One apartment in the notorious Opal Tower bravely for sale
One apartment of the 390 in the notorious Opal Tower has been bravely offered for sale.
But there's been no offers since it was listed 10 days ago.
Sy Realty Sydney agent Joe Wang told The Telegraph "our clients asked us to test the market".
The 81 sqm unit (below and bottom) with an enclosed balcony and study cost $757,000 in 2014.
The listing was taken down from listing websites after just a few days as the agency decided it was better to take prospective buyers from their database through the two bedroom, level 15 offering.
There were nine apartments for sale before the cracks started to appear and residents were evacuated on Christmas Eve.
Sy Realty agents Du Yang and Nick Ling are seeking a $500 a week tenant for a one bedroom apartment on level 22 of the cracked building.
Agents have indicated their expectation that owners will take a big hit on sale prices.
The last settled apartment in the block, a month before the cracking, was when a one bedroom apartment fetched $640,000.
It was just up on its $637,000, 2014 off the plan price.
The Opal Tower developer, developed by Ecove, was designed to be the tallest in the Sydney Olympic Park precinct, boasting 360 degree views across Sydney.
The development was completed in last August, with off the plan sales ranging from $505,000 up to $2.498 million, which ranks as the record price for the precinct.
Even before the cracking, Sydney Olympic Park Authority noted in its recent annual report that demand for new apartments in the precinct had "dropped significantly."
"Whilst previously strong demand for new stock saw excellent take-up of apartments in new residential projects, market reporting and pricing corrections across the residential property market saw this demand drop significantly."
"As a result enquiries have slowed significantly compared to previous years, and may well continue to do so over the next few years."
Opal Tower at 1 Brushbox Street was built in the shape of an equilateral triangle with curved corners.
The 117 metre high trophy building was very popular with buyers of Chinese origin, many of whom bought off the plan in 2014 and 2015.
This article was first published in the Daily Telegraph.
