Record sales are on a roll across Newcastle and Lake Macquarie.
A house in Merewether Heights is the latest to achieve a suburb record price following the $3.3 million transaction of 32 Elsworth Parade.
The property was listed for sale by expressions of interest with Belle Property's Anthony Di Nardo and Jackson Morgan.
The property sold after 35 days on market and topped the Merewether Heights suburb record by $450,000.
The previous record price for a house in the suburb was set in March 2023 with the $2.85 million sale of a luxury home at 25 View Street.
Mr Morgan said the listing drew 138 enquiries.
"It was a very good campaign," Mr Morgan said.
"In general, the days on market for that $3 million-plus prestige market in Newcastle has blown out quite a bit industry-wide.
"We are seeing high-end properties sitting on the market, being taken off and relisted with another agent so it is quite volatile.
"This campaign went to plan as expected and sold after 35 days at the end of the expressions of interest."
Around 50 per cent of the enquiry came from buyers in Newcastle, including homeowners in Merewether seeking to upsize.
However, it was snapped up by an out-of-area buyer moving to Newcastle.
Set on 613 square metres, the house was built by the sellers who purchased the original home in 2007 for $535,000.
The two-level home has multiple living areas including a covered alfresco area with an outdoor kitchen and swimming pool.
"Because it is one of the few new builds in Merewether Heights, I think there was an uncertainty around that $3 million price tag purely because there was nothing to compare it to in that suburb," he said.
"However, I knew the extent the owners went to to knockdown rebuild and reimagine this whole property, which had such a faultless floorplan for a family.
"By the end, I had a few local buyers interested but they weren't seeing the value in line with what others were."
The first floor has an open-plan living, dining and kitchen area with polished concrete flooring.
There is a home office and two bedrooms with ensuites, including the master with a walk-in robe, and two living areas.
The second level has another three bedrooms, a main bathroom and a third living space.
The median sale price for a house in Merewether Heights is $1.7 million, according to CoreLogic.
Suburb records of 2024
The result in Merewether Heights follows a string of suburb record sales in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie this year.
Earlier this month, Neil Fry of Belle Property sold a four-bedroom house at 3 Diamond Close in Swansea Heads for a record-breaking $2.3 million.
In Fletcher, a luxury new build at 2 Wakun Street sold for a suburb record of $3 million in an off-market sale with Harcourts Newcastle.
Cveta Kolarovski, of Cveta Property, achieved the highest sale price in Redhead with the $3.76 million transaction of 49 Steel Street in May.
In May, a heritage-listed mansion at 51 Church Street at The Hill became the most expensive residential property in the Newcastle region after it sold for $12 million in an off-market sale facilitated by Maitland-based Michael Maffey of Maffey Property Services.
A renovated four-bedroom home at 68 Dent Street smashed the suburb record in North Lambton after it sold for $2.1 million with First National Newcastle City in April and, in Hamilton North, a five-bedroom house at 32 Gow Street fetched a record $1.71 million.
Other suburb record sales this year include properties sold in Eleebana, Jewells, Fishing Point, Hamilton South, and Highfields.
The latest figures from CoreLogic show the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie median dwelling value rose 0.5 per cent in June for an annual increase of 5.1 per cent.
The median Newcastle and Lake Macquarie house price is now $930,000, $10,000 below the 2022 peak.
The typical Newcastle house has added $45,000 in value over the past 12 months.
