Mehrten Puruto, 21, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated break and enter and one count of intimidation in Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday but was allowed to remain on bail ahead of his sentencing later this year.

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A set of agreed facts said the victim, who was unknown to Puruto, walked out the front of her East Corrimal home on the morning of March 19 to discover Puruto standing at her lounge room window, prompting her to say "what the f--k?".

Puruto introduced himself, giving the woman a fake name, and said he was 28 years old and lived around corner.

He then told her "I chased these 6'9 blokes away from you window".

The victim thanked him and Puruto went on to ask the woman her age - 41 - and if she was single.

"You look pretty good for an old bird," he said and asked her for a kiss.

She told him to go away and went back inside the unit.

Puruto left the house but returned just before dawn five days later.

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The victim later told police she woke up to the feeling of her bedsheets being pulled back and saw Puruto crouching next to her bed, his face less than a metre away from hers.

The victim screamed and Puruto fell backwards and attempted to run out of the bedroom.

The victim chased him out of the house and slammed her front door shut, then went back to bed.

She woke up at 6am and began getting ready for work, at which time she noticed her front security screen door had either been cut or burned beneath the lock.

She then noticed her handbag was missing, along with her car keys, and contacted police.

A forensic examination of the house discovered Puruto's fingerprints on the inside of the screen door, about 20cm below the door handle.

The victim attended Wollongong Police Station and identified Puruto from a photo lineup.

Police arrested Puruto at his Rothery Street home on March 29.

He denied any knowledge of the crime during an initial interview with detectives, claiming he'd never been in the victim's street before, let alone in her house.

However, he confessed all in a second interview a short time later, claiming he'd been out drinking with two friends when the trio decided to break into the victim's house.

Puruto told detectives his friends had a lighter and scissors with them and they were responsible for burning the woman's security door and taking her handbag.

He said he went into the victim's bedroom, saw she was wearing a watch and reached under her sheets in an attempt to steal the watch. He denied his actions had any sexual motive.