Latest news with #GeelongWest
News.com.au
7 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Plans revealed for largest vacant site up for grabs in Geelong West
A substantial residential block representing the largest parcel of development-ready land in Geelong West has whet the appetite of potential developers. The 3538sq m parcel of flat land at 18-24 Andrews St, Geelong West, has been listed for sale with price hopes of $3.5m Maxwell Collins Geelong director Nick Lord is managing the expressions of interest sale, where offers close on August 28. Money guru's $612k offer for Aussie homebuyers Mr Lord said the land was previously owned by Telstra and had been vacant for many years before the present owner purchased it. 'We've had solid interest given it's a rare site as a large parcel just under an acre in Geelong West,' Mr Lord said. 'It's extremely unique – the inquiry whether it would be locally, Melbourne-based or interstate, it has the attracted good interest. 'The early interest has been from apartment and townhouse builders as well as childcare centres. ' 'It gives that flexibility whether someone wanted would look for a childcare centre and then additional townhousing on the balance of the land.' Mr Lord said the site would also suit an aged care facility. The property was even more attractive, given the framework shaping the future of Pakington St and with local schools close by, Mr Lord said. St Patrick's Primary School is metres down the street, with Ashby and Manifold Heights primary schools also less than a kilometre from the property. The site has frontages to Andrews and Mowat streets and is the only substantial green space in the western part of the suburb outside of Bakers Oval and the primary school ovals. Mr Lord said the price guide reflected a $1000 per square metre land rate, which was 30 per cent below what a standard block was selling for in the area. New townhouse developments are popping up across the suburb, with recent four-bedroom red brick residences on Andrews St attracting interest around $1.2m. The property comes to market as the owner of a landmark corner site at 68-70 Pakington St seeks a buyer between $2.95m and $3.245m, plus GST. McGrath Commercial Geelong agent David McGuinness said there has been interest in the property from parties looking at the development potential of the site at Waterloo St. A key to unlocking the development potential is rezoning the site from Commercial 2 to Commercial 1, proposed in the Pakington St North Urban Design Framework. That decision would allow commercial and residential uses to be co-located on the 950sq m property in a building up to four-storeys, or 15m. City executive director placemaking Tennille Bradley said Amendment C433ggee is on public exhibition as part of the statutory process to amend the Greater Geelong Planning Scheme to implement the Pakington Street and Gordon Avenue urban design frameworks. These UDFs were adopted by council in May 2024, after extensive consultation with the community, with the implementation phase also inviting public submissions. 'This process and consultation is about implementing the adopted changes into the planning scheme,' Ms Bradley said. Council will consider all submissions before deciding whether to adopt the amendment and forward it to the Minister for Planning for final approval, Ms Bradley said. Submissions about the amendment close on September 1.
News.com.au
12-08-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Geelong West home sells $200k above reserve at hot auction
A three-way auction ended $200,000 above the reserve for a renovated character house with a modern extension in Geelong West. The four-bedroom residence at 136 Autumn St sold for $1.51m at Saturday's auction after the bidders, mainly young families, contested the 519sq m property near Pakington St. McGrath, Geelong director Jim Cross said the successful bidders were relocating to Geelong, having acquiring a business locally. Work starts $10m Highton 'frog hollow' project But a host of young families were keen to secure the double-fronted Victorian residence with a modern extension and backyard pool, Mr Cross said. 'It's probably a sign the market is starting to improve, but also a reflection of the property that was presented beautifully by the owners who gave it every opportunity to achieve a great price,' Mr Cross said. Bidding started at $1.28m – the bottom of the $1.28m to $1.32m guide. The last two bidders in the auction added $100,000 to the price, Mr Cross said. The house presented with a quintessential white picket fence and landscaped gardens, while blending period elegance with modern family living. Features included leadlight windows, Tasmanian oak floorboards and original fireplaces in the original footprint of the house, containing two bedrooms, including the main suite with an ensuite. The modern extension offered spacious open living with expansive north-facing windows looking out to an in-ground swimming pool and leafy garden. The gourmet kitchen featured a long island bench, Smeg, Bosch and Siemens appliances and abundant storage, while a second potential main bedroom or teenage retreat upstairs has its own ensuite and walk-in wardrobe. Mr Cross said the strong interest in the property was a positive sign for an improving market in Geelong. Geelong West's $813,000 median house price is 7.6 per cent below what it was 12 months ago, reflecting the patchy nature of the property market. But Mr Cross said an interest-rate cut could create the perfect storm for a strong spring selling market if it brings more people to list their properties for sale. 'What we're seeing in the market at the moment is it's still patchy but we are seeing signs of improvement in increased buyer inquiry numbers and people through open homes and inspections, and an increased number of genuine buyers in the marketplace on specific properties,' Mr Cross said. 'My gut feeling is that once we get another rate cut, that we will start to see those increased numbers fill out throughout the majority of the market.' Mr Cross said the auction wasn't timed around the rate cut but because the vendors had bought another property. 'I think if we see a rate cut today, that will definitely spur our market on because you feel that market is through the bottom. 'You feel the market improving, but that it's gradual. I think we'll also see an influx of listings coming to market, because there's vendors that have been in a position where they don't need to sell, from a timing point of view, that have been holding off for an improved market.'
News.com.au
21-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Abandoned Geelong West house beats price hopes at auction
Two bidders with plenty of knowledge about building in Geelong West went toe-to-toe over an abandoned Edwardian era house. The local builders saw the potential in the long-abandoned character house that was deemed too unsafe to enter that potential buyers had to be satisfied with an external extension. Barnett, Geelong agent Jason Barnett said the $508,000 sale price exceeded the $500,000 reserve price for the property at 127 Weller St as the competition between the pair was evident from the start of the auction. Geelong's top homes of FY25 worth over $120m Inside Cats star Rhys Stanley's luxe farmhouse Mr Barnett said there were several other buyers keen on the property, but the strong bidding between the local builders meant the price had soon exceeded their expectations. The property had been listed with $460,000 to $500,000 expectations, after State Trustees obtained a fresh property valuation. But Mr Barnett said the cost to retain at least the facade of the house in its position meant the property had a lower value than if it had been a vacant block in the neighbourhood near Sparrow Park. The $460,000 to $500,000 price guide reflected the dire state of the building, which in parts was sitting on earth. Its front door is boarded up, with pieces of corrugated tin covering only some of the missing weatherboards on the facade, and vines are growing through the lounge room and daylight is visible through many walls. Original lath is exposed both externally and internally, while the back garden is overgrown. 'Both parties were builders and the idea being they keep the facade and build a new house behind,' Mr Barnett said. 'Actually both are builders from Geelong West, it's a really hyper local interest.' 'You'd argue that you've got the extra cost of retaining it – it's going to cost you more to fix it up than it would have cost to bulldoze it,' Mr Barnett said. 'But because of the overlay you can't do that.' Mr Barnett said overlay restrictions included where the house was sitting on the 286sq m block, which could mean the new owners could maybe get one car off the street. 'Sometimes the local builders understand what the ins and outs of what they're taking on and they know the council a but more intimately than the out-of-towners. Both of them seemed quite comfortable taking it on,' he said. But he said the neighbours, who haven't seen anyone living at the property for years, would be happy to see some action.
News.com.au
07-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Three bidders push Geelong West house $42,000 above expectation
Entry-level homes are hitting the sweet spot for buyers in Geelong West, where a compact two-bedder just sold $42,000 above price hopes. Buxton agent Max Hardwick said auction competition had rebounded strongly in recent months to 'like Covid times' for properties priced up to $700,000. The latest to sell under the hammer was a California bungalow at 56 Catherine St, Geelong West, that was snapped up for $661,000. Mr Hardwick said three bidders contested the 280sq m property just off the Shannon St shopping strip at Saturday's auction. A Melbourne investor who inspected the house for the first time on Saturday kicked off bidding, but ultimately dropped out of the race between two first-home buyers. 'It was on a 280sq m block, so it was a small, small house and two bedrooms isn't going to suit everyone so it was demographic of the investor or first-home buyer,' he said. 'I think the price point is the attraction and what we have found over the last three or so months is that anything between $500,000 and $700,000 we have sold really well at auction. 'In that price point it nearly feels like Covid times with the competitiveness.' The weatherboard character home retains original period features including polished timber floors and a decorative fireplace in the lounge and has a central timber kitchen adjoining a dining space. As well as a north-facing back yard, there's off-street parking at the front of the property. Mr Hardwick said the house had been a set and forget investment for the vendor of 12 years and was in need of some non-urgent improvements such as restumping and replastering. He said it was encouraging sign for the market to see the Melbourne investor raise a hand of the property after turning up the on day. 'That was an interesting thing to see because we haven't seen that for a while now. He didn't push the button too hard but he did put a hand up,' he said. It follows another strong auction result for a retro, three-bedroom weatherboard house at 145 Elizabeth St, Geelong West, that drew four bidders. Buyers from Melbourne paid $774,000 – $75,000 above the asking range – for the chance to get cracking on a renovation. Mr Hardwick said the house had a mid-century feel with polished timber floors, exposed beams and a stone mantel inside. 'They are looking to get renovation works done straight away on it, they have had quotes over the last few weeks,' he said.
News.com.au
06-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Melbourne homebuying and selling tricks to make and save you money
Melbourne homebuyers and sellers could be dudding themselves out of hundreds of thousands of dollars and even millions in some areas by mistiming their next home move. And while property experts warn you shouldn't lose sight of the lifestyle reasons behind your real estate plans, they have revealed what you need to do on both sides of the equation to make your money go further. Professional auctioneer Andy Reid said while selling your home in the wrong month could cost you significantly, reflected in new data from Ray White's economics team, buying in the same timeline could even that out. 'Unsafe' Geelong West house declared no-go zone But options to remedy signing up with a dodgy real estate agent were more limited. Mr Reid advised spending a few months watching your local sellers in action, getting a feel for how they act outside of selling homes – such as if you see them being rude to wait staff at a local cafe, and what prices homes they advertise actually sell for. 'The key stat you have to pay attention to is the percentage of a price drop from their first listing to being sold, as that will identify agents who buy their way into a listing with an inflated price to start with,' Mr Reid said. He also said it was time to reconsider spring, unless your home really had an aspect that would benefit from that time of year – including the buyer's motivations, as if your home was in a good school zone aiming to sell in October could help it connect with emotionally motivated families thinking about the next school year. 'But if there's no other restrictions, then I would look at listing in February to get to buyers before the masses, so going to auction in the first week of March — or even in late February,' Mr Reid said. Sellers should also think about the time spent preparing your home for sale as an investment, as every hour you put into that process would likely have a pay-off at the end. 'Any moment that you feel you can't be bothered, think about the dollar value of any effort you make at that time,' the auctioneer said. Finally, considering when you run inspections at your home could be key. Avoiding times when there is high traffic, lots of local noise or any regular unpleasant smells in your neighbourhood could help avoid buyers budgeting less for your property. For buyers, Cohen Handler buyer's advocate Nicole Jacobs said getting your finance approved as soon as possible was vital. That could include up to six months of financial preparation work, such as cancelling subscriptions and watching your spending, if you expect to need to borrow heavily to buy your desired home. 'And there's no use going out and looking if you don't know your budget,' Ms Jacobs said. Once that's confirmed, she advised a few months of 'leg work' which includes learning if there was any variance from price guides to what homes actually sold for in your preferred areas, attending auctions to get a feel for them and local agents, as well as getting a sense of the sorts of homes that would be available regularly — and which ones would not. 'And pick key areas, so you don't go all over town looking,' Ms Jacobs said. 'It will help to understand why you are buying and what you need to achieve. So start with a shopping list, and work out if that is achievable.' While settling a purchase over a longer timeline could help you gain equity before you start paying the mortgage, the buyer's agent said using a fast settlement to win over a seller could potentially help you secure a cheaper purchase and lower mortgage. 'Melbourne is undervalued at the moment and by and large I expect it to rise,' Ms Jacobs said. However, she warned this could differ with some micro-pockets potentially remaining flat. 'But, if you have the ability to buy now and sell later, that can absolutely be a good move,' she said. WHEN TO SELL: MEDIAN PRICES ARE HIGHEST January – 36 suburbs, including: Caulfield, Ringwood East, Watsonia North February – 71 suburbs, including: Abbotsford, Park Orchards, Werribee March – 104 suburbs, including: Berwick, Reservoir, Yarraville April – 50 suburbs, including: Broadmeadows, McCrae, Tarneit May – 53 suburbs, including: Balwyn, Moorabbin, Vermont South June – 27 suburbs, including: Blackburn, Hillside, Yarrambat July – 12 suburbs, including: Albert Park, Eltham, Wattle Glen August – 17 suburbs, including: Burnside Heights, Malvern, Wantirna South September – 36 suburbs, including: Docklands, Essendon, Tullamarine October – 51 suburbs, including: Bentleigh, Lilydale, Williamstown November – 43 suburbs, including: Canterbury, Elwood, Thornbury December – 37 suburbs, including: Coburg North, Oakleigh, South Yarra Tracks which month median house prices were most consistently at their lowest level across the past 10 years
