Five in play as dream builders sniff the potential of 1950s home
The three-bedroom house at 8 Garlick Ave was snapped up for $820,000, selling for $70,000 above the 525sq m property's reserve price.
McGrath Geelong agent David Cortous said the broad field of interest in the property underlined the improving conditions for sellers following a second interest-rate cut in May.
'There was interest of quite a few different buyers,' Mr Cortous said.
'There was first-home buyers, there was families that were going to come there and love, renovate and maybe do some type of extension.
'And there was actually two that were looking for a project – to do it up and then re-sell it.
'That was the buyer in the end.'
Mr Cortous said part of the attraction was the property's location, on a street opposite the Geelong College Junior School and near Elderslie Reserve.
But the property had a lot to offer for a renovator, or redeveloper.
'It was a 1950s brick, so it had a bit of charm to it and it was very much a blank canvas,' he said.
'It really, really neat but very much a blank canvas.'
Mr Cortous said the property offered possibilities for different buyer groups.
'It would be a good property to hold for an investor, a good property for a family to get in and live there for the next few years as set up home.'
There was plenty of original charm apparent in the house, including the kitchen and central bathroom.
The property last sold for $65,000 in 1987 and had been rented since 2008.
It was one of three properties taken to auction to sell in Newtown at the weekend, including a three-bedroom weatherboard house that also offered buyers to chance to renovate or redevelop.
A property at 4 Coronal Ave, Newtown, sold for $790,000, which was at the top of its quoted range.
HF Richardson, Newtown agent Tony Hyde said a local builder, acting on behalf of a Sydney investors, secured the home as a potential renovation or rebuild.
Mr Hyde said the property passed in at $760,000 after the one bidder emerged for the property. Several first-home buyers were keen, but were unable to bid at auction, he said.
'They'll be looking at either renovating the existing house or rebuilding,' Mr Hyde said.
'It's such a well-held area, a lot of people don't know that it's a Newtown area.
'It's close to schools, you've got the Geelong College Junior and Middle Schools around the corner and it's just off Aberdeen St, so it's close to the ring road and the shopping centres and it's all flat, easy walking.'
The much-loved family home offers has great scope to value-add through a renovation, rebuild or a development on the 613sq m block.
A favourable north-facing rear orientation with established gardens and a lush lawn adding to the overall appeal of the property.
A rare 1146sq m vacant block at 3-5 Stinton Ave, Newtown was snapped up for $1.882m in the biggest sale reported in the past week.
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