Brickie's slick Herne Hill renovation doubles home's value in four years

News.com.au

08-07-2025

A premium renovation that almost doubled the value of an original Herne Hill home has scored the suburb's most expensive sale of the year.
Buyers from Newtown paid $1.4m for the transformed four-bedroom house at 5 Knight Ave.
The quality of its contemporary rear extension and refit added $662,0000 to the value of the 714sq m property in four years.
Geelong Real Estate Co. listing agent Ricky Forte said the front bedroom was the only thing he recognised from when he last sold the retro solid brick home for $738,000 in 2021.
An open-plan living zone featuring high raked ceilings, timber floors and a sleek kitchen is the centrepiece of the redesign.
'They had done a really comprehensive, beautiful renovation,' Mr Forte said
'All the people that went through it were from Newtown, Geelong West, Manifold Heights … predominantly, as always, it was the Geelong people that were happy to fight and stretch.'
He said three of the four parties that made offers on the house were considering renovating their existing homes but had been put off by construction costs that could amount to $800,000 for something similar.
The buyers paid $50,000 above the top asking price to secure the property.
'I felt like nobody wanted to renovate and if you can get one that everything's been done then you just sign on the dotted line as opposed to 18 months of hell,' Mr Forte said.
The vendors called on their family's construction experience to pull off the renovation – one is a bricklayer while the other's father is a builder.
Recycled brickwork features in a new covered entertainment area overlooking the home's landscaped back garden.
The renovation also replaced the dated 1970s brown kitchen, added a fourth bedroom and a stylish ensuite bathroom.
The sale is the third million-dollar result in the street, just one block away from the Newtown border.
Mr Forte said the same house in the 3220 postcode would set you back to close to $2m, which made the sister suburb an attractive value proposition.
'I think it has given a lot of people confidence that you could do a big renovation in Herne Hill and get your money back,' he said.
He said another buyer who recently paid $705,000 for an older house at 18 Ashbourne St, Herne Hill, was among those who inspected the Knight Ave property for inspiration.
'He's pulling his apart and is going to build it to the Knight Ave level and now that's given him the confidence that renovating at that level that the money is there,' he said.