FROM record-breaking results to controversial sales, these were the biggest property news stories from across Newcastle and Lake Macquarie in 2023:
Record $7.05 million sale in Bar Beach
AN original 1960s home overlooking Bar Beach fetched the highest price paid for a residential property in the suburb.
The five-bedroom property at 2 Bar Beach Avenue sold for a record-breaking $7.05 million in November after 28 days on the market with selling agent Natalie Tonks at Presence Real Estate.
A family from Newcastle are the new owners and plan to demolish the existing house to build their "dream home", according to the agent.
Ms Tonks said the property drew 67 enquiries throughout the campaign.
"We had 24 groups through the home," Ms Tonks said.
"A couple of those did look at it to renovate but the home but the majority of buyers were looking at it as a knockdown rebuild."
News the home would be knocked down drew a mixed respond from readers.
The property was marketed for sale with two sets of DA-approved plans including a Mediterranean-inspired rebuild by Derive Architecture and Design with two four-bedroom, two-bathroom homes with a double garage and a lift connecting the floors.
Graceland-inspired mansion hits the market in Mount Vincent
A sprawling mansion inspired by Elvis Presley's iconic Graceland home in Memphis hit the market in Mount Vincent in September.
The 10-bedroom, six-bathroom property listed with Tom Woods from River Realty drew plenty of interest from readers.
The house at 1122 Leggetts Drive spans around 800 square metres of internal floor space and includes a cinema room, a gym and a recording studio.
"This is one of the biggest homes I have sold," Mr Woods said.
The owner Claudio Carrasco, who is a musician and producer, built the expansive home in 2006 with the aim of creating a residence that could accommodate his touring band, Iron and Clay, and provide enough space to rehearse and record.
Past members of the band included the likes of ARIA award winners Matt Corby and Jarryd James.
At the time of writing, the property was still on the market.
$11m Merewether home breaks suburb record and Newcastle region record
A big sale in Merewether broke two sales records in one when a local family snapped up a home overlooking the ocean for more than $11 million.
In February 2023, 8 Berner Street was tipped to break the Newcastle region and Merewether's residential sale record of $10.25 million and, five months later, it did just that.
The three-and-a-half-year-old property sold for $11.05 million, breaking the residential record set in 2022 following the sale of a home on John Parade for $10.25 million.
Selling agent and Salt Property director Lyndall Allan said the property attracted local, state and international interest.
In 2016, the previous owners bought the block for $3.85 million from a family who held the property for 51 years.
The sale was the highest figure paid for a knockdown-rebuild project in Merewether after they cleared the five uninhabited and dilapidated units on the site.
Record-breaking $6m estate relisted in Lake Macquarie sells at a loss
Three years after breaking the record as the most expensive residential property sale in Lake Macquarie, a 6.75 acre lakeside estate known as 'Mandalay' at 7 Foreshore Street on the peninsula in Eraring was back on the market.
The home's owner, Sydney businessman John Changjin Li, snapped up the then luxurious tri-level six-bedroom, six-bathroom home for $6 million at auction in August 2020 with the intention to use it as a weekender.
However, the sprawling property, with 481 metres of waterfront reserve boundary, was placed on the market in July as an incomplete luxury build after the company that bought the property was placed into liquidation.
It went on to sell at a huge loss at auction in August for a sum understood to be around $4 million.
The estate was one of two properties Mr Li purchased under his company name that went to auction.
A dilapidated three-bedroom home on 3.7 acres at 9 Rocky Point Road was sold after auction for $2.5 million, handing the owner a loss of $600,000.
NRL power couple list Merewether home
Readers showed plenty of interest when NRL power couple Adam Elliott and Millie Boyle listed their Merewether home for sale ahead of their October wedding.
The couple's three-bedroom two-bathroom home on Little Edward Street hit the market with Robinson Property's Mike Flook in August.
Elliott, who plays NRL for the Newcastle Knights, and NRLW Sydney Roosters star Boyle, purchased the home in July last year at auction for $1.3 million.
It was a whirlwind purchase for the couple who were relocating to Newcastle from Canberra.
"As soon as I signed with the Knights, we bought this place, so it happened pretty quickly," Mr Elliott told The Newcastle Herald.
"Millie hadn't moved up here yet but she was due to start her first day of pre-season training on the Sunday and so she came up on the Saturday and went to the auction with not much expectation and ended up getting it.
"So on her first official day in Newcastle, she bought a house."
Listed with a guide of $1.435 million, the property is yet to find a buyer.
Newcastle's 'Ye Old Pub' house listed in Wallsend
One of Newcastle's most recognisable homes drew lots of interest from readers when it hit the market in September.
For many years, the property at 45 Metcalfe Street in Wallsend remained a curiosity to passers-by because of the image of a woman and the words 'Ye Old Pub' painted on the side of the house that faces Thomas Street which connects to Newcastle Link Road.
"It has always been a house that makes you wonder what is behind those walls," Presence listing agent Lucas Rankin said.
The words 'Ye Old Pub' were painted on the home long before the current owners purchased the home in 2021, but why?
The history of the long-standing property dates back to circa 1875 when it was known to the Wallsend community as the New Ballarat Hotel.
The property went on to sell for $643,000 and the owner confirmed they planned to keep the 'Ye Old Pub' signage.
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