A rare bayside buy snapped up
A SCARCITY of property listings in Rippleside drove buyers to dig deep for a bayside character home that sold $217,000 over reserve at the weekend.
The long-term owners of 10 Bay St cashed in on a strong vendors’ market at Saturday’s auction, selling for $1.417m.
A Melbourne woman bidding via telephone edged out two local buyers in the crowd to buy the five-bedroom house near St Helens Park.
Bidding opened at $1.1m but it took more than 50 further bids for the hammer to fall.
McGrath Geelong agent Michael Marmora said the reserve for the property was $1.2m.
He said the competition for the home, which was offered for the first time in 37 years, highlighted the lack of stock on the market in Rippleside.
“The buyers were from Melbourne and they had not seen the property, but they had family inspect it, they were local, that gave them the confidence to proceed,” Mr Marmora said.
“I think we had seven or eight buyers registered.
“It was a massive result, the Rippleside market is so tightly held.”
A two-storey extension that created multiple living zones, an upstairs kids’ wing and a great connection to an outdoor entertainment area appealed to families seeking extra space.
Original period features, including Art Deco windows and plasterwork, were retained on the ground floor.
Mr Marmora said the fact the owners had lived at the home for almost four decades and raised three children there was ringing endorsement of the location, two-minutes walk from Corio Bay and North Geelong train station.
“They used to walk down to St Helens Park with their canoe, canoe around the water and then walk home,” he said.
“It’s a lifestyle that’s often looked for and very rarely found.”