CHARM AND CHARACTER TO THE FORE

Built around 1940, this six-bedder has been tastefully renovated in period style

SITUATED on an outsized 1278sq m block not far from Kamerunga Rd, this six-bedroom home, reportedly built in 1940 but perhaps earlier, has charming original features blended with some new twists.

The owner renovated with care to retain original walls, ceilings, upstairs doors and stone pillars downstairs.

The renovation included engaging local builders to create round “moon windows” made at a Cairns shipping yard.

Agent Allana Brown said the six-bedroom home kept much of the original style with polished floors and some coloured glass and mottled glass windows.

“Big back verandas are a feature, along with cross ventilation from the ‘moon windows’,” she said.

Street names in Stratford are invariably linked to WWI and Dalziel St is named after twotime Victoria Cross winner Harry Dalziel, who was from Atherton.

Ms Brown said the property was within close walking distance to shops and transport and on level land.

“The present floor plan offers dual living with an upstairs entrance room, two large bedrooms with built-in wardrobes, a massive living area opening on to a partly enclosed back veranda and a long galley-style kitchen,” she said.

Downstairs there are four bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and two open plan living rooms along with a back veranda overlooking the pool.

The property is in the Freshwater State School catchment area.

The median home price in Stratford in January 2021 was $650,000 – up from $530,000 a year previously, with 20 homes sold, according to CoreLogic. Ten homes sold in the $600,000$800,000 bracket and six homes sold in the $400,000-$600,000 bracket.

This compares with the Cairns regional median of $435,000 for January 2021.

The median has been steadily rising since August 2020.

The median at Stratford has risen 21.4 per cent over five years and 3.1 per cent over 10 years, according to CoreLogic.

Homes in Stratford get snapped up pretty quickly with an average 18 days on the market.