Former Stanmore shop reborn as luxury home sells for $3.625m at auction
A former crumbling shop in Sydney’s inner west has collected $3.625 million at auction after two property punters spent 12 gruelling months transforming the brick eyesore into a luxe five-bedroom home.
Real estate agent Nick Zahra of Gerber Properties was told he was mad for forking out $1.792 million for the old brick property at 27 Bruce Street, Stanmore, 18 months ago with his brother Luke, of Touchwood constructions.
But $900,000 and countless hours sanding bricks later, the pair has more than just pocketed a pretty penny; they smashed the suburb’s house price record per square metre, according to Mr Zahra.
The home, which was one of 397 properties to sell at auction across Sydney on Saturday, garnered hundreds of inquiries throughout the campaign and a handful of virtual bidders on the day, with a young northern beaches man nabbing the keys of the five-bedroom house for just under the $3.7 million reserve.
“So many people said we were nuts at the time and that we paid too much for it,” Mr Zahra said.
“But we could see the potential … it had a warehouse charm and a nice old feel to it … but it’s also in an elevated position with views of the CBD while being just 400 metres from the train line.
“Then when COVID kicked in, we got a bit worried … we thought if the market crashed, we might not get our money back. But then we rolled the dice and started construction.”
The old building, which was once a corner store and a blind factory, featured brickwork from the late 1800s that Mr Zahra said was covered in layers of paint and graffiti that required the pair to hand grind back each brick over a painstaking two-month period.
“It was a massive renovation … and while my brother has been doing small renovations for many years, this was our biggest – it was a transformation,” Mr Zahra said.
While the strong result has showcased Sydney’s ongoing market strength, Mr Zahra said a recent rise in listings and a slight push back from frustrated buyers indicated the market could be nearing the end of its strong run.
Over at Miranda, Ivan Lampret of Gibson Partners Real Estate collected $2.025 million for an original brick home on a 695-square-metre block at 19 Woonah Street, after 11 registered bidders, of which five were active, battled it out past the $1.92 million reserve.
Mr Lampret said bidding kicked off properly at $1.75 million with increments dropping to as low as $500 before a developer emerged as the new owner of the three-bedroom property.
“[The buyer] hadn’t physically inspected the property, and I haven’t personally met him … but I think with the way everything is going, development sites are scarce … and I think the market is still strong, and it will hold up this year,” he said.
“I’ve been doing this for 27 years, and I think in that time, I have not seen a shortage [of stock] like this.”
Across Sydney, 85 per cent of reported auctions were cleared on Saturday for a median sale price of $1.502 million.
Up in Brisbane, the auction clearance rate was a strong 86 per cent after 42 homes transacted on Saturday for a median sale price of $1.22 million.
Of those, a meticulously renovated three-bedroom cottage at 28 Landor Street, Tarragindi, attracted one of the strongest buyer turnouts of the day with 30 registered bidders and a reserve-blasting $1.51 million winning bid.
Selling agent Sim Gill of Ray White Holland Park said the striking home last sold two years ago for $765,000, with a tasteful makeover helping the owners almost double their money.
“It was just a phenomenal result, and it blasted quite far past the reserve (by $210,000) … I didn’t expect that many bidders; in fact, it was a record for our agency,” Mr Gill said.
“I actually originally sold this home to the vendors as a deceased estate, and it had never been sold before.
“They then did a beautiful job renovating it. Before that, it was a very original four-bedroom, one-bathroom house, and they turned it into a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home while adding in a nice walk-in robe to the master bedroom. They also changed the floor plan and added the back deck.”
While the renovation paid dividends for the vendors, Mr Gill said it was also a major win for the buyers who had been home hunting for six months.
“They didn’t bid at all until the final call, which was an interesting strategy, but it ultimately paid off for them,” he said.
Despite a chic riverfront home at 7 Wendell Street, Norman Park, selling under the hammer for $3.41 million to claim the top sale of the day in Brisbane on Saturday, it was an opulent six-bedroom estate in Hamilton that stole the auction show for the week after an unnamed local buyer splashed $7.5 million on Thursday night.
Selling agent Damon Warat of Ray White Ascot said the elevated abode at 1 Dickson Terrace attracted buyer interest from across the globe, which led to five registered bidders – of which three were active – battling it out for the prestigious property.
“There wasn’t much you couldn’t like about this property … just the entertaining spaces and the amount of money spent [ensured such a strong auction result],” Mr Warat said.
“But I’ve also never seen more people out and about looking for property.”
The home, described as a palatial retreat, features Brisbane River and city views, an infinity pool and a state-of-the-art kitchen while occupying a 756-square-metre block.
In Melbourne, the easing of COVID-19 restrictions on viewing properties led to a stronger auction clearance rate of 76 per cent.
A total of 104 homes were reported to have sold over Saturday for a median price of $881,000, with a quaint Edwardian cottage at 16 Ames Avenue, Carnegie, claiming the city’s top transaction despite selling a few days prior for $2.645 million.
Co-selling agent Simon Pintado of Buxton Real Estate Bentleigh secured the deal after orchestrating a fast and furious campaign, resulting in the reserve being smashed by almost $250,000.
“We only had it on the market for six days and during that time we had about 37 private appointments … and that was because it was a quintessential family home, and it was an Edwardian home. That’s what people loved,” Mr Pintado said.
“The owners were up in Darwin, and they just couldn’t believe [what it sold for}. They wanted $2.2 million when it all started … and it was a young family who got it.”
Mr Pintado said while property listings were still low in the Victorian capital, the level of buyer appetite was only growing, with experts predicting a strong end to the year.
In Ferntree Gully, another short and sharp sales campaign followed by a fierce auction paid dividends for the owners of a brick home at 5 Riding Way.
The four-bedroom house, which had a price guide of $770,000 to $825,000, sold for $918,000 in just 15 minutes under the virtual hammer to an investor, said selling agent Rene Mawad of Ray White Ferntree Gully.
“The interest was red hot … and the strategy was to have the auction seven days after private inspections could be conducted, and it paid off because we had about 50 to 70 private inspections during that time,” he said.
“The buyer that bought it held off initially then bid powerfully with $5000 to $9000 bids before the end and gave the underbidder no confidence to come back.
“The vendors were ecstatic … their bottom line was $825,000, and the dream was $900,000, so they were over the moon.”
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