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One of Australia’s top realtors lives in a fibro ‘tear-down’ in Bondi, choosing off-street parking and a premier location over a mega-mansion in the suburbs.
Ric Serrao is the Principal at Raine and Horne in Double Bay and Bondi Beach two of Sydney‘s most sought-after and expensive real estate markets.
In 2021 he was the third highest ranking realtor in Australia after closing $315 million worth of deals in just 12 months.
One of Australia’s top realtors lives in a fibro ‘tear-down’ in Bondi, choosing off-street parking and a premier location over a mega-mansion in the suburbs
Ric Serrao, pictured here with his wife and three sons, is the Principal at Raine and Horne in Double Bay and Bondi Beach two of Sydney’s most sought-after and expensive real estate markets
Speaking with FEMAIL the father-of-three revealed he and his wife love their modest three-bedroom home and are into ‘keeping it real’, noting flash isn’t always best.
In fact he admitted one particular feature, caught his wife Lucy’s attention when they looked at the North Bondi home 12 years ago.
‘My partner fell in love with the amount of parking and private garden,’ he said.
Before admitting parking in the beachside suburb is crazy so off-street access is an incredible asset.
The home has a huge side driveway – the feature which first captured his wife’s attention
Mr Serrao, 55, who grew up in the western suburbs said the family did a few minor renovations before moving into the home but have kept many original features.
The renovations included filling in the pool and opening up the inside of the south-facing home to allow for more natural light.
But the bathroom and kitchen were left the same because they were in good enough condition to do the job.
‘In saying that our kitchen cupboard door fell off this morning so I am guessing that will need to be fixed,’ he laughed.
The realtor lives in the house with his wife and toddler but his two now grown sons used to live there too.
The home is minutes away from the beach, by foot, which is another reason the family love it so much
The realtor, who was born in the city’s west, says people expect agents to drive expensive cars and live in huge homes but her prefers to be in a great community
‘People expect real estate agents to drive a Lamborghini and live in a flashy house,’ he said.
Before revealing the location, set a few streets off the beach, and the pleasant community atmosphere are of much higher value to him.
The home is set back from the street behind a high wall and hedge which offers the family privacy from passers-by.
The wide driveway means they don’t have to fight for parking, and neither do their guests.
The kitchen and bathroom are the same as they were 12 years ago when he moved in – he admits some things will need to be fixed soon after a cupboard door came off recently
‘Living in Bondi, parking is a nightmare, you shouldn’t buy a property here without parking,’ he laughed.
The couple plan to tear the older style home down one day and rebuild but will focus on keeping the elements of the property they love: the private garden and parking.
‘Given the escalating building prices we may have to delay,’ he said.
According to property data on Realestate.com the agent has sold 131 properties over the last 12 months.
He acted as the lead agent on 71 of those properties which had a median sale price of $3.15 million and were closed on in less than 30 days.
Source: DailyMail
