First change of hands in 94 years

A DRUMCONDRA house owned by the same family for all of its 94 years has sold for almost $80,000 above reserve at a spirited auction.

A family renting in the tightly held suburb beat two other bidders to secure 15 Drumcondra

Ave for $901,000 on Saturday. The four-bedroom house on 625sq m of land is one of just eight properties to change hands in Drumcondra in the past 12 months.

Buxton, Newtown agent Tom Butters fielded rapid offers from three parties after an opening bid of $750,000 and declared the property on the market at $822,500.

He said the tightly-held nature of the suburb meant strong competition for properties that hit the market there.

“(This house) has been in the family for 94 years and it’s a bit of a common theme for Drumcondra,” Mr Butters said. “It seems when you get into this suburb you discover how good it is and you don’t want to leave.”

The buyer, originally from Newtown, said his family had been renting in Drumcondra and couldn’t wait to put down permanent roots.

GEELONG WEST

A YOUNG couple priced out of the Melbourne market has joined the throng of buyers relocating to Geelong West.

The pair bought a former Airbnb holiday rental property at 2 Cross St (pictured above) for $652,5000 at auction on Saturday.

Hodges, Geelong West agent Sean O’Brien said there were two bidders for the renovated weatherboard house on the day.

Price expectations for the property had been $550,000-$600,000.

“The buyers are a lovely Melbourne couple who are moving down to take advantage of the different market conditions in Geelong,” Mr O’Brien said.

“They loved just the proximity to Pakington St, the waterfront and the Surf Coast.”

The house offers three bedrooms, including the main with ensuite, and a living area with french doors onto a small, private garden.

BELMONT

A RENOVATED Belmont house has sold for $110,000 above expectation in a pre-auction bidding war. Two buyers battled to secure the keys to

14 Bailey St days before it was due to go under the hammer.

A winning couple paid $580,000 for the fourbedroom weatherboard house with a solid brick rear extension.

Barry Plant, Highton agent Kieron Hunter said the woman in the partnership did not even have the chance to inspect the property (pictured below) before making an offer.

“She had seen it online but only came through after the cooling off period,” he said.

The rear extension incorporates an openplan kitchen, meals and living area overlooking a large backyard.

THOMSON

THE intensity of auction conditions were magnified when a crowd of 25 people was forced to take shelter in the loungeroom of a Thomson house offered for sale on Saturday. The wet weather and close conditions inside

27 Callander St didn’t deter two bidders from putting their hands up for the three-bedroom, red brick house.

Maxwell Collins, Geelong agent Eugene Carroll said the property was passed in on a bid of $370,000 but sold immediately after within the $380,000-$390,000 price range.

“The buyer was a local investor and she had been looking for a while,” Mr Carroll said.

HAMLYN HEIGHTS

CURIOUS neighbours will have to wait a little longer to discover the fate of a 1960s Modernist house in Hamlyn Heights.

Several buyers are in negotiations to purchase 14 Kirriemuir St (pictured above) after it passed in on a vendor bid of $550,000 at auction on Saturday.

Paul Bell, Geelong agent Renay McIntyre said developers, builders and renovators were among those who had earlier shown interest in the two-bedroom house on 815sq m of land.

Price expectations had been $590,000$640,000 ahead of the auction.

The house has views across Corio Bay.