East home saves $1.5m for couple

A COUPLE priced out of Melbourne’s eastern suburbs decided to make a lifestyle change and buy an East Geelong home at auction instead.

They were one of four parties bidding for 5 Grey St, which sold under the hammer for $660,000.

Hodges, Geelong West agent Marcus Falconer said the buyers were from Camberwell, where CoreLogic figures show the median house price is more than $2 million. The median price is just $542,500 in East Geelong.

“They said they didn’t want to spend $2 million to get into their street so they thought they would move down to Geelong for a lifestyle change,” Mr Falconer said.

The charming three-bedroom house they will soon call home is walking distance to the CBD, Kardinia Park, South Geelong train station, shops and restaurants.

The open-plan living area at the rear of the weatherboard house leads outside to a partly covered entertainment area, a shed and carport.

EAST GEELONG

A LOCAL investor has snapped up a blank canvas after seeing value in East Geelong.

A vendor bid of $550,000 kicked the auction off for the weatherboard house before multiple parties entered the fray, all keen for a slice of the action.

The hammer fell after 19 bids and 32 Denman St sold for $645,000.

Whitford, Newtown agent John Moran said the buyer planned to use the property as an investment initially before renovating.

“They won’t have any problem getting a tenant in there. It is a very tightly held area,” Mr Moran said.

“They should get about $350 per week in rent.”

That is the median asking rent for East Geelong, according to CoreLogic.

The reserve price for the three-bedroom house plus bungalow on 673sq m of land was $600,000.

LOVELY BANKS

BUYERS and sellers celebrated over afternoon tea after signing the contracts for a Lovely Banks property on the weekend.

The opportunity to buy acreage in Lovely Banks is as rare as hen’s teeth, which is why the three-bedroom house at 50 Idris Ave attracted a trio of keen buyers and a crowd of about 100 people. The 8076sq m property sold under the hammer for $801,000, which was well above the reserve, McGrath, Geelong agent Ross Bywater said.

The property was marketed with a price guide of $650,000 to $710,000 and drew about 50 bids at the auction.

“There were three really keen bidders,” Mr Bywater said.

“It was two acres in Lovely Banks in a beautiful street surrounded by beautiful houses,” he said.

Mr Bywater said each buyer was a Geelong family keen to find more space.

“It was a really beautiful house and well designed as far as layout is concerned with the use of timber and light and so on.

“There was well over 100 people there as well, a lot of neighbours, family and friends and so on. Everyone was really happy, except for the two underbidders.

GROVEDALE

THE $600,000 stamp duty-free ceiling for firsthome buyers played a part in an epic auction that pushed the sale price of a renovated 1970s home $70,000 above the reserve.

Although the Melbourne buyers were unsuccessful in their chase for the threebedrom house at 2 Tabulam Court, they pushed the bidding well past the $525,000 reserve.

Ray White, Highton agent Adam Natonewski said the house sold to a Point Cook buyer who was looking to relocate to Geelong for the lifestyle for $595,000.

The 30-minute auction entertained bids as low as $100 for the sale, which he believed was the most paid in the suburb for a 1970s era house.

“Being exempt from stamp duty was a real shot in the arm, these guys were going hard,” he said.

The house was made over after it last sold in 2012, adding two covered outdoor entertainment areas and a swimming pool.