A rundown cottage, held for almost two centuries by the family that purchased the land from Colonel William Light, looks set to be restored after selling for a staggering $2.26m.
The family finally ended its mammoth 188-year association with 16 Wakeham Street, Adelaide after the “emotional’’ sale to a local professional couple, who intend to turn the heritage-listed property into their dream home.
The two-bedroom cottage, with its original bluestone and red brick façade and tucked behind a quaint pink picket fence, was passed in at auction in November, when a final bid of $2.125m fell short of the owner’s expectations.
Negotiations with several interested buyers ensued, with the vendor recently agreeing to sell to the party they believed would best preserve the home’s unique charm.
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The Wakeham St home had been held by the same family for 188 years.
Rustic and colourful decor features throughout.
The new owners plan to restore the home.
“It (the negotiations) was not just (about) the money. It was about who the buyer was as well,’’ selling agent Linda Clemente, of Ray White Norwood said.
“It had to be an emotionally invested buyer.
“As you can imagine, there were very mixed emotions (about the sale) and lots of family members waiting to see the outcome.
“I think they will be pleased. It’s gone to a local and someone that’s going to love it as much as they did and wants to see it restored.’’
Ms Clemente said that “per square metre and (for) what it was’’, the selling price was a “tremendous result’’.
The cottage was built by the vendor’s family in 1872, 35 years after they purchased the land from Col Light, South Australia’s first Surveyor-General who laid out the plans for Adelaide.
Showing signs of salt damp and cracking, the cottage has remained largely unchanged over the years, with original fireplaces and an outhouse.
It has not been lived in for several years.
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The charming cottage-like kitchen.
One of the bedrooms.
A view of the large yard.
The median selling price for a two-bedroom house in the city is $835,000, PropTrack data shows.
Ms Clemente said the property was set on two titles and much of its value came from a rare 324sqm vacant allotment next to the cottage.
She said the new owners intended to restore the original heritage-listed cottage and build a new home on the empty block, which is separated from the street by a heritage-listed stone wall.
Interest in the property had been so great that Ms Clemente said she “could have sold it a million times over’’.
“It’s really quaint and it just has a really beautiful feeling,’’ she said.
“It was an emotional sale (for the vendor). But as time passes and people pass on, it (the property) gets handed down from one generation to the next and this particular generation thought it was time to move on.’’
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