On Thursday night, police responded to a report in the 1200 block of Butterfly Way in Banning, California, over an assault with a deadly weapon. The unidentified agent was under the impression the property was vacant, and had to go to the hospital.
If the government keeps tight control over the mortgage giants and provides an “implicit guarantee” of their debt, rates might rise by 1/5 of a percentage point, Stanford researchers conclude.
Scandi home design has been popular in South Australia for years, but now there’s a new kid in town, and it’s showcased in a home that’s set to do a lot of good.
Japandi is an interior design and architectural style that blends the minimalist and natural elements of Japanese aesthetics with the functionality and comfort of Scandinavian design.
And it takes centre stage in The Advertiser Foundation’s Good Home.
The house and land of the stunning Oakden Rise property at 24 Bluegum Way, Oakden were donated by Weeks Homes and Villawood Properties, and it is set to be auctioned next month, with all proceeds going to charity.
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MyChoice Design Studio – which is affiliated with Weeks Homes – SA manager, Sam Parobiec, 35, says Japandi only really gained prominence in Australia recently.
“It was showcased on The Block two years ago and really took off all over Australia,” she said.
Sam Parobiec an interior designer, in the Good Home, highlighting the various Japandi design elements employed throughout the property. Picture: RoyVPhotography
“Japandi is a very cohesive home, so the exterior and interior speak to each other and it’s very grounded, with lots of earthy and warm tones and no real dark accents – lots of natural timbers, textural elements and linens.
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“You feel really grounded in it and it’s a really relaxed style that offers that resort feel.”
Ms Parobiec said Japandi’s aesthetic of cool exterior tones complemented SA’s climate.
“It’s really consistent with how we live – I think Japandi’s here to stay and it’s only going to get more popular,” she said.
The Good Home at Oakden. Picture: RoyVPhotography
The fully furnished, move-in property at Oakden Rise is set to hit the auction block on November 1, with the entire sale price to be shared evenly by six kids organisations – the Childhood Cancer Association, Backpacks 4 SA Kids, KickStart for Kids, the Sammy D Foundation, the Women’s & Children’s Hospital Foundation’s family support program and Channel 7 Children’s Research Foundation with Raising Literacy Australia.
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With donated materials and labour by a number of local companies, including Heidelberg Materials, CSR, and Eco Walling Systems, the home will make a positive change in the lives of young South Australians.
The property’s stunning bathroom. Picture: RoyVPhotography
Auctioned through Matt Sergeant and Andrew Butler of Harris Real Estate, the home has three bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and contemporary open-plan living.
For more information, click here
The post First look: Oakden charity home showcases new Japandi style trend appeared first on realestate.com.au.
Those looking to buy their own home already know how hard that quest is, with little stock on the market and growing pressure from a ravenous group of buyers fighting it out to secure their slice of the Great Australian Dream.
But those looking to enter the market via a different avenue – the block of land on which to build – are facing the grim reality that this isn’t much easier, with blocks shrinking, prices skyrocketing and the selection of suburbs housing them getting leaner every day.
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New data from Oliver Hume – one of Australia’s most reputable residential property funds and real estate services groups – shows buyers looking to buy a conventional lot of vacant land between 350 and 600sqm for under $400,000 have very little choice.
Land – specifically affordable land, is becoming harder to find.
According to its data, the closest option to the city is at Virginia, 28km from the CBD, where you’ll find just one available allotment.
Head 200m further out – 28.2km from the CBD – and you’ll find nine empty lots that fit that criteria.
Hills buyers have a few more options, with seven available lots in Mount Barker, while Tanunda, in the Barossa Valley, has the next largest group of eligible properties at six.
Tanunda was also the best option for those looking to find a conventional block – less than 600sqm – for less than $800/sqm.
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Here you’ll find seven eligible blocks, ahead of two in Mount Barker, and one each in Angle Vale, Encounter Bay and Kapunda.
Oliver Hume Property Group chief economist Matt Bell said just over 150 conventional lots were available across Greater Adelaide at the end of July, with this scarcity fuelling prices.
“This strong price growth meant land prices ticked over $800 per square metre in the June 2025 quarter as headline price growth continued and smaller product sold,” he said.
Matt Bell from Oliver Hume
“There are still some blocks of land under $800/sqm in some areas of Adelaide, but stock is limited.”
A separate data set shows the median lot size in Adelaide is the lowest it has been since at least December 2020.
It sits at 375sqm – costing a median $335,000 – down from a high of 524sqm in March 2021.
In a statistic that will likely break the hearts of many present-day buyers – the median price then was $184,500.
REISA CEO Andrea Heading. Supplied
Real Estate Institute of South Australia chief executive officer Andrea Heading said the good news was there was a pipeline of properties set to be released as part of the State Government’s Housing Roadmap to 25,000 homes for South Australians.
But many of these were some way off.
“There’s huge demand for these now, but many are being held up because of a lack of infrastructure like power and wastewater management,” she said.
“Blocks are getting smaller as developers look to maximise their opportunities, but they’re still going for a premium price.
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“Unfortunately buyers just come to terms with the fact that we’re never going to see those ‘cheap’ prices we saw in the past.
“It’s not going to go backwards.”
– with Lydia Kellner
The post SA’s disappearing lots – and where you can still find them appeared first on realestate.com.au.
Gavin and Raylee McLeod when they won an award at Tuggerah McDonalds several years ago.
A lot’s changed on the Central Coast since Gavin and Raylee McLeod started out as casuals on the counter at McDonalds when they were 15.
The opening of Northconnex in 2020 cut travel times between Sydney and Terrigal to an hour, on a good day.
And big money started moving in, including celebrities like former supermodel Jennifer Hawkins and her husband Jake Wall, who bought a ‘knockdown’ for $6m in 2022 at Terrigal.
The same year, the Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar and his wife Kim Jackson snapped up a beachfront at North Avoca for close to $11m.
And now the McLeods are selling their pride an joy, an incredible beachfront residence called ‘Ocean House’ that took four years to build at Wamberal.
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57 Ocean View Drive, Wamberal is on a 1014 sq m beachfront block.
Spectacular views.
Listed with McGrath Terrigal’s Mat Steinwede, the six-bedroom, seven-bathroom residence with a four-car garage has a $25m price guide that’s set to obliterate the Central Coast record.
“We both enjoyed working at McDonalds in various capacities, from working on the front desk into upper management,” Gavin said.
“Over the years, we bought and sold 10 restaurants from the Central Coast to Newcastle.”
They sold a lot over Big Macs over that time, and in 2019 were able to rustle up $3.95m to purchase a little beachside cottage with a DA for new home on a 1014sqm block at 57 Ocean View Drive.
“We lived there for a couple of years and modified the plans a bit,” Gavin said.
“I love this house.
“It’s private and quiet … you can sit in the spa and sunken lounge and no-one can see you when they’re walking past on the beach.
“And you’ve got these spectacular views of the moonlight, sunrise, and the lights of Terrigal.”
The four-level home took four years to build. A lift glides between each level.
Even the geothermal-heated pool is smart: it cleans itself and has Olympic-grade swim jets.
But now that their three kids have moved out, they’re looking to downsize, and Steinwede is confident the property will set a new benchmark, smashing the current Central Coast record of $16.2m for a home at Wagstaffe in 2022.
“The construction for the Wamberal house was in the vicinity of $22m and I’ve just sold a knockdown nearby for $11.5m,” Steinwede said.
“It’s probably the best home I’ve ever been in, with amazing workmanship and construction.
“It’s like a piece of art on the beach.”
A collaboration between architects White + Dickson and high-end builder Tecorp, the home, on a 1014sqm block, has state-of-the-art technology throughout and every luxury you can imagine, including a high-speed commercial lift that glides between all four levels.
Even the geothermal-heated pool is smart: it cleans itself and has Olympic-grade swim jets.
Steinwede says the opening of Northconnex was a game-changer for the Central Coast.
“We’ve got beautiful beaches, just an hour from Sydney,” he said.
McGrath agent Mat Steinwede: “We’ve got beautiful beaches, just an hour from Sydney.”
The home is a collaboration between architects White + Dickson and high-end builder Tecorp.
There are six bedrooms and seven bathrooms.
“Northconnex changed our access, you don’t have to travel for hours to get to Byron or down south to Hyams Beach.
“It just makes sense for a family — you can’t have kids sitting in the back for more than an hour or two, forget it!”
PropTrack data shows that house prices in Wamberal have jumped 44 per cent to a $1.55m median over the five years since Northconnex opened and 56 per cent to a median of $1.44m in Terrigal.
And the growth has been even higher in Copacabana, rising 75 per cent to more than $1.63m and 66 per cent to $1.69 to Avoca Beach.
This compares with 45 per cent growth at Kiama and 33 per cent growth at Hyams Beach on the south coast.
PropTrack senior economist Angus Moore says Northconnex has to have been a contributing factor to the Central Coast’s price growth.
“Connectivity is something that many buyers will value,” he said.
“The changes post-Covid that mean people are less tied to commuting and living close to the inner city have favoured more-outlying areas of our cities, like the Central Coast, that offer typically more affordable homes while still being commutable.
“With prices up more than 50 per cent since the start of the pandemic, we will see more multimillion-dollar sales on the Central Coast than was once the case.”
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The post Surf’s up: Shooting for the Central Coast record with $25m home appeared first on realestate.com.au.
Australians chasing the dream of their own backyard are facing a harsh reality: land is shrinking, prices are climbing, and the suburbs where buyers can still afford a block are vanishing fast.
Across Melbourne, Adelaide and southeast Queensland, the average lot size has fallen while the price tag rises, forcing families to compromise on space just to get a foothold in the market.
Exclusive Oliver Hume research shows that in Melbourne, the average block has shrunk from 400 square metres in 2020, which sold for a median $319,000, to 361 square metres today, now commanding a median price of $399,000.
Adelaide has experienced an even steeper squeeze, with the typical lot falling from 475 square metres at $175,000 to 375 square metres for $335,000.
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Southeast Queensland bucks the trend slightly, with lot sizes nudging up from 417 square metres to 420 square metres, but the median price has almost doubled, climbing from $242,500 to $442,900.
A 712sqm block at 36 Revelry St, Pallara in Queensland has been listed for sale, with price hopes of over $795,000.
Melbourne, meanwhile, remains the only mainland capital with a relatively healthy supply of vacant land, but the window of opportunity is narrowing.
Sales volumes jumped nearly 50 per cent in June, and developers are beginning to wind back incentives, signalling that prices could start rising again in early 2026.
While blocks under $1000 per square metre are still available in growth areas, those looking to get closer to the city face a stark choice: smaller lots, or higher prices.
For first-home buyers, suburbs like Truganina and Donnybrook offer blocks over 350 square metres for less than $400,000, but the closer to the CBD, the scarcer and pricier the options become.
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This 296sqm block at 95-97 Newman St, Kensington in Victoria has been listed for sale with price hopes of $865,000 – $950,000.
In southeast Queensland, affordability pressures are even more acute.
Land prices in Logan, Ipswich and Moreton Bay have surged 18 per cent over the past year to more than $1050 per square metre, and fewer than 50 conventional lots under $1000 per square metre remain.
Buyers who want to save money are increasingly looking to outer suburbs, prioritising transport links and local amenities over proximity to Brisbane’s CBD.
Suburbs like Morayfield, Greenbank and Redbank Plains offer some options, but stock is limited, and the pace of growth shows little sign of slowing.
Adelaide is the tightest market of all.
Land prices jumped 17 per cent in the past 12 months to reach $800 per square metre, and only a handful of conventional lots under that threshold remain.
Most are clustered in the Barossa, including Tanunda and Mt Barker, with a few options for headline prices under $400,000 in suburbs such as Andrews Farm.
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A 620sqm block at 16 Shoreline Ave, Sellicks Beach, SA has been listed for sale with price hopes of $580,000.
The city’s dwindling supply is forcing buyers to consider smaller lots and outer-ring suburbs if they want to get into the market.
Oliver Hume chief economist Matt Bell said shrinking lots and rising prices were a direct result of limited land supply, coupled with local councils’ longstanding focus on preserving suburb character and heritage rather than prioritising housing.
“I’m an economist, I’m not an architect or a planner, but I’m definitely of the belief that in the past and still to this day, many local councils put way too much weight on those elements,” Mr Bell said.
“Character and heritage and all that sort of stuff, that’s nice to have if you can supply the amount of land and dwellings that you need. But if the choice is maintaining the existing character of a suburb or not housing people, I’d rather sacrifice some of the character and house people.”
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Oliver Hume chief economist Matt Bell said shrinking lots and rising prices were fuelling housing demand.
He said high demand and population growth meant Australians were increasingly accepting smaller blocks, with builders adapting to deliver better homes on tighter footprints.
“Everyone wants the bigger lot and the bigger house, that goes without saying,” Mr Bell said. “But people will now sacrifice that because of affordability … get their first house on that 350 square metre block instead of 500 square metres, because they still have aspirations to upgrade.”
For now, pockets of opportunity remain for buyers willing to compromise on size or location, but the message is clear: vacant land is becoming scarcer, and the era of the spacious, affordable block is drawing to a close.
The post Revealed: The shocking reality of Australia’s shrinking house blocks appeared first on realestate.com.au.
The River View, Old Beach. Picture: Artist impression supplied
Homes have already sold at Hobart’s latest home development — and they only launched officially to the public yesterday.
The River View is a boutique collection of 51 contemporary townhouses overlooking the River Derwent.
The official launch to the public was held on October 4 at No.38 Jetty Rd, Old Beach. However, early momentum saw eight homes sold ahead of launch.
Developed by GIC Estates and delivered by SJM Property Developments, The River View has been designed to offer the perfect balance of style, comfort and value, with prices starting from $500,000.
Sales are being led by Elders Real Estate Hobart agents Rose Allie and Mickey White.
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The River View, Old Beach.
With low stock in this price bracket and multiple government incentives for first-home buyers, The River View brings premium features within reach for owner-occupiers. For investors, a tight rental market and depreciation benefits further enhance the value proposition.
A spokesman for the developer, GIC Estates, said Old Beach combines river outlooks, mountain scenery and everyday convenience — exactly the kind of lifestyle Tasmanians are seeking.
“With The River View, our vision is to deliver premium, well-built townhouses that remain genuinely attainable,” they said.
“We’ve partnered with SJM Property Developments to ensure quality at every step, and we’re proud to be bringing this community to market at a time of strong buyer demand.”
The River View, Old Beach.
The River View, Old Beach.
The Elders sales team are expecting the homes to be extremely popular.
“We have certainly seen an uptick in the market over the past three months, with renewed buyer confidence and a surge in market activity in this development’s price bracket,” said Rose Allie, residential project sales agent.
“We are proud to be bringing this exciting development to the market in time for a busy spring market,” said Mickey White, residential project sales agent.
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The River View, Old Beach.
The River View, Old Beach.
The River View offering spans two, three and four-bedroom townhouses.
The design language draws inspiration from Old Beach’s natural setting — mountain backdrops and the area’s history of sandstone extraction — expressed through earth-inspired exterior selections and a calm, natural colour palette that sits comfortably within the surrounding landscape.
Inside, finishes and textures have been curated to create a cohesive, liveable atmosphere across each home, with attention to durability and everyday comfort.
Each home will be fully insulated and include reverse-cycle heating and airconditioning for year-round comfort.
The River View, Old Beach.
The River View, Old Beach.
Select layouts provide step-free access and single-storey options, supporting downsizers and ageing-in-place needs.
Situated just over 20 minutes to Hobart CBD, residents will enjoy access to walking tracks, the River Derwent foreshore, nearby shopping centres, MyState Bank Arena and Hobart International Airport.
Prices will start from $500,000. For sales inquiries and appointments, contact Elders Real Estate Hobart.
The post River View homes make a splash appeared first on realestate.com.au.
For a man who built a trillion-dollar empire and amassed a personal wealth of $US10.2 billion ($A15.4 billion), Steve Jobs’ choice of home was anything but extravagant.
Forget sprawling mega-mansions and billionaire bunkers; the Apple co-founder’s most cherished property was a charming, yet relatively modest, suburban house in Palo Alto, California.
Here’s a closer look into the properties of the tech genius behind the iPhone and the fortune he left behind following his death 14 years ago.
The suburban family home
For the past two decades of his life, Jobs’ main residence was a seven-bedroom English Tudor-style home on Waverley St, Palo Alto.
In a quiet, leafy neighbourhood, this was the home where he raised his three children with wife Laurene Powell Jobs.
It was where he passed away in 2011 at age 56 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Purchased in 1991, the home was known for being comfortable and tastefully furnished.
According to Businessweek: “Jobs obsessed over the furniture, recalls [ …] a neighbour [ …]. Jobs spent tens of thousands of dollars on chairs and a custom-made dining table — which he returned because the angle of one of the legs was off by a few degrees.
“Jobs frequently visited [the neighbour’s] home during those years, often complaining about the lack of comfortable furniture in his house.”
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Apple co-founder Steve Jobs amassed a personal wealth of $US10.2 billion.
Jobs’ main residence was a seven-bedroom English Tudor-style home in Palo Alto. Picture: Supplied
The mansion he hated
There was one property the tech mogul grew to despise, a sprawling house in Woodside, California.
Known as the Jackling House, the mansion was first built in 1925 by renowned architect George Washington Smith, the New York Post reports.
The home was designed for copper mining magnate Daniel Jackling and the estate represented his aesthetic values and wealth.
The residence was made up of 30 rooms, containing a built-in pipe organ that would become the main focal point of the home.
Smith integrated the abode, which sits on six acres, with landscaped gardens and a large traditional courtyard, including open-air balconies and many indoor-outdoor access connections.
The tech mogul grew to despise, a sprawling house in Woodside, California. Picture: Jonathan Haeber via NY Post
Jobs understood the historical value of the estate, and would come to purchase the home in 1984 for $US3.5 million ($A5.2 million).
But as his mounting success continued, Jobs wanted to demolish what he saw as a complicated home, and build a smaller, minimal home.
Starting in 2000, Jobs stopped maintaining the home to force the city to demolish it. He spent a decade fighting local preservationists and the state Historical Resources Commission to tear down the structure.
Eventually, in May 2009, the Woodside Town Council granted the permit to demolish the home, with the condition that Jobs must allow the house to be disassembled and moved elsewhere. In February 2011, the home would be demolished.
Jobs lost his battle with pancreatic cancer eight months later.
The another surprising way Steve Jobs made billions
Surprisingly, the majority of Jobs’ net worth did not stem from Apple stock. It came from a stake in Disney.
The billionaire received 138 million shares when he sold the animation studio he co-founded, Pixar, to Disney in 2006, the New York Post reports. The sale made him the largest individual shareholder in Disney.
Jobs amassed a huge fortune in his lifetime. Picture: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Despite his incredible wealth, Jobs was frugal and refused to let his fortune influence his or his family’s life.
According to Walter Isaacson, author of the biography Steve Jobs, the late entrepreneur once said: “I did not want to live that nutso lavish lifestyle that so many people do when they get rich.
“I saw a lot of other people at Apple, especially after we went public, how it changed them and a lot of people thought that they had to start being rich.
“I mean, a few people went out and bought Rolls Royces, and they bought homes, and their wives got plastic surgery.
“I saw these people who were really nice simple people turn into these bizarro people. And I made a promise to myself, I said I’m not gonna let this money ruin my life.”
Who inherited Steve Jobs’ estate?
After his death, the tech pioneer left a bulk of his estate to his wife Laurene Powell Jobs including his shares in both Apple and Disney.
In 2017, Powell Jobs sold half their Disney stake in 2017 for $US7 billion ($A10.5 billion).
Today, she is worth $US30 billion ($A45 billion), making her one of the 20 richest people in the US.
Jobs had four children: Lisa Brennan-Jobs from a previous relationship, and Reed, Erin, and Eve Jobs with Laurene Powell Jobs.
Steve Jobs and wife Laurene. Picture: Alexandra Wyman/Getty Images
Steve Jobs with his daughter Lisa Brennan-Jobs in 1986. Picture: Supplied
While they did not inherit massive sums, Lisa told the Times in 2018 that she and her siblings all received a multimillion-dollar inheritance from their father.
However, none of them has a say in where the rest of the former Apple CEO’s wealth will go.
In an interview with the New York Times in 2020, Powell-Jobs said she and her late husband do not believe in “legacy wealth building” – something that Jobs’ children are aware of.
“I inherited my wealth from my husband, who didn’t care about the accumulation of wealth,” she said.
“I’m not interested in legacy wealth buildings, and my children know that … Steve wasn’t interested in that. If I live long enough, it ends with me.”
Parts of this story first appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission.
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The post What happened to Steve Jobs’ fortune and properties appeared first on realestate.com.au.
Land in Melbourne’s residential growth corridors is shrinking, and becoming more expensive. Picture: Jake Nowakowski
Shrinkflation has taken hold in Melbourne’s residential growth corridors with buyers paying more for increasingly smaller blocks to build new homes.
New research reveals homebuyers chasing the dream of having their own backyard are facing the reality that land is shrinking, prices are climbing, and the suburbs where buyers can still afford a block are vanishing fast.
The shrinkflation phenomenon most famously emerged when Cadbury dropped the size of its Dairy Milk chocolate blocks, without lowering the price.
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Exclusive Oliver Hume research shows that in Melbourne, the average block has shrunk from 400sq m in 2020, which sold for a median $319,000, to 361 square metres today, now commanding a median price of $399,000.
Though Melbourne remains the only mainland capital with a relatively healthy supply of vacant land, the window of opportunity is narrowing.
Sales volumes jumped nearly 50 per cent in June, and developers are beginning to wind back incentives, signalling that prices could start rising again in early 2026.
While blocks under $1000 per square metre are still available in growth areas, those looking to get closer to the city face a stark choice: smaller lots, or higher prices.
Cadbury dropped the size of its Dairy Milk chocolate blocks, while the price continued to rise.
For first-home buyers, suburbs such as Truganina and Donnybrook offer blocks over 350sq m for less than $400,000, but the closer to the CBD, the scarcer and pricier the options become.
Oliver Hume chief economist Matt Bell said shrinking lots and rising prices were a direct result of limited land supply, coupled with local councils’ longstanding focus on preserving suburb character and heritage rather than prioritising housing.
“I’m an economist, I’m not an architect or a planner, but I’m definitely of the belief that in the past and still to this day, many local councils put way too much weight on those elements,” Mr Bell said.
“Character and heritage and all that sort of stuff, that’s nice to have if you can supply the amount of land and dwellings that you need. But if the choice is maintaining the existing character of a suburb or not housing people, I’d rather sacrifice some of the character and house people.”
Oliver Hume chief economist Matt Bell said shrinking lots and rising prices were a direct result of limited land supply, coupled with local councils’ longstanding focus on preserving suburb character and heritage rather than prioritising housing.
He said high demand and population growth meant Australians were increasingly accepting smaller blocks, with builders adapting to deliver better homes on tighter footprints.
“Everyone wants the bigger lot and the bigger house, that goes without saying,” Mr Bell said. “But people will now sacrifice that because of affordability … get their first house on that 350 square metre block instead of 500 square metres, because they still have aspirations to upgrade.”
For now, pockets of opportunity remain for buyers willing to compromise on size or location, but the message is clear: vacant land is becoming scarcer, and the era of the spacious, affordable block is drawing to a close.
Tge average new house lot is about 360sq m across Melbourne. Picture: Jake Nowakowski
The research reveals that median price and land size haven’t followed straight lines, with the price peaking at $409,500 last March, yet the median lot size reaching its smallest size at 350sq m in June 2024.
On a dollar per square metre calculation, Melbourne’s land price broke $1000 a square metre in June 2022 and hasn’t looked back. It was about $460sq m in mid-2013.
Mr Bell said homebuyers needed to think about transport infrastructure near an affordable block rather than how far it was from the city.
“If I were a buyer, one of the key elements making that decision to buy would be, not necessarily the kilometres, but what the transport infrastructure was like. Whether it had trains or roads or good amenities around it.
“So then, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s, you know, 30km or 25km away from (work), if it means you can save some money on land.”
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The post Melb shrinking blocks hit to backyard dreams appeared first on realestate.com.au.
The 1899 Rose St home in Coburg — a former neighbourhood dairy — that drew 227 bids and sold for $1.604m.
An 1899 Coburg dairy turned family home erupted in a backyard bidding war that stretched 37 minutes and left even the auctioneer stunned.
An original Coburg dairy turned century-old Victorian at 102 Rose St unleashed one of the suburb’s wildest auctions, with two young families slugging it out through 227 bids before the hammer finally fell at $1.604m.
A huge crowd crammed into the backyard on Saturday to witness the drama, as four bidders chased the 1899 residence, once home to the LA Rose family’s neighbourhood dairy and among the earliest houses built in the pocket.
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Jellis Craig Brunswick director and auctioneer Greg Cusack said the sale was the longest of his career.
“It went for 37 minutes and we had 227 bids, that’s the longest auction I’ve ever run,” Mr Cusack said.
“The two families who fought it out at the end both wanted to renovate, and they were so determined they were throwing down $1000 rises all the way from $1.4m to $1.604m.”
The functional kitchen primed for a modern revamp after young families fought for the Coburg home at auction.
A flexible fifth bedroom or study, adding appeal for growing families or work-from-home buyers.
The property, guided at $1.25m-$1.35m, was declared on the market at $1.38m and quickly surged past expectations.
In the end, it sold to the bidder who had opened proceedings, a buyer Mr Cusack described as someone who “negotiated for a living”.
Built on the cusp of 1900, the home reflects Coburg’s shift from quarrying and penal roots to suburban life.
Behind its ornate facade and rosettes ceilings sat practical outbuildings once used for a small-scale dairy that supplied locals before refrigeration and industrial processing made such neighbourhood dairies obsolete.
Original fireplaces and soaring ceilings showcased the character that helped fuel one of Coburg’s longest auctions.
The backyard where a huge crowd watched 227 bids fly during the 37-minute auction marathon.
With four bedrooms, period detail and a backyard still big enough for a veggie patch and fruit trees, the home was marketed as a “historic prize awaiting its next chapter”.
The sale underlined Coburg’s enduring family appeal, with buyers chasing heritage homes on sizeable land close to Sydney Rd, schools and transport.
Melbourne recorded a preliminary 72 per cent clearance rate from 585 results reported, with the Coburg marathon among the standout results of the day.
Timber-lined ceilings added rustic character to the Victorian residence, a rare heritage feature in Coburg today.
Built circa 1899 with original dairy outbuildings, 102 Rose St reflects Coburg’s shift from working outpost to family suburb.
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