road, last traded for $6.15 million in 2004 when sold to the Tassone family by the INXS drummer Jon Farriss, who had bought it for $2.4 million in 1991 from film producer Margaret Fink, who'd lived there since 1968 when she purchased it for $74,000. The latest buyer has been identified as Shelley Griffin, the widow of businessman Phil Griffin. Phil Griffin was a right hand man of Allco Finance head David Coe. Shelley Griffin attended the weekend auction joining  the auction with a bid of $4.65 million with just the one other bidder was active at that point.