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News.com.au
24 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Rare Newtown brick home beats hopes by $110K
A rare triple-pointed brick character house in blue chip Newtown that attracted crowds of buyers from Melbourne and beyond has sold for more than $100,000 above its price expectations. The three-bedroom period home at 365 Shannon Ave was snapped up for $1.23m at Saturday's auction after three bidders contested the 697sq m property. McGrath, Newtown agent Georgie Shaw said two bidders competed for the home down to the wire, with an expat family planning to return to Geelong securing the keys to the Edwardian era house. Mid-century home designed by AFL great up for sale Geelong's top homes of FY25 worth over $120m The property had been listed with a $1m to $1.1m price range. The character-filled house blends Edwardian charm and comfort in a renovation completed since the property last sold for $797,000 in 2018. That project remodelled the rear living area, where the open-plan kitchen and dining zone offers a butler's pantry and flows onto an expansive deck. The main lounge has an open fireplace and ornate period detailed ceiling, with the high ceilings, a wide entrance hall and leadlight details among the character features on show. 'A lot of the interest was from Melbourne buyers – inner Melbourne suburbs such as Elsternwick, Albert Park and Middle Park that are dying for that type of beautiful brick period home,' Ms Shaw said. 'And we just don't have many of them in Geelong, so obviously supply is low and demand was huge there. 'The facade was just so pretty and inside was just charming. It has pressed metal ceilings, original features, it had been really beautifully restored and renovated but still in keeping with the feel of the home.' Ms Shaw said the property attracted about 50 groups during the campaign, with 16 to 18 groups at each inspection. Even the main road position was not an issue for potential buyers, she said. 'Melbourne people are definitely not as deterred because they're used to it,' Ms Shaw said. 'I've got buyers that, for example, were living on Orrong Rd in Caulfield South, another group of buyers that came through were renting at High St, Armadale. 'Given inner-city Melbourne is so busy and the traffic flows 24/7, it's worse than Shannon Ave. 'And of an evening the traffic dies as there's no restaurants along there, no cafes so it's really only busy in certain times.' Ms Shaw said the double-brick construction, along with double glazing offered a surprising calm interior for buyers. 'That surprised a lot of people when once they stepped inside the house and closed the front door. 'They realised how solid it was and that all of the living areas were at the rear, with the double-front of the house being double-glazed, they saw even more value.'
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
New real estate disclosure laws to come into effect in Queensland - what it means for sellers
Real estate experts are warning new mandatory seller laws that allow a buyer the right to terminate a contract right up to settlement day will push up the cost of selling a property by $1,000 or more. The tough new laws coming into force in Queensland from August 1, will allow buyers to get their entire deposit back, and even claim compensation, if the vendor fails to offer up vital information Here's what every seller must know before they put their house on the market. The sales bundle of documents includes what is known as a "seller disclosure statement — Form 2" and various prescribed certificates. A vendor can't sign a contract of sale until they provide this statement. Some of the things the statement will have to include are: Legal costs to prepare this seven-page document vary from about $600 to $1,500, depending on who you ask, and the money that will have to be paid by the seller up front. However, agents have said the vendor may try to add it into the final sale price. In a state so prone to severe weather events, flooding or other natural hazard history does not have to be disclosed. Nor does structural soundness, pest infestation, limits imposed by planning laws or if there is any asbestos on site. What the laws don't cover The current or historical use of the building (e.g. if it was once a massage parlour or a boarding house) will also not have to be disclosed on the statement. Real Estate Institute of Queensland CEO Antonia Mercorella said this new law would create some consistency and bring Queensland in line with other states. However, buyers still need to remain vigilant and think about other types of due diligence, she said. "Similarly, the seller needs to understand that a property cannot be sold, or a contract entered into until the statement is given," Ms Mercorella said. The regime applies to all contracts entered into on or after August 1, 2025, regardless of when the property was listed for sale. While it is not mandatory for the buyer to sign the statement, REIQ said it was best practice for them to do so to confirm receipt. The Form 2 can be prepared by the seller, the seller's solicitor, or the seller's real estate agent (if authorised). All parties can sign the statement electronically. This new framework was designed to reduce disputes and improve transparency in property transactions. You will find everything you need to know by searching for the Property Law Regulation 2024. Brisbane property manager Brett Andreassen said the new law would create "more confusion" in the industry. He said existing contracts already contained 90 per cent of the information required and believed that the 10 per cent not included could be placed in formal contracts. "For a lot of sellers, this is making it too complicated — they are already asking why do we have to have these costs on top of everything else?" he said. "What is going to happen is their solicitor's work will then be duplicated again by the buyer's solicitors. "So, the buyer is paying again because their lawyer will say we can't trust what has been provided to us". Mr Andreassen also raised a red flag for private sellers who may not be across the changes. "Sellers have been bringing their sales forward to try and miss out on the confusion that is going to happen," he said. Real estate agent Michael Shean said vendors were "in shock" when they were told of the added costs to comply. Lawyers are telling agents the document will take at least five days to prepare, Mr Shean said. He said transactions could be slowed by up to a week, and the process could hinder anyone trying to quickly close an unsolicited cash offer. But at the end of the day, he believed the change would give "buyers some peace of mind". This is where — cost-wise — it gets messy. While lawyers and conveyancers are still nutting out the "true" cost to be passed onto clients, there are fears Queensland's 52,000 body corporates, which manage the sale of units and townhouses, will be out of pocket. According to Strata Community Association general manager Laura Bos, said this was because the government sets a prescribed fee for the data gathering involved in community title schemes. That fee is $84.10, but she said the real cost for a body corporate certificate was more than $200. Ms Bos said the fact some records are still on paper would complicate work some are assuming could be done by "pressing a button". "There is going to be a $3 million headache for Queenslanders in the next twelve months," she said. "We have done time and motion on it; it is not just a figure we have plucked out of the air. "Somebody is going to have to pay the shortfall." She's worried there will be people living in body corporates "who are not parties to a transaction, who are now going to have to foot the bill". "The government has sent a signal to the market that is completely at odds with what the commercial reality of the situation is," she said.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Homebuyers hot for these Darwin spots
Darwin's most popular suburbs have been revealed with new data showing the markets attracting the most interest from buyers. The latest PropTrack figures found Darwin's mid-priced markets had the highest enquiries-per-listing on The Johnston house market, with a median sale price of $681,000, topped the list with houses listed for sale attracting 39 enquiries on average. Next was the Zuccoli house market, at 37 enquiries per listing and with an average price of $594,000. This was followed by the Leanyer ($620,000) and Driver ($508,000) house markets, both with an average enquiries-per-listing of 36. Tiwi ($586,000) and Howard Springs ($777,000) attracted 34 enquiries per house listing, while the Lyons ($755,000), Nightcliff ($922,000), Bellamack ($653,000) and Virginia ($765,000) house markets each averaged 33 enquiries. Fannie Bay ($459,000) and Johnston ($376,000) were the most popular unit markets at an average of 29 enquiries per listing each. Units in Nightcliff, where the median sale price was $419,000, attracted 25 enquiries on average when listed for sale, while the Woolner ($433,000), Parap ($410,000) and Stuart Park ($434,000) unit markets were slightly behind at 24 enquiries per listing. Ray White Palmerston selling principal, Ryan Rowsell said markets such as Johnston and Zuccoli were attracting strong interest from investors and owner-occupiers alike, with the split between the two heavily dependent on price point. 'Anything under $700,000 is predominantly investors and first homebuyers,' he said. 'Anything above is local owner occupiers.' Mr Rowsell said with the increased cost of construction, buyers were opting to buy modern established homes, so it was no surprise areas such as Johnston, Zuccoli, Lyons and Bellamack were attracting a high number of enquiries. 'The Darwin property market had been pretty stagnant, but this year it has been incredible,' he said. 'Buyers have got a big fear of missing out now, so they're putting their best foot forward. 'Before, we'd be getting offers of $50,000 or so less than asking price and then negotiating back to the original price. 'Now, people are happy to pay that price or even offer a little bit over.' Mr Rowsell said suburbs such as Johnston and Zuccoli were also seeing an increase in interest from buyers shut out of the rural market. 'You used to be able to get into the rural market with $900,000 but now it's too hard to get into, they're looking at those big blocks and houses in modern Palmerston.' DARWIN HOUSE MARKETS WITH MOST ENQUIRIES PER LISTING RANK SUBURB MEDIAN HOUSE PRICE ENQUIRIES PER LISTING 1 Johnston $681,000 39 2 Zuccoli $594,000 37 3 Leanyer $620,000 36 4 Driver $508,000 36 5 Tiwi $586,000 34 6 Howard Springs $777,000 34 7 Lyons $755,000 33 8 Nightcliff $922,000 33 9 Bellamack $653,000 33 10 Virginia $765,000 33 DARWIN UNIT MARKETS WITH MOST ENQUIRIES PER LISTING RANK SUBURB MEDIAN HOUSE PRICE ENQUIRIES PER LISTING 1 Fannie Bay $459,000 29 2 Johnston $376,000 29 3 Nightcliff $419,000 25 4 Woolner $433,000 24 5 Parap $410,000 24 6 Stuart Park $434,000 24 7 Rapid Creek $431,000 22 8 Bayview $591,000 22 9 Rosebery $360,000 22 10 Darwin City $431,000 20 (SOURCE: PropTrac)
