The winning bidder at a mansion’s auction got down on one knee after spending $8.5million to buy the most expensive house in Sydney sold at the weekend.
The French-inspired five-bedroom home at 28 Joubert Street Hunters Hill, in Sydney’s north-west, sold on Saturday after 26 bids.
But the sale of the sandstone house – which went for $2million above the buyer’s guide after 26 bids – wasn’t the only thing attendees were celebrating.
Seconds after winning the auction, the male buyer fell to one knee and asked his partner to marry him in the backyard of their future home.
Overwhelmed with emotions and still grasping the auction paddle, she said yes, triggering applause from those in attendance.
The auction of a mansion in Sydney’s Hunters Hill (pictured) has provided the backdrop of a shock proposal after a bidder dropped the knee moments after winning the property
‘Everyone was shocked, no one knew about it,’ selling agent Nicholas McEvoy, from Bresic Whitney, told Daily Mail Australia.
‘He’s gotten down onto his knee and of course she said yes… everyone was obviously clapping for joy.’
Mr McEvoy said the downsizing sellers were ‘ecstatic’ to watch the price rise $2million above the buyer’s guide and even more than optimistic estimates.
‘The guide was $6.5million and we were telling visitors the price can be anywhere between there and $7.15million,’ he said.
‘No one believed it would get as big as it did on the day.’
The property was first built in the 1850s for Hunters Hill’s first mayor, Didier Joubert, who the street is named after.
The five bedroom, three bathrooms and two car space home with views of the Lane Cove River plus a sandstone granny flat was last sold in April 1996 for just over $1million.
BresicWhitney’s website describes the property as ‘a magnificent French-inspired home…. (Where) majestic entrance stairs lead to this classic, elevated home with a slate roof, precise stonework and immense verandas, perfect for entertaining’.
Despite being overrun with emotions and still grasping the auction paddle, she said yes, triggering a mass applause from those in the auction’s attendance (stock image)
The couple purchased the five-bedroom sandstone mansion for $8.5million on Saturday, making it the most expensive property that was sold in Sydney on the weekend
While the couple will cherish both moment and their new house, Aussies without the access to such funds are struggling to break into the market.
Despite the increase of housing prices slowing down in November the median price for a property in Australia rose to a record high of $753,654.
To pay off the average Aussie property without spending more than 30 per cent of a salary, the threshold for mortgage stress, a buyer would need a salary of about $150,000 – much greater than the average salary of $92,000.
While those looking to buy a property are are being priced out, rising mortgage rates are also causing buyers to cross the mortgage stress threshold.
Research from Finder released in November found the average mortgage repayment in November was just above $3,600 having increased from about $2,300 in April 2022.
‘Aussies with a $590,000 mortgage will now be forking out roughly $1,345 more per month than they were in April last year,’ the head of consumer research at Finder, Graham Cooke, said.
‘That’s a huge amount of extra money to be spending on your mortgage, especially when the cost of almost everything else is also going up.’
The selling agent, Nicholas McEvoy (pictured), said ‘everyone was shocked’ by the proposal, even after the property sold for $2million more than the buyer’s guide
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