Lee Botsios, right, calls the auction at 91 King St, Queenscliff as Felix Hakins tallies the bids. The house sold for $2.331m.
A mid century modern home offered to the market for the first time since it was built for a prominent Queenscliff family in the 1970s has smashed expectations by $431,000 at auction.
The unassuming brick house at 91 King St, Queenscliff, hit the market for the first time in 50 years, unlocking a spectacular north-facing water vista.
The four-bedroom house sold for $2.331m at Saturday’s auction after competition between six bidders in front of a huge crowd.
RELATED: Builder’s own home breaks cookie-cutter mould
Geelong’s best suburbs for buyers revealed
Two-storey Corio home sells for price many won’t believe
The numbers surrounding the campaign to sell the house built by prominent Queenscliff businessman and local identity Eddie George for his family in 1975 are staggering.
RT Edgar selling agent Lee Botsios said 159 groups inspected the property during the 35-day campaign, with 17 registering for the auction.
The home at 91 King St, Queenscliff, was for sale for the first time in more than 50 years.
Mr Botsios said most of the bidders were ranging between $1.3m and $1.7m and there was one buyer who offered $1.85m prior to the auction, but on a 12-month settlement which the vendors could not accept.
He said the reserve was increased to $1.9m prior to the auction, meaning the sale price was $431,000 above the reserve.
The buyers are living on a farm said they secured the property because they were drawn to the view.
The elevated position provided uninterrupted view over Swan Bay which took in the passing Bellarine Peninsula railway to Drysdale.
They would eventually retire there, they said.
In a town usually associated with historic homes, his design was ahead of its time, embracing modern, open-plan living and extensive glazing to frame the view over Swan Bay from almost every room.
And the buyers said that would largely stay, with no major renovation plans for the brick house outside of some initial updates.
Original features remain on display throughout the house, including patterned carpet, timber accents, decorative tiles in the two unrenovated bathrooms and yellow kitchen countertops.
The view over Swan Bay is front and centre.
The house is located in a premium strip.
A central open-plan living area with sliding doors onto a deck facing the bay is at the heart of the design that counts a walk-in pantry and parents’ retreat/study among its forward-thinking features.
There’s also fantastic views on offer from three of the bedrooms.
Mr Botsios said the house, which occupies a 617sq m block, had great bones for a modern update.
The families of four siblings all had enduring memories from the home and remember especially watching the steam trains pass on the nearby Bellarine Peninsula railway.
The carpet is groovy.
The spacious kitchen hasn’t changed.
Other potential buyers already lived on the Bellarine Peninsula or Geelong, in country Victoria or Melbourne, Mr Botsios said.
But more than half the people who inspected the property during the campaign were sellers in Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale, where the average time on market is close to 150 days, according to the latest PropTrack data.
“The market is super strong, the issue is a lot of agents on the Bellarine Peninsula don’t have the heart to tell their vendors what their home is worth.
The extended family celebrated after 91 King St, Queenscliff, sold for $2.331m.
Mr Botsios said the George family had not used the much-loved property much in recent years, prompting the sale.
The family considers the house one of the greatest legacies of Eddie George, who was a prominent Queenscliff resident from the 1940s.
He ran various businesses in the town, including a restaurant, milk bar and a clothing and haberdashery shop.
In 1969 he took over the Bright and Hitchcock store in Hesse St, renaming it ‘Eddie George and Son’ as he expanded into separate men’s clothing and shoe stores.
English (US) · 