A STRIKING residence at Merewether Heights has set a suburb record after selling for $250,000 above the previous top sale.
The four-bedroom, three-bathroom property at 48 Sun Hill Drive sold for $2.65 million with PRD Presence selling agent Jesse Wilton after being passed in at auction.
The result blitzed Mr Wilton's previous record set in February 2021 with the $2.4 million sale of an architecturally-designed home built by MADE Architectural Constructions at 25 View Street.
Mr Wilton said the auction attracted four registered bidders on the day and sold to a buyer from Sydney after they went into negotiations.
The record sale price comes despite a fall in house values and interest rates sitting at a 10-year high after the Reserve Bank lifted the official cash rate to 3.1 per cent in December.
"There were four registered bidders at auction and they all had budgets of between $2.5 and $2.7 million so there are still strong buyers around," Mr Wilton said.
"There was only one local buyer out of those four and the other three were from out of town, so people are still moving from out of area to Newcastle."
Mr Wilton said 135 groups inspected the property during the campaign.
The house had undergone significant renovations with open-plan living zones and high-quality finishes throughout.
"It was an amazing home and it packed a punch for the area," he said.
"It underwent a major transformation - there is not much left of the original home - and it was designed for entertaining.
"It was a large home and it had a pool, it was light-filled and there was plenty of cross ventilation, and it was all done to a very high standard."
The agent said demand for the suburb was growing and he expected prices to continue to climb following a string of $2 million-plus sales in Merewether Heights.
The house at 25 View Street became the first residence in the suburb to sell for more than $2 million in 2021 and a further six properties have sold above that figure since.
"Merewether Heights is going through a lot of change right now where there are a lot of older people selling their houses and young people coming through and renovating," Mr Wilton said.
"I think prices continue to climb in Merewether Heights."
