2025 Sydney house price record broken twice in a week
First came news yesterday via sources that the Point Piper mansion of Retail Apparel Group co-founder Stephen Liebowitz and his wife, Pam had sold for $55m, via Ray White Double Bay's Adam Reichman and Elliott Placks in conjunction with Michael Pallier of Sotheby's.
The sale occurred last week but was being kept under wraps.
And then, last night, an Instagram post from Ray White Double Bay's Riki Tawhara confirmed the sale of 38 Vaucluse Rd, Vaucluse, owned by 98-year-old philanthropist Isaac Wakil, that's sold 'above our guide of $55m'.
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Whereas the first sale equalled the previous 2025 record $55m house price sale in February, of 12 Dumaresq Rd, Rose Bay, this latest deal exceeds that.
The big sales must be exciting news for Ray White Double Bay principal, Elliott Placks, who had a hand in both deals, as he prepares to move into his new five-storey Double Bay HQ next month.
Placks was tight-lipped about the buyers of both properties, citing NDAs, though it's known he had multiple buyers on both which helped create urgency.
Still, the vendors had to accept considerable discounts on their previous price guides, with the Liebowitzs original guide of February, 2024, $65m.
And although the most recent guide for the Vaucluse property may have been $55m, when it hit the market last month it was reported at 'around $70m'.
The Dumaresq Rd, Rose Bay property that sold in February, owned by recycled shopping bag tycoon Frank Qiang Gengh and his wife Juanjuan Zhao, took a $20m price cut.
Dyson Austen prestige property valuer Simon Feilich had a simple explanation for the recent rush of sales as the end of financial year approaches.
'The main driver is the low Aussie dollar and lower interest rates driving increased asset prices.'
Isaac Wakil had owned the Vaucluse Rd 1400sqm property, with its house set for the demolition ball but with panoramic Sydney Harbour views, for 65 years.
Isaac and his late wife Susan were both immigrants from Romania and Iraq and had no children.
They owned a range of commercial properties across Sydney, including the Terminus Hotel in Pyrmont and the landmark Griffiths Tea building in Surry Hills.
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