8/2A Cameron Road, Essendon, sold for $683,000 after a two-bidder auction, as Qantas couple Cameron and Kylie Graves closed a decade-long chapter.
A Qantas couple has sold their first Essendon townhouse for $683,000, a rare sub-$700,000 result for a three-bedroom home.
The sale marked the end of a decade-long chapter for Cameron and Kylie Graves, who bought the townhouse at 8/2A Cameron Rd in 2016 while both were working for Qantas and trying to break into the inner-north market.
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“That was our first home,” Mr Graves said.
“The price point mattered at the time because it aligned with first-home buyer concessions.
“It fell within the price range of around $600,000, which meant we qualified for the 50 per cent stamp duty concession.”
Mr Graves said the townhouse’s liveability had been just as important, with the home backing onto parkland near the Moonee Ponds Creek walking trail.
The entry into the living room which backs onto parkland near the Moonee Ponds Creek trail.
One of the bathrooms at the Essendon townhouse, sold for $683,000 in a rare sub-$700,000 three-bedroom result.
“We liked that it backed onto parkland and had space at the rear for walking,” he said.
“It was also close to everything we needed — the train station, the airport and the city, which made a big difference to our lifestyle.”
He said access to trains, parks and walking paths remained non-negotiable when the couple later upsized.
“We wouldn’t consider a place that wasn’t close to a train station, and the same goes for footpaths and parks,” Mr Graves said.
“Even now, where we live in Oak Park, we’ve chosen somewhere with a train station, parks and walking paths nearby.”
The kitchen and dining area at 8/2A Cameron Road, Essendon, which the Graves said suited their lifestyle close to trains, the airport and the city.
Asked about standout memories, Mr Graves said the home carried both highs and lows.
“Our favourite was getting our puppy and then finding out Kylie was pregnant,” he said.
“The worst was being locked down there during Covid. That period was incredibly tough.”
Mr Graves said he was happy the home would again become a first step for another buyer entering the market.
“I’m glad it’s gone to a first-home buyer,” he said.
Cameron and Kylie Graves bought the three-bedroom Essendon townhouse in 2016 as their first home while working for Qantas.
Ray White Pascoe Vale principal Stefan Stella, who handled the Essendon sale and said three-bedroom homes under $700,000 were increasingly rare.
“I think it really suits that market and sits in the right price range.”
Ray White Pascoe Vale principal Stefan Stella said the $683,000 sale was notable given how uncommon it had become to see three-bedroom homes trading under $700,000 across Essendon.
“Across Essendon as a whole, it’s very, very surprising to see a three-bedroom home at this price point,” Mr Stella said.
He said the townhouse’s position within an older-style complex near apartment buildings influenced where it sat in the market.
“If you were to pick this property up and move it to the other side of Pascoe Vale Rd into a more affluent pocket of Essendon, you’d be looking at a substantially different price point,” he said.
The upstairs second sitting area at 8/2A Cameron Road, Essendon, sold to a first-home buyer couple after four weeks of searching.
Mr Stella said the auction opened quietly with no initial bids, prompting a brief pause.
After the break, an opening bid of $1,000 was lodged, with bidding then moving in $10,000 increments and quickly rising to $670,000 before tightening late.
Two bidders competed, with the townhouse selling for $683,000.
Mr Stella said the buyer was a first-home buyer who had recently moved from South Australia and had been searching for about four weeks.
The kitchen at 8/2A Cameron Road, Essendon — a first-home-buyer-friendly price point that delivered a $683,000 result.
He said the buyer told him competition back home had been tougher, with more hype and stronger bidding, and that they arrived knowing exactly what they wanted.
On interest rates, Mr Stella said buyers were not waiting for formal Reserve Bank announcements, adjusting plans earlier when rate moves were widely expected.
“For this weekend, it still feels like business as usual,” he said.
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