A giant off-field record held by cross-code superstar Israel Folau has been put in the shade. Picture: Getty

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Little Bay residents didn’t always have a lot to smile about, with many in the infectious diseases hospital there suffering from scarlet fever, whooping cough, leprosy or small pox.

But this morning Charlie Lark and Nisha Bradley were celebrating the sale of their light and bright one-bedroom apartment in one of the former heritage wards, which fetched $1.22m, $220,000 over reserve.

“It’s amazing,” Lark said.

“We never lived here, it’s always been an investment, we call it our ‘coffee purchase’ because we saw it advertised and rocked up and just bought it.”

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Auctioneer Matthew Shalhoub at Saturday’s auction, with the eventual purchasers in the background. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

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The one-bedder is in the sunny northeast corner of the block, has its own entrance and outdoor terrace. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

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Lark and Bradley (and Folau) are not on their own, with PropTrack data showing the suburb is one of Australia’s best-performing unit markets, with 54.4 per cent growth in the past year.

It was a wise choice, with records showing the couple have almost doubled their money — they’d paid just $660k nine years ago in December 2015.

And the result smashes the current Little Bay one-bedroom apartment record of $1.15m when Japan-based athlete Israel Folau sold his investment unit last July.

NG Farah agents Steve Ausling and Peter Goulding, with auctioneer Matthew Shalhoub, had six registered parties with four active at this morning’s auction from $930,000, which was the buyer’s guide.

The apartment has high ceilings and is full of natural light. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

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The kitchen opens to a private terrace. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

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The $20k bids were soon flying, dropping to 10ks and 5ks by the end, with an investor knocking out the field of otherwise owner occupiers.

The small crowd and passing neighbours were gobsmacked by the result.

Many had been astonished by the Folau $1.15m one-bed record last July, and he may need to pay even more now should he wish to buy back again, with today’s reports that he could bewelcomed back into the fold by Rugby Australia.

Although classed as a one-bedroom plus study, the agent, Peter Goulding, said many considered Folau’s former apartment a two-bedder so he says the $1,007,000 sale last November of 1/8 Curie St is a better comparison.

Former Wallaby Israel Folau sold his investment apartment at Little Bay for $1.15m last July. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

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Little Bay is surrounded by green space, trees and ocean.

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“To have achieved $213k more than that is a good result in this market I would have thought,” he said.

But he also pointed out the 54 sqm pad that sold today was “unique — not your typical one-bedroom unit, more like a house and full of sunshine and light, being on the north-eastern corner, and high ceilings.”

The buyer was lawyer Daniel Appleby and his wife, Monica Mamrot, who were one of the first buyers in the redevelopment of the 1880s Prince Henry Hospital site in 2002 when they paid $522,500, which they rebuilt and sold for $3.06m in July.

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Vendors Nisha Bradley and Charlie Lark on the veranda at 1/10 Darwin Ave Little Bay, which sold for $1.22m at Saturday’s auction. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

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Although that was their home initially, it’s been an investment property for them for eight years, as they upgraded to another home nearby that cost $3.9m in 2016.

They also own another investment pad in the Darwin Ave block, bought for $549,000 in 2010. They’ll collect an additional $600 per week in rent from their latest purchase.

“Obviously we just love the area,” Appleby said. “Little Bay feels like The Central Coast, a holiday village with lots of green space, trees and the ocean.

“It’s like a throwback in time, the same people out walking their dogs and a great little community, yet just 20 minutes drive from the city.”

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