Tightly-held 1938 Rathven, Warrawee trophy home passed in on $4 million vendor bid

Tightly-held 1938 Rathven, Warrawee trophy home passed in on $4 million vendor bid
Jonathan ChancellorDecember 7, 2020

The last auction of winter, a tightly held historic home in Warrawee, drew just the one bidder when auctioned in the drizzly twilight of Saturday. The five-bedroom Bangalla Street home, built in 1938 on its 1764sqm block, had only ever been offered once before.

It was in 1975 when Dr Charles Matthews paid $110,000 to the original owner, the late architect Eleanor Cullis-Hill.

After meeting architect husband Grandison at the University of Sydney, she designed 30 houses on upper north shore.

Her family home, Rathven was built in the 1936 Chiltons Orchard estate.

The only bid taken from the small crowd gathered on its rear sandstone terracing, overlooking the tennis court and pool, was $3.75 million. There was then a $4 million vendor bid, with Chadwick Real Estate agent William Zhang briefly continuing negotiations with a family who reside just a few doors away. The median house price is just over $3 million.

This article was first published by the Daily Telegraph.

 

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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