Buyer outbids family for Geelong weatherboard as investors retreat

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The three-bedroom house at 5 Downie Crescent, Hamlyn Heights, sold for $730,000.

A character home in Geelong’s west appears to become the centre of a new project after the buyer beat two other bidders to the nearly 700sq m property at auction.

The three-bedroom Californian bungalow at 5 Downie Crescent, Hamlyn Heights was snapped up for $730,000, after Jellis Craig Geelong agent Jack Cassin had listed the property for auction with a $680,000 to $745,000 price guide.

“We had three bidders and all up we had 76 people come through that one,” Mr Cassin said.

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But it seems there were potential buyers who were turned away from the opportunity by its timber construction.

“Those old weatherboards always need a bit of work I guess and people are a little bit hesitant at the moment, just with the cost of materials and trades and all that sort of thing,” Mr Cassin said.

“I just had to remind everyone it’s still such good value for a 700sq m block. You go and put that block in Geelong West or Manifold Heights, and can I only imagine what you’d be paying for 700sq m.”

The property last sold for $495,000 in 2019 and had been held as a rental property since, attracting a rent up to $500 a week.

Polished floorboards and high ceilings are featured in the character home.

The kitchen and dining area are part of a fully tiled zone from an earlier extension to the house.

That reflects a 47 per cent increase in value over six years, including the covid-induced bounce in home prices.

PropTrack data shows Hamlyn Heights’s $749,000 median house price was 22 per cent higher, compared to 2021.

The house is in a neighbourhood zoned for increased housing diversity, with favourable height controls and no heritage overlay allowing a potential multi-dwelling developments, including townhouses.

“It’s a beautiful old home. For the fellow that bought, it’s going to be a bit of a project for him, he’ll be able to do something really cool with that,” he said.

The home has a deep backyard.

The home occupies a 679sq m block.

Underbidders included a young couple trying to get their first investment property, and a family from Melbourne,” Mr Cassin said.

“I think he could see the value in it, and the opportunity to give it a bit of love, and that size block, and we had some views potentially, if you built up to.

“The buyers that see the value in this market, there’s definitely some really good opportunities out there.”

While an investor was among the bidders, others turned away after the federal government announced its changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax.

“There were definitely a couple of investors that were sort of dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s that dropped off sort of mid campaign. That certainly didn’t help,” he said.

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