Grand home sellers take offer before auction

THE first domino has fallen in a clutch of inner city grand former doctors’ residences in a sale finalised before auction last weekend.

Contracts for Morgan House at 240 La Trobe Tce, Geelong West, were exchanged after the vendors accepted one of three strong pre-auction offers made on the 12-bedroom home. It was scheduled to be auctioned at 11am on Saturday.

The home is used as 12 separate office accommodation and consulting rooms.

Whitford, Newtown agent Tony Young said he couldn’t disclose the selling price, but indicated in was well into the quoted price guide of $1.05 million to $1.15 million.

Mr Young said the local buyers would treat the property initially as an investment, but hadn’t decided its future use.

The eclectic interwar bungalow style house was built in 1926 for Dr James Piper, a local medical practitioner who served as medical officer to the Geelong West Town Council between the world wars.

A Heritage Victoria citation states Dr Piper is noted for advocating for street tree planting schemes and the creation of Sparrow Park and Baker’s Oval in Geelong West. Dr Piper was also Geelong Football Club president between 1923 and 1926 and honorary pathologist at the Geelong Hospital in 1914 to 1916.

The house is opposite Narbethong, another grand interwar house that sold in 2016 for $1.5 million and was one of four on the market within a 300m stretch of central Geelong.

Currabeg House, at 248 La Trobe Tce, Geelong West is an eight-bedroom house on a landmark corner block with price hopes of between $2 million and $2.2 million.

Glendinning House at 6 Ryrie St, Geelong, is a 14-room mansion with price hopes of $1,299,500.

Park Villa at 234 La Trobe Tce, Geelong West has price hopes of $1.35 million to $1.45 million. Sellers accepted an offer for 240 La Trobe Tce, Geelong West, before auction.