SYDNEY LUXURY HOME LISTED WITH A CHEEKY $1 RESERVE
An opulent Ryde home, packed with cinema, pool, sauna and more, is hitting the auction block with a $1 reserve.
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In a move that is equal parts audacious and inspired, luxury real estate group Black Diamondz has listed a newly completed five-bedroom mansion in Ryde with a reserve price of $1.
The property at 26 Clermont Avenue is anything but bargain basement – featuring four lavish levels, a concrete structure, a private cinema, a mineral lap pool, a wine cellar, a sauna and even lift access.
Meanwhile, Ryde’s median house price is hovering around $2.5 million.
“This is not just another house. It’s a showpiece,” says Monika Tu, founder of Black Diamondz. “We’re not asking the market to guess its worth; we’re inviting it to experience it.”
Spicing things up further, the sales campaign doubles as a philanthropic effort.
Tu, along with agents Courtney Wong and Blake Morris, is using the high‑profile auction to raise awareness (and funds) for the Children’s Cancer Institute as part of the 2025 Dare to Cure challenge.
“We believe in creating value beyond the transaction,” says Tu. “Shining a light on the Children’s Cancer Institute turns luxury into legacy.”
Property Highlights
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Five bedrooms, four bathrooms, three en-suites
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Private cinema, sauna, gym and wine cellar
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Gourmet kitchen with Miele appliances and butler’s pantry
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Tundra limestone, Venetian plaster finishes, mineral lap pool
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Quiet street near top schools, parks and Top Ryde Shopping Centre
Whether the $1 reserve is a marketing masterstroke or the future of auction theatrics, one thing’s sure: this isn’t your average Ryde listing.
Bidding starts with a gold coin. Final sale price? That’s anyone’s guess.
Rising rates, construction inflation and shrinking investor confidence are pushing Australia deeper into a dangerous housing spiral that monetary policy alone cannot fix.
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Rising rates, construction inflation and shrinking investor confidence are pushing Australia deeper into a dangerous housing spiral that monetary policy alone cannot fix.
2 minThe Reserve Bank had little choice but to raise interest rates again this week.
Inflation was already proving stubborn before the latest Middle East instability added further pressure to energy prices and supply chains.
Housing inflation alone has averaged six per cent over the past year, remaining one of the single biggest contributors to CPI.
But while the focus remains on rates, the deeper problem is structural and far more dangerous.
Australia is not building enough homes, and the conditions required to fix that are deteriorating simultaneously.
Construction costs remain elevated. Builders are increasingly unwilling to absorb contract risk. Labour shortages persist.
Capital is becoming more expensive. And as borrowing capacity weakens and sentiment softens, fewer projects are becoming financially viable.
The result is a self-reinforcing cycle.
The RBA raises rates to fight inflation. Higher rates reduce development feasibility. Fewer projects start. Housing supply tightens further. Rents rise. Inflation persists. The RBA raises rates again.
The only long-term solution is supply, yet Australia remains nowhere near the National Housing Accord target of 240,000 new dwellings a year.
Completion continues to lag approvals, meaning many projects approved on paper are simply never making it out of the ground.
That gap matters enormously because housing is not just another sector of the economy.
Around two-thirds of Australian household wealth is tied to property, while the sector underpins millions of jobs and related industries. Weakness here quickly spreads beyond real estate.
We are already seeing signs of stress. Auction clearance rates in Sydney and Melbourne have softened, borrowing capacity has declined, and parts of the market are experiencing price corrections as confidence weakens.
At the same time, policymakers continue to debate tax measures such as changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts, despite fears that such reforms could drive private capital out of the rental market at precisely the moment when supply is most constrained.
This is the paradox at the centre of Australia’s housing crisis.
Demand for property remains extraordinarily high, yet the economic conditions required to actually build new housing are worsening.
The Reserve Bank cannot solve that problem alone.
Monetary policy cannot accelerate planning approvals, reduce construction costs or create more tradies. It can only raise the cost of money until something eventually breaks.
And increasingly, that “something” looks like the development pipeline itself.
Paul Miron is the Co-Founder & Fund Manager of Msquared Capital.
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