Rundown Geelong West home fetches big price at auction

The three-bedroom house at 21 Britannia St, Geelong West, sold for $650,000 at auction.

Buyers paid $100,000 above expectations for a basic three-bedroom character home in Geelong West where all the work’s in front of them.

The 354sq m property at 21 Britannia St offered plenty of drawbacks for potential buyers, Buxton Newtown agent Nicholas Allison, said, which helped determined the $500,000 to $550,000 price guide, such as the state of the weatherboard residence and the fact the property shared a common driveway with the neighbouring property.

But two bidders who came upon the property more halfway through the campaign, led the interest at Saturday’s auction.

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“It’d had some other interest on it but those two who drove it were basically only around a week and a half ago,” Mr Allison said.

“So a bit of Melbourne migration again – which is good at the end of the day – was always going to determine what land value is in Geelong West.

“And the house was, we were honest it as it needed a fair bit of work. The shared driveway as well which wasn’t attractive to all.

“I think people just realised if you’ve got any opportunity in Geelong West that’s entry level, you’re always going to have competition.

The 354sq m property has a shared driveway.

The deep backyard offers the chance to build a garage and expand the modest house.

“It’s Geelong West – it’s what everyone knows, and they know it holds value.

“And being where it is located, so close to Pakington St, it really is going to just drive interest from there.”

Mr Allison said the buyers could choose to retain the period house, a key characteristic of living in Geelong West.

“The house was in a state that although it needed a lot of money spent on it, it’s still savable and it’s still got some nice charm and character features that I’m sure new purchasers can use to their advantage and add their own flair.”

Geelong West’s median house price of $813,000 is 7.6 per cent below what was recorded the same time last year, PropTrack data shows.

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