Sold in 10 days: New price guide finds buyer for grand Corio home
The five-bedroom home at 159-163 Bacchus Marsh Rd, Corio, was snapped up for $1.4m after 10 days on the market, after it was relisted with $1.3m to $1.4m price hopes.
The home had changed hands only twice since being built in 1931, last trading for $10,500 in 1978.
Geelong suburbs where buying is better than renting revealed
The historic house sits among lush private gardens on a huge corner block covering two titles.
Buchan, one of Australia's oldest architecture firms, originally designed the two-storey house for the Lowrey family, who acquired the surrounding land in the 1870s.
The character-filled interior still displays exposed Australian red cedar beams, polished Tasmanian oak hardwood floors and a grand entrance foyer dressed with vintage 1920s lighting.
While the large kitchen/meals area was updated with Corian benchtops, custom timber cabinetry and integrated appliances, there's an old world charm to the stately lounge and dining rooms where a bay window and brick fireplaces feature.
Even the bathroom has beautiful stained glass detail.
The home was initially listed last September with $1.5m to $1.65m price hopes.
Cotality records show contracts were signed for a $1.7m transaction in December that ultimately fell through.
Price expectations were subsequently edged back to $1.37m to $1.5m in search of landing a buyer.
The median house price in the northern suburb is $490,000, while the top price is $1.5m for a 4033sq m Matthews Rd property with a five-bedroom residence.
Barry Plant South Barwon director Chari Emirzade handled the campaign to sell the 1778sq m property, which started with a new price guide, but also a tweaked sale strategy to widen the potential buyer pool.
A General Residential Zone Schedule 4 zoning is designed for increased housing diversity, but the site could also be suitable for other commercial uses.
'We sat down and had a look at why the property hasn't sold and what kind of buyers they were trying to get,' Mr Emirzade said.
'I think the missing puzzle piece was not mentioning the zoning. We came up with a different way to showcase the design and what they can do to add more value to the property in different ways.
'It's suitable for a kindergarten, it's suitable for a drive-through business. You can use multiple purposes.'
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