Bellevue Hill apartment blocks owned by late Joy Balkind sell for $21,210,000 at virtual auction

Two apartment blocks at 80 and 81A Birriga Road, Bellevue Hill, have sold for $21,210,000 at a virtual auction.

Two Bellevue Hill apartment blocks have attracted 20 registered bidders and sold for $21.21m at a virtual auction today — and the proceeds are set to go to a medical research charity.

CBRE agent Gemma Isgro, who shared the listing of the blocks with director Nicholas Heaton, said it was a huge result. “We were getting feedback at around the $15m mark during the campaign,” she said.

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It’s the first time that the 21 apartments with five garages in the three-level blocks on 1,342sqm at 80 and 81A Birriga Road were offered to the market since the late Joy Balkind’s grandfather built them in the 1940s.

There were a mix of two-bedroom and four-bedroom apartments.

Joy Balkind — who was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2011 — was described as the ‘Grande dame of Sydney Jewry’ when she passed away at the age of 95 last August.

The 21 apartments and five garages are on a 1342 sqm corner block.

Some of the apartments have district views.

Isgro said all 20 participated in the auction.

“It was super exciting and was all over in about 10 minutes,” she said.

With auctioneer Jesse Davidson presiding, bidding opened at $15m and rose in mainly $500,000 increments with a few million-dollar bids thrown in.

“We had some offshore interest, but mainly they were local high-net-worth people looking for passive investments,” Isgro said.

“We had 500 inquiries and conducted 83 private inspections and we had 54 contract holders.”

She wasn’t surprised at the result or the level of interest.

The buyer intends to keep the block as a passive investment.

The apartments offer a net income of $500,000 per annum.

“This was a once-in-a-lifetime secure large-scale residential investment opportunity in Sydney’s eastern suburbs,” she said.

“Properties like this tend to attract high-net-worth individuals, land bankers and generational holders not looking for immediate return.

“They want a secure passive investment to pass down through their families and trusts for generations to come.”

She confirmed the buyer was a local investor who will maintain the property exactly as it is.

The apartments had a net income of $500,000 per annum reflecting a 2 to 3 per cent net yield.