Belmont landmark finds a buyer
Continued use as consulting rooms proves best value for High St home
A LANDMARK house in High St, Belmont, will continue as medical consulting suites after agents wrapped up a sale two weeks after the property passed in at auction.
The California bungalow at 198 High St sold for more than $900,000 after negotiations with a bidder on the fourbedroom home.
Maxwell Collins, Geelong agent Eugene Carroll said he couldn’t disclose the price, but confirmed it was within the quoted price range between $900,000 and $950,000.
The California bungalow was one of the first houses built south of Roslyn Rd and last sold in 1988.
It’s been a clinic for osteopath Dr Kevin Ryan, who closed the Geelong Natural Healing Centre in July.
Dr Ryan was the vendor at the property.
Mr Carroll said the two storey house on a 1047sq m dogleg block presented a development option on Wimmera Ave and using the two-storey home as a guesthouse, but a local medico had the inside running since the property was passed in at auction.
“They made an offer, which was there from the day of the auction. They were the same people who made a bid on the day and were successful a week or two later,” Mr Carroll said.
“There was some other doctors looking at it and some neighbours in the neighbourhood who were very interested in but they weren’t quite in a position to put their hands up.”
Mr Carroll said the fact the property was already set up as a successful practice was attractive to the professional buyers, while the 10 off-street car parking spaces were a big plus.
The property is close to the busy Roslyn Rd-Corio St intersection at the top end of the High St shopping strip, opposite the Belmont Post Office and car wash.
It’s the latest medical-related sale in the area, including two mid-century homes in Roslyn Rd operating as consulting suites that sold for $850,000 in September, 2017 and July, 2018 respectively.