Investors Buy Into Maroubra

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday February 12, 1994

THE average unit auction sale in Maroubra was $156,000 last year, with a clearance rate of 86 per cent from 65 auctions. The total sales value was $8.7 million. From 58 private treaty sales the average price was $154,000.

A two-bedroom unit at 14/32-36 Maroubra Road sold in May for $155,000, and a two-bedroom unit at 5/458 Maroubra Road sold last February for $157,000.

The average 1992 auction sale was $153,000, with a clearance rate from 44 auctions of 61 per cent.

Maroubra Road had the majority of sales last year with 21. The top Maroubra Road sale was $173,000 for a two-bedroom unit at number 8/412.

Buying into Maroubra starts at about $80,000, which bought a one-bedroom unit at 7/21 Maroubra Road in June. A one-bedroom unit at 11a/16 Hereward Street, also sold in June, fetched $82,000.

Top prices have been found at Marine Parade where a new three-bedroom unit with security parking at number 7/108 sold in July for $375,000.

A two-bedroom unit at number 3 in the same block sold for $265,000 in May.

Between 30 and 40 per cent of buyers in the suburb are investors, said Richardson and Wrench agent Ray Nicholas. Many of these are families who buy for their children. "They're no longer the investors who would buy virtually over the phone," he said. He said a standard two-bedroom unit of eight squares sold for about $175,000 could be rented out for about $195 a week.

While most Maroubra units date from the 1940s, an art deco-style block of six units dating from about 1920 at 436 Malabar Road has a two-bedroom top floor strata unit listed for auction.

The 11 square unit at number 6 has a sunroom or study with a walk-in mirror wardrobe.

The lounge/dining area and the sunroom have leadlight windows and there is a new $8,000 kitchen. The bathroom was modernised three years ago and the apartment has polished timber floors. The rental price guide would be about$250 a week.

The unit is to be auctioned on February 24 through Richardson and Wrench agent Ray Nicholas and is expected to fetch more than $180,000.

In a similar price range, a two-bedroom unit at 10/81 Broome Street sold in October for $180,000 and a two-bedroom unit at 1/7 Severn Street sold in August for $190,000. A two-bedroom unit sold in August for $194,500 at 2/15 French Street.