Latest news with #JellisCraig
News.com.au
a day ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Buyer's first step on property ladder offers chance to add value
A young buyer's nerves at bidding at auction soon passed after he secured a three-bedroom home on a sizeable Geelong West property. The 549sq m property at 8 Hodgson St, Geelong West, sold for $857,500 after two contested the three-bedroom weatherboard house. Jellis Craig Geelong agent Jeff Begg said the local first-home buyer had made a great step on to the property ladder. Who wins from Queens Park suburb swap 'His family put their hand in the air for him and got him across the line,' Mr Begg said. 'He was nervous but he really did well.' Mr Begg said the land size was a key attraction for buyers, along with the comfortably presented house that offered scope to add future value. 'The house presented neatly, but it needed a little bit of elbow grease to sharpen it up,' Mr Begg said. 'But nothing that was urgent and demanded to be done straight away. 'To find a home like that was in that nick on that land size, still with the Geelong West address, was a pretty good buy.' The underbidder was a buyer from Melbourne, Mr Begg said. A charming facade and a spacious and stylish interior offer the best of both words in a prime position. The ideal opportunity for families, downsizers or investors provides the benefits of updated spaces, such as the kitchen and living room and bathrooms, along with open-plan living and outdoor entertaining on the 549sq m property. Hodgson St is near the northern end of Pakington St. The location was close to West Oval and Geelong Golf Club, and close to schools such as Ashby and St Patricks's Primary Schools and Clonard College.
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Balwyn North auction stuns with $3.36m sale
A Melbourne home has sold for more than $3.3m after a buyer walked through it for the very first time on auction day. A Balwyn North home has taken out the title of Melbourne's biggest auction sale of the weekend, fetching a jaw-dropping $3.361m — and the buyer only saw it hours before making the winning bid. The four-bedroom retro beauty at 5 Alpha St was quoted $2.7m-$2.9m but smashed the top of the guide by $461,000 after an intense five-way bidding war. Jellis Craig Boroondara's Perry Zhou said one of the underbidders was an interstate investor dialling in by phone, but it was a cashed-up local buyer who swept in at the eleventh hour. 'They'd just bought a boat for their adult children and walked through the home for the first time on the day,' Mr Zhou said. 'It all happened so quickly, but it reflects what we're seeing more broadly. Confidence is back.' The 1043sq m block sits on the high side of the street with potential for sweeping city views from a future second-storey extension. The home also falls within the coveted Balwyn High School zone, a major magnet for high-end family buyers. Mr Zhou said the home was declared on the market at $3.15m, and bidding surged a further $211,000 from there. 'That kind of result was well beyond expectations,' he said. 'We had a very realistic guide and strong interest, but no one saw it pushing this far.' He added that Balwyn North was quietly booming again, with buyers circling homes on large blocks — especially those with renovation or development potential. 'If you drive around this pocket, construction is everywhere. Blocks like this are becoming rare, and that's driving the competition,' Mr Zhou said. 'We're seeing buyers move early, before the school holidays and end of financial year. Stock is tightening, so they're jumping in.' While not a record-breaker, Mr Zhou said it was the $3.361m result puts 5 Alpha Street among the top sales in the Greythorn precinct. According to property records, the current benchmark is the $4.888m sale of 98 Greythorn Rd in November 2024, with other notable results including 119 Greythorn Rd, which changed hands for $3.608m earlier last year.
News.com.au
03-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Crumbling Toorak mansion linked to royal family hits market
A once-grand mansion linked to the British royal family has hit the market in a state of disrepair, with a $4.75m-$5.225m price guide. Known as Cloyne, the 1926 Georgian Revival residence sits behind a semicircular driveway and lion-flanked pool on a 1025sq m block at 611 Toorak Rd. The home's spiral staircase, gallery-style landing, timber-panelled study and original colonnades remain intact, though extensive cosmetic works are needed after years of vacancy and halted renovation plans. The decaying property has heritage protections preventing demolition. Jellis Craig Stonnington's Michael Armstrong said the home protected by a council heritage overlay held 'enormous potential' for a buyer prepared to restore a piece of Melbourne's architectural and social history. 'Structurally, the home is sound,' Mr Armstrong said. 'Cosmetically, however, it presents a rare opportunity for a full-scale renovation, from the ground up. Many of the preparatory works are already in place. 'This is a start-to-finish transformation, and opportunities of this calibre are increasingly hard to come by in today's market.' Cloyne was one of Desbrowe-Annear's few original commissions in Toorak. The influential architect is best known for his early 1900s Chadwick Houses in Eaglemont and is considered a pioneer of Australian modernism. Mr Armstrong said the Toorak mansion holds significant architectural weight. 'His work is highly sought after, and this property in particular resonates with buyers who have an appreciation for his distinctive style,' he said. The home even has a distinguished lineage. The original owner Louis Nelken, was reportedly one of King George VI's butlers who married into the Melbourne elite Baillieu family. In the 1960s Melbourne playboy Don Busch renovated it in the 1960s before selling to Toorak businessman William Drever. Since then the home has been held by prominent local and international business elite. The Jellis Craig prestige agent said buyers would be securing a slice of Melbourne's social and architectural history and while Toorak's prestige market typically cools during winter, Armstrong said Cloyne had already attracted 'three or four' interested parties from Sydney and offshore, as well as multiple architectural firms. 'There's a clear appetite among buyers who want to honour the past while reimagining the future,' Mr Armstrong said. 'With a north-facing rear and expansive garden, there's massive scope to create something truly extraordinary at the back.' Toorak's median house price is currently $4.8m, according to PropTrack, and high-end sales have continued to perform through the colder months. 'Very few buyers have focused on preserving and enhancing these timeless homes,' Mr Armstrong said. 'This property stands out — it embodies classical elegance and architectural integrity, and it deserves to be restored with care and skill.' The five-bedroom home will go under the hammer at 12pm, June 7.
News.com.au
19-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Middle Park home with cathedral-style rear lands Melbourne's top auction of the week, $1m+ bonus
A Middle Park Edwardian has blitzed Melbourne's auction leaderboard with a $5.53m sale under the hammer that topped expectations by a whopping $1.53m. The four-bedroom home at 100 Wright St clocked up more than 100 groups through its doors, across a hotly contested four-week campaign before a trio of serious bidders sent it soaring past its $4.1m-$4.3m price guide. According to PropTrack's weekly sales results data, it's the highest publicly reported auction since 434 Gore St, Fitzroy, fetching $5.7m in the first half of April, a sign the market may be regaining momentum after a stop-start period caused by public and school hoidays around Easter and Anzac Day. Jellis Craig Port Phillip director Warrick Gardiner said the sale price well exceeded what the vendors and he had hoped for. 'It was an outstanding result for the owners,' Mr Gardiner said. ' 'It's a solid brick Edwardian with a north-facing rear and great street appeal, and that mix of period charm and potential really struck a chord.' Owned by the same family for 25 years, the home featured ornate Art Nouveau elements, a bay-windowed lounge room, soaring ceilings, tessellated hallway tiles, and a main bedroom on the ground floor. But what truly turned heads was the back end, a cathedral-like living space with timber-lined ceilings, arched windows and stained glass, inspired by ecclesiastical design. Mr Gardiner said while the rear renovation had been completed decades ago, most prospective buyers were planning to modernise it. 'That part of the home isn't original Edwardian, but it was clearly done with care,' he said. 'It just needs a refresh now, and most of the interested parties were looking to do exactly that.' The Jellis Craig Port Phillip director said the home attracted a mixed buyer pool, including downsizers from large blocks in the eastern suburbs who were drawn to the single-level layout and ground-floor main bedroom, and young Middle Park families upgrading from smaller cottages. 'That created a bit of a pressure-cooker effect,' Mr Gardiner said. 'When you have multiple buyer groups recognising the same value, that's when things really take off.' Mr Gardiner said the home's red-brick facade and original leadlight were the biggest visual drawcards, while its rare 408sq m block and zoning for Albert Park College sealed the deal for many. 'Middle Park is notoriously hard to get into,' he said. 'There's not a lot of home's like this and people hold for generations, you've got the beach at the end of the street and the CBD 2.5km away. 'Once you're in, you don't want to leave … it's the kind of property you wait decades for.' The winning buyers were a downsizing couple from Melbourne's leafy east, seeking something character-filled, but more manageable. Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox.
News.com.au
18-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
East Geelong: California bungalow in Golden Triangle hits sweet spot for commuters
For 13 years, vendors and recent empty nesters Wes and Anita Truscott have called this spacious, converted Californian bungalow in East Geelong home. 'Myers St is beautiful,' Wes Truscott says. 'The many beautiful homes on wide, tree-lined streets – both Myers and those surrounding it – make it a real oasis to come home to.' And it was this, the green, quiet area and the property's central and convenient position in East Geelong's 'golden triangle' that initially attracted the couple to the home. New era dawns for Geelong's 'most iconic home' 'The location is second to none,' Mr Truscott says. 'It's within easy walking distance to everything you need, including the botanic gardens, Eastern Beach, and Geelong city. 'Throughout the years, we walked to the city for work. And when the kids were young, they walked to school, a few blocks away.' Its proximity to East Geelong village, schools, hospitals, and two train stations – South Geelong and Geelong – makes it the 'ultimate commutable location to Melbourne,' says lead agent Marcus Falconer, from Jellis Craig Geelong. The home, at 310 Myers St, East Geelong, also offers benefits and flexibility for hybrid workers. 'The floor plan is incredibly versatile,' Mr Falconer says. 'You can have up to five bedrooms or alternatively up to four living zones, so for those who want that perfect work from home and commute balance, the beauty is they have everything they need to make this happen.' Many classic period features of the timber Californian, such as stained glass windows and in-built fireplaces, have been retained, while renovations by the previous owners and recent updates by the vendors have generated additional space and updated the home with modern conveniences. 'When we bought the home in 2012, it had been renovated to include a rear atrium and expansion of the back living room and kitchen,' Mr Truscott says. 'Recently, we have upgraded the bathrooms, kitchen, flooring and painted inside. It's now pretty much a fully renovated, brand-new home.' This seamless blend of traditional and modern features, including floor-to-ceiling windows, a floating staircase and high-quality appliances, is one of the vendor's favourite features of the home, along with the lifestyle they have helped shape. 'During winter, sitting in front of the fireplace with a glass of red is divine, and we have loved sitting in the secluded garden and often ate and entertained outdoors,' he says. 'In the warmer months, opening up the house brings in the garden and gentle summer breezes. We will really miss living there as it offers an incredible lifestyle.' Mr Falconer will auction 310 Myers St, East Geelong, at noon on May 24 with a $1.5m price guide.
