Variety of property key to the enduring appeal of Canberra's inner south

Nestled between the lake and reserve, with the parliamentary triangle at its heart, the inner south has always been Canberra’s blue-chip destination for property.

Idyllic streetscapes combined with breathtaking architecture have populated these eight residential suburbs with some of the city’s most sought-after neighbourhoods.

However it’s not as unattainable as many Canberrans think, Luton Manuka director James Carter says.

The area offers a diverse landscape comprising knockdown rebuilds, heritage renovations, boutique townhouse complexes and high-density apartment buildings.

“We’ve got a really good balance of product here from affordable, compact living right up to the massive blocks, I don’t know what other area can offer that and still be so liveable and culturally infused,” Carter says.

It’s a destination where many Canberrans are hoping to find their dream home. But for many residents, an inner south dream home can’t just be bought, it needs to be created.

Premium properties in the inner south are hotly contested – and for most of us – financially out of reach. For those that can afford the high-end properties, it’s still a matter of finding that perfect home in a fiercely competitive market.

Home values in the area continue to grow, as a record breaking sale in Yarralumla recently demonstrated.

When 16 Brown Street this month sold for $3.95 million, it not only smashed the suburb record by $750,000, but it also broke Canberra’s auction record by $550,000.

The property was sold through Peter Blackshaw Manuka agents Andrew Chamberlain and Alec Brown and LJ Hooker Manuka agent Stephen Thompson.

Thompson said the team was “inundated” with interest in the lakeside mansion.

“The depth of top-end buyers is phenomenal,” Thompson said. “They’re looking for quality and they’re happy to pay for it.”

Chamberlain said the original buyers purchased the block of land 20 years ago and created the iconic property.

It’s a path many buyers need to travel if they’re hoping to obtain their ideal home in the inner south.

A+ Group architect Steven Cetrtek has helped many homeowners realise their dream property in this sought-after area. “A lot of my clients come to me and we have a conversation about whether it’s worth preserving or whether it’s worth doing a knockdown rebuild,” Cetrtek says.

“I’m definitely an advocate of keeping a house if it’s got merit and certain characteristics that you can’t recreate. Canberra is a new city compared to Sydney or Melbourne, so you don’t get the Californian bungalows or Victorian terraces, but you do get some beautiful suburb homes of the 1930s era and there’s a very limited supply of them.”

Alongside the demand for freestanding homes there is also a rising demand for quality townhouse house and apartment developments.

Downsizers, first-home buyers hoping to get a foothold into the inner south, and busy families looking for a low-maintenance property compete for more compact homes.

“If they can forgo a backyard and have a nice courtyard that is accessible from the living area that is functional and works in a contemporary way they’ll fall over themselves to get it,” Cetrtek says.

“People are willing to compromise on the style of accommodation to live in the inner south.”

Cetrtek says compromise is the key to getting an affordable home in this prestigious part of Canberra, whether that’s buying a new home on a smaller block or buying an older home that needs some TLC.

“I still think you can find something affordable in the inner south as long as you’re willing to accept a compromise and you have to be willing to put in the effort of a project – you have to do the hard yards and you have to put in the effort,” Cetrtek says.

If you can get your hands on one of these properties, there is huge potential for growth.

“We’ve seen that great result in Brown Street and we should be seeing a couple more records being broken in suburbs such as Red Hill, Griffith and Forrest,” Carter says.

“I think we’re going to see substantial records broken. There will always be a really high demand for those blue-ribbon homes.”

Inner-south standout sales

• Red Hill – The ACT price record was set in 2010 when 27 Mugga Way, Red Hill, sold for $7.3 million. The suburb has had nine sales top $4 million.
• Yarralumla – The sale of 16 Brown Street for $3.95 million was the biggest sale of the year so far and the highest price achieved at auction for a single residential home.
• Griffith – Manuka and some of Canberra’s oldest homes gives this suburb its village character. It has been a popular choice for politicians settling in Canberra, with the sale of Joe Hockey’s Griffith home making headlines when it sold for $1.5 million in April.
• Kingston – The inner south has become a collection of villages, however, the Kingston Foreshore development has added a vertical village to this pocket of Canberra. Land sales have been hotly contested, the most expensive sale was recorded this month when a 3697-square-metre waterfront block sold for $21.65 million.
• Forrest – A string of strong sales has been recorded in Forrest in recent months, with four homes selling for more than $2 million so far this year. The highest of these was recorded in April when 9 Dampier Crescent sold for $3.3 million.

Perfect project

Architect Steven Cetrtek has brought to life the inner south dream home for many Canberrans and now he’s creating his own.

He sold his extensively renovated Narrabundah duplex in December and has been renting in Mawson while searching for the perfect site.

“There was not a lot out there,” Cetrtek says.

“I was looking at original homes that were untouched and ready for renovation that I saw as a potential project. If just seemed that properties were so rare and so few and far between. We were just about to give up and then this brilliant property came up and we’re absolutely thrilled.”

Cetrtek found a 1950s property on Captain Cook Crescent in Griffith, designed by renowned architect Kenneth Oliphant, and he has plans to maintain and enhance its original character.

“It’s a beautiful property with nice, original high ceilings,” Cetrtek says.

“The existing architect’s plan is really easy to adapt and extend, which is what I really loved about it. I couldn’t wait to get into planning and adapting the home to suit my wife and my two young girls.”

He says the inner south location is perfect for his daughters, who go to Red Hill Primary School.

“It’s a great public school and they’re just a walk up the road,” Cetrtek says.

“We’ve got Manuka Pool, Manuka and Kingston. When we were living in Narrabundah our weekends were spent taking our girls to the lake. It’s so valuable to be able to go out do that on the weekend.

“When we started looking at properties, we saw young families who were just like us, we all want the same thing – we want the lifestyle the inner south has to offer.”

Smart, spacious and stylish

1/63 Newdegate Street, Deakin
$840,000-plus

This well-proportioned three-bedroom townhouse is set in the tightly held Adelaide Gardens complex, a boutique development of just eight homes.

Spacious interiors provide plenty of room for the modern family. An open-plan design places the kitchen in the centre of the home. It features stainless steel appliances, stone benchtops and an abundance of storage space.

The kitchen overlooks the family room, which flows onto outdoor entertaining spaces.

Easycare, landscaped grounds provide the perfect setting for alfresco entertaining and enough space for the kids to play.

The bedrooms are situated on the upper floor and all include built-in wardrobes. A north-facing master suite features a walk-in wardrobe and large, modern en suite. The two remaining bedrooms sit alongside the family bathroom, which is complete with a spa bath.

The most recent sale at Adelaide Gardens fetched $845,000 when it hit the market late last year.

Situated close to the Deakin shops, Manuka, Kingston and some of the best schools in Canberra, this is a wonderful opportunity to secure a low-maintenance home in the sought-after inner south.

Number 1/63 Newdegate Street, Deakin will be auctioned on Saturday, July 2 at noon, onsite. Phone Peter Blackshaw Manuka agents Dan McAlpine and Louise Harget on 0401 005 282 or 0412 997 894. EER: 4.5. Inspect: Saturday, 2-2.30pm.