HIGH DEMAND

Drumcondra townhouse sale shows the heat in the waterfront

PROSPECTIVE sellers wanting to take the temperature of Geelong’s waterfront property market need only look at a weekend sale of a two-storey townhouse in Drumcondra. The two-bedroom residence, below, at

1/2 Grandview Grove sold under the hammer for $520,000 on Saturday.

The price fell near the upper end of Hodges, Geelong West agent Marcus Falconer’s expected selling range of $475,000 to $525,000.

But Mr Falconer said a direct comparison with the home’s last sale, in January 2016 for $405,000 that shows the level of capital growth in the area and an understanding for the market.

The property’s value has increased $115,000 in 18 months, showing the investor who has disposed of the property at a tidy profit, minus about $20,000 in stamp duty and other transactional costs.

Mr Falconer said four buyers made a play for the home at the auction.

“It sold to a person from Belgrave as an investment,” he said. “The market is very hot in that Drumcondra area. People are becoming further educated about it.”

BELMONT

A BELMONT property that has potential as a residence or development site has sparked a bidding war after last Saturday’s auction.

The property at 7A George St, Belmont, was passed in on a $530,000 vendor bid but Newfangle, Newtown agent Colin Smith said a buyer made an offer on the three-bedroom brick veneer house near High St immediately after the auction, which by 8pm Saturday night had been raised on two more occasions.

But Mr Smith said the offers, from a buyer wishing to purchase the property as a residence, had yet to reach a level acceptable to the vendor.

The property has been listed for private sale for $550,000.

BREAKWATER

TWO first-home buyers supported by family and friends braved a competitive auction of a renovated Breakwater house that sold for $363,000 on Saturday.

Maxwell Collins, Geelong agent Eugene Carroll said a young girl, supported by her mother, was very excited when the house at 26

Fellmongers Rd was knocked down to her. Bidding opened on the brick veneer house at $300,000 and went up in $10,000 bids before being rounded off to the final sale price.

“It’s a very comfortable home. It’s had some improvements done to it, so it did present quite well,” he said.

GEELONG WEST

WEDDING bells could be sounded in a quiet Geelong West street in the near future, once the contract for a renovated four-bedroom house is settled.

McGrath, Geelong agent Will Ainsworth said the young couple that bought 11 Eureka St, Geelong West, above, at auction were engaged.

Mr Ainsworth said the couple had recently sold a smaller house in East Geelong and were looking to upsize. The renovated threebedroom california bungalow with an extended rear living room that leads to a covered pergola and deep backyard sold for $740,000.

“The couple that bought it said they were engaged and said they might get married in the backyard,” Mr Ainsworth said.

BELL PARK

THE auction of a Bell Park property was almost over before the shouting with an opening bid $30,000 above the reserve price.

But Hayeswinckle auctioneer Michelle Winckle still needed to coax another $40,000 from two bidders for the three-bedroom house at 23 Vistula Ave, which sold for $340,000 to a local investor who will consider redeveloping.

Ms Winckle said both bidders had seen the property in person for the first time on Saturday.

“Interest throughout the campaign was in the mid-$200,000 range,” Ms Winckle said.

“Both buyers today were none of the ones that came to look during the campaign, they just turned up on the day.”

The key to the 604sq m property, below, was its development potential.

A similar triple-fronted house in the street sold for $270,500 in 2014, but the buyers subdivided and erected a two-storey townhouse in the rear, which sold last year for $419,000.