The three-bedroom house at 60 Townsend Rd, St Albans Park, sold for $510,000
Sellers of a deceased estate in Geelong’s eastern suburbs have sold up for more than $1m, though the individual sales underlined the slowing conditions in the property market since the federal budget.
Properties at 60 and 62 Townsend Rd, St Albans Park, sold for a combined $1.04m, but the extended campaign meant the sellers got to experience the slowdown in the property market first hand.
The neighbouring properties, one vacant measuring 967sq m and the other a three-bedroom house on a 1012sq m landholding, were initially listed together for auction, but the campaign fell flat falling demand as interest rates began to rise again, Barnett, Geelong agent Jason Barnett said.
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“Then we split it and as soon we went with a house and a block I had three parties going on the house – at the top end of the range, which was $580,000 back then – and only one party going on the vacant block, which was at the top end of the range,” Mr Barnett said.
“So we accepted the offer on the block and then those three offers (on the house) all fell over.
“One party tied it up for about three and half weeks or so with finance, only to not get finance at a level above the vacant block.”
The house sold last week on a cash offer for $510,000, earning $20,000 less than the $530,000 achieved for the vacant block.
The combined properties at 60 and 62 Townsend Rd, St Albans Park, sold for $1.04m.
“There was a change in the market between the block before the budget announcement and selling the house afterwards,” Mr Barnett said.
Another wrinkle was the condition of the house, which was declared to buyers.
“The house itself appears OK, however it fundamentally has structural issues,” he said.
The flip side was potential buyers justifying the price, given what it’s going to cost them to demolish the house and clean up the site, he said.
“It wasn’t that long ago you’d say there’s no way you’d say two blocks on Townsend Rd it’s going to get you $1m,” he said.
Mr Barnett said he assumed the buyer would bulldoze the house and build.
“I know the other block’s going to get cut up into a couple of homes,” he said.
The sale contrasts the quick campaign to sell a three-bedroom house in nearby Wilsons Rd, Whittington for $578,000.
The three-bedroom house at 160 Wilsons Rd, Whittington, sold for $578,000.
“It had eight groups going through it and offers coming in after one week, But it’s liveable straight away,” he said.
“That’s the difference – if the house is liveable, or rentable and is up to minimum standards you’ll get it away as soon as it’s listed.”
While investors are shying away from properties that will need work to meet the stringent rental rules, first-home buyers are now sizing up properties based on the same standards.
“I’m copping it on both sides – I think for first-home buyers, if it’s meeting minimum standards, they’re feeling sale and it’s decent to buy,” he said.
“If it’s not meeting minimum standards, they’re saying hang on, what’s it hiding?”
He said investors are definitely standing away if an owner is offloading a property that they have to upgrade.
“Bringing it up to standard is going to be cost prohibitive,” he said.
Mr Barnett said more landlords are contemplating selling their rental properties, especially given the discount on capital gains tax remains in place until July next year.
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