Finding buyers was the easy job when it came to this character home in a blue-chip neighbourhood in East Geelong’s golden triangle.
But finding one in a position to act was another question asked of HF Richardson agent Matt Poustie.
The four-bedroom residence at 19 Meakin St, sold for $1.501m to a young family relocating from Melbourne.
19 Meakin St, East Geelong, sold for $1.501m
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But the 578sq m property a short walk to Geelong’s botanic gardens spent close to two months on the market after an initial campaign couldn’t flush out enough buyers able to splash the cash at an auction.
The double-storey character home that dates back to the 1920s had been held by a family for 35 years and offered an appealing entry point to the tightly held pocket.
The four-bedroom house amid established gardens had been updated over the years, with fresh paint and new carpets among the most recent improvements.
19 Meakin St, East Geelong
Period details including character windows, original fireplaces and Baltic pine and hardwood floors have been retained throughout.
An open-plan kitchen, meals and family room forms the central living space, connecting to a covered outdoor entertainment area at the rear.
Mr Poustie said it was a strong campaign, with people inspecting the home week after week.
“We just didn’t have probably enough unconditional cash competition in order to trigger sort of auction competition, so we pivoted to a private treaty sale campaign,” Mr Poustie said.
“There was a lot of people who were ready to buy but couldn’t get their own properties sold and that made the process just a little bit slower.”
19 Meakin St, East Geelong
Mr Poustie said the property attracted a mix of young, 30-something families looking to upsize from Geelong West, or reposition in East Geelong.
“The buyer was a lovely family from Melbourne, who were wanting to move back closer to Geelong where family are, and they were really attracted by the character homes, Meakin Street being such a wide street, and such an awesome location.”
East Geelong is one of the fast-selling markets in the region, with a typical home selling within 26 days, PropTrack data reveals.
19 Meakin St, East Geelong
The suburb is also rising, with the median house price up 9.9 per cent in 12 months to $857,000.
“Traditionally, you would say that’s a premium blue-chip A-plus pocket that would normally transact at auction very well,” Mr Poustie said.
“But I think in that mid $1m category, you’re either getting buyers who are upsizing and preparing to take on a larger mortgage or you’re getting downsizers who are coming off quite a large property, that might be worth $2.5m to $3m-plus. But that market’s very stuck, so it was really hard to get those downsizers in a cash-ready position.
“But the hallmarks of good real estate don’t disappear in terms of location.”
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