logo
Converted shed attracts young family to East Geelong home

Converted shed attracts young family to East Geelong home

News.com.au11-06-2025
There's nothing humble about the converted shed in the back of an East Geelong property.
The backyard domain proved a key attraction for the four-bedroom property which sold for $851,000 after being passed in at auction.
The red brick house at 48 Humble St is near Geelong's Eastern Cemetery is close to the suburb's coffee shops, gardens and schools and presents with plenty of original character including its baltic pine floorboards, decorative cornices and timber windows.
'The seller had converted a portion of the shed into a separate or a secondary living domain that had a self-contained kitchen and a bathroom in there. It was pretty cool,' Mr Begg said.
'The people that bought it are young family from Melbourne.
'And they can see themselves growing into the house and then using the shed space when the little one grows up.'
Mr Begg said it was a busy campaign, though only the purchasers ultimately bid at Saturday's auction.
'We passed it in to the buyer, and they came inside and negotiated out the result inside the house,' he said.
The kitchen, which has timber benchtops and stainless steel appliances, has been updated and is part of an open-plan living zone comprising lounge and dining areas.
A cathedral ceiling and subway tiles are key features of the kitchen, which has a breakfast bar and plenty of storage and preparation space.
There are three bedrooms and an updated bathroom in the main house.
Outside, the garage is at the end of a side driveway, while the main shed offers an additional bathroom and laundry facilities. A separate bungalow could become a fourth bedroom.
East Geelong's median house price is $765,000, has climbed 1.6 per cent in the past 12 months, PropTrack data shows.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Brisbane economy tips over $200 billion as population growth continues
Brisbane economy tips over $200 billion as population growth continues

ABC News

time29 minutes ago

  • ABC News

Brisbane economy tips over $200 billion as population growth continues

Australia's fastest growing capital city has contributed $201 billion to the national economy as the local population continues to surge in growth, a new report has found. In the four years to 2024 — following the COVID-19 pandemic which triggered global economic slowdown — Brisbane has seen a $28 billion economic increase, representing 16 per cent growth. Released by the Brisbane Economic Development Agency (BEDA) in partnership with Deloitte Access Economics, the 2025 State of the City Report also said employment has jumped by 274,000 since 2020. "Brisbane's population has grown faster than any other major Australian capital over the past decade … employment has increased … supercharging the city's skill base across multiple industries," the report said. As of 2024, total employment in Brisbane reached more than 1.5 million people. The report said Brisbane leads major Australian capital cities for skills availability, meaning employers can access workers they need across a range of industries. "Brisbane's culinary scene is booming .... Queensland leads the nation in cafe and restaurant growth," the report said. The report also noted a 76 per cent growth in the sporting and cultural sector over the past decade, and described Brisbane's health sector as a "powerful growth engine". Supported by stable governance, "a favourable tax environment… and one of Australia's lowest regulatory burdens" the report said those who set up businesses in Brisbane can often do so at a lower cost. "Brisbane City Council approves development applications 57 per cent faster than Sydney or Melbourne. The city also offers office rents 50 per cent lower than Sydney's and taxes 10 per cent below the national average," the report said. BEDA CEO Anthony Ryan said the city offers "fertile ground" for businesses. "From artificial intelligence and robotics to quantum computing and advanced manufacturing, Brisbane is emerging as a global leader in high-growth industries," he said. The report attributed the momentum of Brisbane to its geographical position in two high-growth areas, the state's south-east and more broadly, the Asia-Pacific region. Brisbane City Council Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the city is "booming". "[The city] is full of opportunity and has incredible momentum, this report puts some figures on the feeling that people in Brisbane already have," he said. "The feeling is real, it's not an illusion, Brisbane is booming." In the report's foreword, Cr Schrinner said it was an exciting time for Brisbane's future. "We're attracting more visitors than ever before, with domestic tourism growing three times faster than the next best Australian capital city," he said. Record visitors are also being welcomed from across Asia, Europe and North America. It's not all about short trips, with migration increasing and more people relocating to Brisbane than any other capital city year-on-year since 2018. "The city's population is forecast to increase by 2.1 per cent annually through to 2046, while [the south-east region] is on track to reach six million residents," the report said. But with the growth in population comes growing pains. Cr Schrinner said the city needs more homes to accommodate the rising number of people who want to live in Brisbane. "They're good problems to have ... the challenge of growth," he said. "We need more homes, and we're working with industry and the government [to deliver that]." He said there was no shortage of jobs for the population, especially to deliver basic construction. "There is massive demand, we literally can't fill the jobs at the moment," he said. Queensland executive Jess Caire from the Property Council of Australia said the city's contributions through the property and construction sector are helping to boost confidence. "[The sector] has delivered $24 billion to the economy over the last 12 months... that gives us confidence that our growth will be sustainable, and meet the needs of our growing population," she said.

‘Incredibly dangerous': Plan to tax one million Australians slammed
‘Incredibly dangerous': Plan to tax one million Australians slammed

News.com.au

timean hour ago

  • News.com.au

‘Incredibly dangerous': Plan to tax one million Australians slammed

A new tax plan put forward by an Australian think tank could raise $41 billion a year if adopted, but one expert has labelled the proposal 'incredibly dangerous'. In a report released ahead of this week's Economic Reform Roundtable, the Australia Institute proposed a two per cent wealth tax on people worth more than $5 million. Households with net assets (assets minus debts) worth more than $5m were in the top five per cent in 2022, the report said. An annual wealth tax of two per cent on this group would raise tens of billions of dollars. Even exempting the value of their family home and superannuation would still raise $41 billion per year. The think tank also called for the reintroduction of an inheritance tax – which operated in various forms at a state and federal level in the 1960s and 70s – and an end to the capital gains tax discoun t. In all, the Institute claimed those three tax reforms would raise an extra $70b a year, 'without hurting low or middle-income Australians'. But AMP Chief Economist Shane Oliver took issue with the proposal, warning it would 'hurt the economy'. ''Tax the rich' sounds fine in theory, but all of those reforms will further increase the tax on high-income earners. Our tax system is already skewed, it's already highly progressive,' Mr Oliver said. He pointed out the top 10 per cent of Aussie income earners already pay almost 50 per cent of income tax. 'You might help the budget initially but you'll damage the economy long-term because there'll be less work incentive,' Mr Oliver said. 'Wealth tax I think is incredibly dangerous … You want Australians to feel confident to go out and start businesses and build up their wealth – that's how we get ahead.' Debate on taxes has surrounded the Economic Reform Roundtable, both during and leading up to the event. In another controversial plan put forward ahead of the summit, economists from the University of Technology Sydney and Melbourne University argued it was time to end the capital gains tax exemption on the family home. Peter Siminski and Roger Wilkins conceded the proposal was 'distasteful' but maintained it was a necessary measure to reduce inequality – sparking a backlash on social media. Tax the rich and retirees, roundtable told At the third and final day of the summit on Thursday, Grattan Institute chief executive Aruna Sathanapally advocated taxing retirees' superannuation and reducing the capital gains tax discount. Ms Sathanapally said Australia taxed wages heavily while creating concessions for capital gains, superannuation and real estate investment. She argued the system could be fixed through 'reducing superannuation concessions so the system meets the policy objective of saving for a decent retirement, rather than being a tax shelter; introducing at least a low tax rate on earnings and withdrawals in retirement; reducing the capital gains discount; (and) reforms to family trusts.' She also proposed a dual-income tax system, with wages taxed separately from other forms of income. Mr Oliver said calls for new taxes at the Economic Reform Roundtable were 'grossly inconsistent with the whole aim of the summit, which is to boost productivity'. 'More taxes will make the economy less productive,' he added. Mr Oliver said the government had merged two objectives at the summit – budget sustainability and improving the country's flagging productivity – that were essentially incompatible. The reason high-income earners took advantage of tax concessions like negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount, he added, was because they faced such high marginal tax rates to begin with. Though Mr Oliver said he did not have an issue with an inheritance tax or scrapping the capital gains tax discount, these should be introduced while rebalancing away from income tax and focusing more on GST, like New Zealand's tax model. Anthony Albanese has ruled out changing the GST in any tax reforms coming out of the summit, claiming it would hurt low-income earners. The Australia Institute argued its tax proposal would bring the country in line with other developed nations. 'Australia is a low-tax country that does not do a good job of taxing wealth,' senior economist Matt Grudnoff said. 'It is one of the few developed economies in the world which has neither a wealth tax nor an inheritance tax. Correcting this would raise huge amounts of extra revenue for essential services and ease growing inequality in Australia. 'Even if you were to exempt the family home and superannuation, a 2 per cent wealth tax on people worth $5 million would raise $41 billion per year. If you limited it to just the 200 richest households in the country, it would still raise $12.5 billion per year.' Mr Grudnoff said many countries, including the US, UK, Japan and most of Europe, had an 'inheritance tax or something similar'. 'A couple of generations ago, Australia had probate and succession duties that raised 0.36 per cent of GDP, which, if reintroduced today, would deliver an extra $10 billion in revenue,' he continued. 'And it's time to scrap the capital gains tax discount, for many reasons. Not only would it put downward pressure on house prices and reduce inequality, it would raise an extra $19 billion a year. These are not radical ideas. 'If we want well-funded schools and hospitals; decent, affordable housing for all; a world-class NDIS; a fair welfare system; and dozens of other things which would improve the lives of millions of Australians, we can have them.'

G & G Mining Fabrication fined $500k after worker loses eye in horror incident
G & G Mining Fabrication fined $500k after worker loses eye in horror incident

News.com.au

timean hour ago

  • News.com.au

G & G Mining Fabrication fined $500k after worker loses eye in horror incident

A mining fabrication company has been fined $500,000 after a worker lost an eye and fractured his skull in a horror incident in Perth. The boilermaker was constructing a hook-up assembly for an excavator bucket when a 500kg steel plate fell onto his head at G & G Mining Fabrication's Hazelmere workshop in August 2021. The man suffered multiple skull fractures and lost an eye in the incident. The company was fined $500,000 after pleading guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace causing serious harm to a worker in the Midland Magistrates Court this week. A WorkSafe statement said the steel plate had been moved into a horizontal position on another part of the excavator bucket using an overhead crane. The crane was attached while workers made small tack welds to hold the plate in place while it was aligned, before turnbuckles were welded on to help keep it in place. 'After a number of requests from workers in an adjacent work area, the crane was released for use on another job. The injured boilermaker considered that the lug plate was secured by the turnbuckles,' the statement read. 'The assistant was instructed to cut the turnbuckles that had been providing additional restraint, and when this was being done the boilermaker placed his head near the base of the plate to assess whether it was perpendicular. 'The tack welds failed and the plate fell on the boilermaker's head.' The company did have a documented Safe Work Procedure in place, but it was primarily concerned with using cranes and the hazards arising from suspended loads, and was not utilised or provided to workers, according to WorkSafe. WorkSafe commissioner Sally North said the case illustrated the importance of having safe work procedures in all workplaces, especially for high-hazard activities. 'This was an incident that caused horrific injuries to the boilermaker,' Ms North said. 'After the incident, the company developed a procedure specifically for this task and included that an overhead crane must remain connected to the lug plate until an adequate weld is in place. 'Being hit by falling metal objects is one of the highest risks for injuries and fatalities in the manufacturing sector and I encourage leaders working in this sector to consult workers and review their controls in relation to preventing objects from falling.' A MinRes spokesman said since they acquired G&G Mining Fabrication they continued to support the employee and implemented measures to improve safety controls at the workshop. 'MinRes, together with the previous owner, fully cooperated with the WorkSafe investigation,' a spokesman said.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store