Albion family reveal how rare reno move helped smash price record

Albion home renovators Emily and Dean have scored a record-breaking sale after extending and overhauling the property. Picture: Mark Stewart.

An Albion family who spent years plotting the perfect renovation for their home have smashed the suburb’s house price record by almost $150,000.

Owners Dean and Emily were nervous as the home went under the hammer, and when it started out slowly with a $1.2m vendor bid needed to get buyers involved.

But with a crowd close to 150 watching, the bids for their 33 Adelaide St home kept coming as three buyers pushed it to $1.402m.

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CoreLogic records show 34 Burnewang St set the previous house price benchmark for Albion at $1.255m in 2021.

The record-result for Emily and Dean followed a painstaking renovation in which they spent years getting a feel for where the sun would be at different times of year, mapping out what was needed in an extension and borrowing the idea for a scissor truss roof over the rear from popular TV show Grand Designs.

The pair said a big part of the result was the exhaustive effort they put into renovating it, more than doubling the size of the interior floorplan as well as installing energy efficient features — and even a series of openable skylights.

The 33 Adelaide St, Albion, home had an impressive renovation — including a scissor-truss roofline for its extension that they got the idea to use from hit TV show Grand Designs.

A ritzy kitchen was done to a higher standard than most would expect in the Albion area.

“We have lived through it every step of the way, when it was hard and cold and hot, we have had the dogs and the kids getting into the mud and the dirt, and it’s nice to put a full stop on it and see it through to the finish.” Dean said.

“Every time you do another one, you find out more of what works and what doesn’t. This one was a bit more involved than the last time, but we have a much better idea of what works and doesn’t — and the next one will be even better.”

But first they’re planning a holiday.

“We need that break before we channel all our energy into the next project,” Emily said.

Ray White Sunshine’s Marcus Fregonese handled the sale and said the result had been a bit of a shock — with bidding becoming so fierce he only got a chance to call it on the market at $1.35m, well after it reached the point of sale.

The home’s bathrooms showcase modern styles, with floor-to-ceiling tiling.

A hefty extension to the home more than doubled its original size.

“They have done an unbelievable job, it’s a renovation you just don’t see around here — it’s something you might see in Northcote or Brunswick,” Mr Fregonese said.

A local family bought the home, with the result something he said should give any owners thinking of a reno the confidence to do so.

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