Value in Highton hot spot
School behind purchase
CHILDREN’S education plays such an important part in our real estate decisions.
There are hot pockets all over Geelong where buyers are keen to get into, just to secure easy access to their preferred school.
While Newtown’s prestigious college precinct and anywhere in the Belmont High School zone are the most popular pockets for families trying to get close to school in Geelong, even primary schools are creating a drawcard today.
For homebuyer Caitlin Jolly, the drawcard was Highton’s Montpellier Primary School, which is in the neighbourhood of 2 Lambhill Crescent. The property sold for $702,000 at auction.
“We live in Jan Juc, so we’re local-ish. We’re looking at schooling,” Ms Jolly said.
“I’ve got a little girl — a fiveyear-old, so we’re going to school next year.
“Montpellier is our preference, so we thought we’d buy in the same street,” she laughed.
It also helped that the three-bedroom house had been freshly renovated, attracting interest from three other bidders at Saturday’s auction.
The cosmetic update created a modern open-plan living zone, with the formal sitting room featuring an open fireplace and plantation shutters.
The central dining area flows to the chic kitchen that offers quality appliances and abundant cupboard space. The updates also included fresh bathrooms.
The 673sq m block also has outdoor entertaining at the back of the house and a spacious rear lawn.
“They did a good job,” Ms Jolly said.
“We weren’t sure what it was going to go for. I though it was undervalued on the price range, so we’re pretty happy with that.”
Buxton, Highton agent David Gray had set the price guide at $659,000 to $699,000 and told the crowd the vendors had set a very realistic reserve price.
Bidding opened at $620,000 but the first buyers were out at $640,000.
Mr Gray said it was on the market at $660,000 before a fourth bidder raised the stakes from $670,000 past $700,000, but couldn’t outlast the buyers.