20 Girilang Ave, Vaucluse had a $5.8m price guide, a $6.25m reserve and sold for $7.45m.

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An old home in the same family for a century has attracted 14 registered parties and sold $1.2m over reserve at auction on Tuesday afternoon.

The four-bedroom Californian bungalow at 20 Girilang Ave, Vaucluse — in the name of Elizabeth Ackland who is the ex-wife of the prominent journalist Richard Ackland AM — fetched $7.45m.

Bresic Whitney director and sales agent Shannan Whitney had a $5.8m price guide for the old home and a reserve of $6.25m.

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It will be goodbye garden, as the buyer has big plans for the 694sqm block.

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The charming old home has been in the same family for 100 years.

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It was the size of the block — 694sqm — in the prestigious suburb that made it so attractive, with many lured by the realestate.com.au ad advising of the “potential for multi-house development”.

And others, who were considering the property as a family home, were no doubt impressed to read “a second-storey addition would capture superb ocean views”.

This was reflected in the make up of the 14 registered parties, with 11 of them developers and three families imagining a “dream home”.

With BresicWhitney CEO and auctioneer Thomas McGlynn presiding and six parties participating, bidding started at $6m and rose — slowly — in $50k increments to $6.5m.

The property is in the name of the ex-wife of a prominent journalist.

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The much-loved home has a date with with a bulldozer.

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There were four main buyers between $6.5m and $7.3m, and then two of them — a developer and a family home buyer from the eastern beaches — who dualed all the way to $7.45m.

Perhaps not surprisingly, it was the developer who came out on top.

He plans to build two houses on the site.

“It highlights how confident the new housing market is in prime eastern suburbs … the depth of the demand was very strong,” Whitney said.

It’s a different story for the general Sydney property market, which Whitney concedes is “from my observation, more on the buyer’s side than the vendors at the moment”.