Top dollar for location
THE property search is well and truly over for a Red Hill couple who will now call one of East Geelong’s most sought-after streets home.
Daniel and Robyn Greene, who have been house hunting for nine months, edged out two other bidders for an updated Normanby St home at auction on Saturday.
The pair, who have been renting locally while they searched for “the one”, paid $1.632m for the 593sq m property, set in one of East Geelong’s coveted streets.
The Edwardian house is light-filled and showcases all the charm typical of the era, with features such as stained glass windows and high ceilings.
“I like the backyard, the porch and it’s low maintenance, and a nice street,” Mrs Greene said. “We just thought, right, let’s do it.”
The price exceeded the listed price hopes of $1.35m to $1.4m.
Whitford, Newtown auctioneer John Moran opened proceedings with a vendor bid of $1.3m, and told the crowd they would be buying an epic lifestyle.
“This is prime real estate, it is a growth suburb, Geelong is a growth area, that won’t change,” Mr Moran said.
After a slow start, two bidders pushed the price past the property’s reserve of $1.4m, before the third bidder entered the race at $1.47m.
“It’s an unexpected result, but I’m not surprised in that pocket of East Geelong,” Mr Moran said.
He said a mix of coastal and Geelong buyers were also circling the property, all keen on the location, the quality of the renovation and the rear lane access.
The cracking location has the Garden St shopping village at one end of the block, Geelong High and botanic gardens at the other.
Inside, the residence offers four large bedrooms – three with built-in wardrobes – and two stylish bathrooms.
The living components are next-level, with a vaulted ceiling above the spacious lounge room space.
Outside, there is a northwest facing deck, rear lane access to two off-street carparking spaces, and a workshop with a built-in bench and storage.