An apartment in Sydney’s sought-after eastern suburbs has hit the market listed at four times lower than the median price.
The sunny studio apartment is for sale for a mere $225,000 and is located between harbourside Rushcutters Bay and Potts Point’s cosmopolitan café scene, where similar units sell for upwards of $800,000.
The reason for the dramatic mark-down is because there is no bathroom.
Instead, each of the building’s four floors has two bathrooms shared by the 23 units in the art deco property.
‘Everybody just gets excited [when they] see the price,’ Ray White real estate agent Nuri Shik told 7News, but their excitement fades when they realise there is no bathroom.
The sunny studio apartment (pictured) is fetching a mere $225,000 and is located between the harbourside Rushcutters Bay and Potts Point’s cosmopolitan café scene, where similar units sell for upwards of $800,000
The reason for the dramatic mark-down is because t here is no toilet. Instead, each of the building’s four floors has two bathrooms shared by the 23 units in the art deco property
The lack of a bathroom also leads to another problem – banks are less likely to lend money to prospective buyers for it, so they may have to pay cash up front.
Mr Shik has been letting people know to check with their lender.
‘If somebody was interested, they really need cash because the banks are reluctant to lend on properties without a bathroom,’ he said.
Though the list of features on the vendor’s website says the property comes with ‘Easy access to 2 shared bathrooms on this level’, on a quick view people are more likely to see the more prominent mention of ‘2 baths’ written under the main text.
‘They just see the price, and they ring me up, and I say, “Look, it’s a four-level walk up. And please be aware, there are two shared bathrooms on each floor”. And they go, “Oh, no,”‘ Mr Shik said.
The other selling points of the apartment include high ceilings, wide windows, polished timber floor and a ‘living and sleeping area with built-in wardrobe’.
There is also a ‘galley-style kitchenette with potential to update’, but that updating is not likely to include the possibility of ever having a toilet and shower within the unit.
There are various theories on why the units were built without bathrooms, with the most likely being that the building was one used as accommodation for the nuns of the neighbouring St Canice’s Church, which was built around 1889.
Mr Shik said in all his many years in the property business he had never previously come across a building of units with only shared toilets.
But that has not put off some buyers, with two other units selling in the building, 67 Roslyn St, Rushcutters Bay, in July this year – and they were both sold for cash.
The agent said the apartment offers ‘affordable eastern suburbs living’ and that a garage or parking space in the area often costs more than the asking price of $225,000 to $247,000.
On a quick view of the property ad, people are likely to see the prominent mention of ‘2 baths’ written under the main text (pictured)
Other selling points of the apartment include high ceilings, wide windows, polished timber floor and a ‘living and sleeping area with built-in wardrobe’ (pictured)
There are various theories on why the units were built without bathrooms, with the most likely being that the building was one used as accommodation for the nuns of the neighbouring St Canice’s Church, which was built around 1889
The layout of the studio apartment, minus a bathroom, is shown here
He said he recently sold an apartment just metres away for $983,000.
That one did have two bedrooms and a bathroom, though.
Ultimately, for someone, the price will trump the inconvenience of not having a bathroom inside the walls of the unit.
Some of the other owners in the building use their apartment as a short-term rental, while others are from out of town and use it as a ‘city pad’, Mr Shik said.