Stylish Belmont pad smashes price record
A STYLISH renovation project in Belmont has become the most expensive house to sell on a standard residential sized block in the suburb.
A Melbourne buyer paid $917,000 for 11 Cambridge St in a huge auction windfall for its young owners on Sunday.
Greg and Amarra Bowkett, who run Rare Nests Building and Design, more than doubled the value of the threebedroom weatherboard house in less than a year.
They bought it for $452,500 last July, according to CoreLogic, before embarking on an extensive eight-month renovation.
Mrs Bowkett said they were stunned on auction day when two determined bidders pushed the sale price above $900,000.
Price hopes for the property had been $796,000.
“It was incredible, I can’t really fathom it,” Mrs Bowkett said. “Everyone in the whole street was just so thrilled.”
Her husband, a carpenter, redesigned and remodelled the house, while she took charge of the interiors.
She said the house was in a “horrendous” derelict state when they bought it but they saw its potential. “I go with the vibe,” she said. “We don’t have a formula as such. We know what we like and we like to take a bit of a gamble.”
Buxton, Highton agent Jarrod Leonard said the sale price took everyone in the 150strong auction crowd by surprise.
“We knew we had good interest but at the end of the day it is another sign of the market going well,” Mr Leonard said.