Hampton hotel redevelopment offers nine more units a year after buy-up frenzy
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Apartments in the redeveloped Hampton hotel in Potts Point proved irresistible to Sydneysiders last year, with 106 of the 112 on offer sold within six hours of their launch. Now nine more have come onto the market, and agent Ballard Property is hoping for similar enthusiasm when they go to auction on August 31.
The Nemeth family, who owned the building, entered into a joint venture with residential developer Toga Group in June 2010 and as part of the agreement retained 13 of the 125 apartments, including all four penthouses. The family has now decided to release nine of the apartments through Ballard Property.
“Quite a few people missed out on the first round, there was quite a bit of intense competition,” Ballard Property senior sales executive Charlie Brendon-Cook says. “A year’s gone by, and now we are taking these ones to auction to keep the whole process transparent.”
Perhaps buoyed by the enthusiasm for the first release, Ballard believes it can secure a comparable price for its properties, which Brendon-Cook says are to the same standard as the original 112. CBRE sold the studio offerings starting from $385,000, and some of the studios sold for around the $420,000 to $440,000 mark. Ballard hopes to secure around $400,000 for the studio in its release and upwards of $1.25 million for some of the five two-bedroom units. There are three one-bedrom units on offer. CBRE offered most of the units for under $650,000, however the two-bedroom units achieved up to $1.45 million in the original release. Average prices for units in Potts Point have increased 14% in the past year, according to RP Data.
In June last year CBRE selling agent said about 70% of the apartments had sold to investors. Ballard says it expects similar investor interest, with Brendon-Cook saying there has been a lot of interest from investors, both locally and overseas.
The Hampton is a 1920s Art Deco building, and Brendon-Cook says before it was a popular Sydney hotel, it was a block of apartments, so in this redevelopment it will come full circle.
“The building has quite a bit of a following, it’s quite an iconic building in the area. It’s got a New York style to it. The finishes are beautiful, with really high ceilings,” Brendon-Cook says.
