A Renovated Vaucluse Period Home Trying Its Luck with $8m+ Hopes

In the annals of Sydney real estate history, Vaucluse homes with the iconic gun barrel view across Sydney Harbour have held a prestige standing since the construction of the Harbour Bridge (although the ‘Manhattanisation’ of Darling Point in the immediate post-war years is what truly propelled the desirability of Vaucluse). Enter 1 Gilliver Avenue, a home that pre-dates the Vaucluse rush, but seems to have always maintained a certain state of elegance. The c1912 home sits at one of Vaucluse’s highest points, both in terms of elevation and prestige. The home traded in a an unrenovated state in Aug 2001 for $3.4m; within a year of its sale, the new owners put forth a $550k development application to the Woollahra Council for the addition of an “underground garage, one storey pavilion in rear yard, swimming pool with two storey cabana and associated fencing.” Add in a William Dangar-designed garden and landscaping and 10 years and now the owners are looking to sell the home with $8m+ expectations. 

Overall, the renovation was a definite improvement (although we’d love to see images of the subterranean garaging and a floor plan) and ensuring all four bedrooms have ensuite bathrooms is a definite boon in the luxury market. On the down side, the integration of the modern rear and the historic front wasn’t necessarily seamless, but the continuity of the rusticated sandstone edifice provides a necessary anchor for the home. Overall, it looks to be a good price for the quality and position of the home and the impressive size of the parcel. We’re glad to see the owners did not overbuild on the site, nor did they scrap the not-Heritage Listed Arts & Crafts home in favour of a manse far more obtrusive.

D’Leanne Lewis of Laing + Simmons Double Bay has the listing: 1 Gilliver Avenue, Vaucluse

Click below for more images of the renovation and interiors!

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Radical Roundup: New & Notable This Week

VIC

• A two-storey weatherboard on Williamstown’s The Strand emerged on the market with modest mid-$2mil hopes. The Strand is Williamstown’s trophy street, not surprising seeing that its bayfront position offers some stunning views back to Melbourne’s CBD. The price record for the road was achieved back in May 2008 when 21 The Strand sold for $5.4m. Aside from that outlier, most homes trade between $2m and $4.5m, meaning that 27 The Strand is priced well (potentially a result of its shared driveway with a battle-ax development of townhouses at the property’s rear). Further up the road, 75 The Strand is looking for between $3m and $3.5m. Sweeney Estate Agents Peter Fox and Dean Stanley have the listing. 27 The Strand, Williamstown 

• Notable for its shockingly expensive listing price, a 50 acre chunk of non-waterfront land in Balnarring on the Mornington Peninsula listed for $3.3m. Blane Paton of Paton Estate Agents has the listing at 1 Stanleys Road. If it gets that price, it will be the most expensive parcel of R-1 land sold in the suburb…it will also eclipse the price of any home sold in the suburb. 1 Stanleys Road, Balnarring

• An over-the-top listing in Bellarine still lingers on the market. It’s a tough sell: only three acres in an area where vacation homes command far more acreage, interiors that belong in four-star Russian hotel, and a $5m+ price tag. Prices that high on the Peninsula usually only occur in Curlewis. Nonetheless, Kay & Burton Albert Park agent Alex Schiavo is trying his best. The listing: 70 Greenhills Road, Bellarine

NSW

• Situated on the iconic whitewashed escarpment behind Bondi Iceburgs, 14 Notts Ave listed with $7m+ hopes. It’s point-blank north-facing views and four-car garage redeem the fact the home only has two bedrooms. Bethwyn Richards and Jennifer Pooley of McGrath Eastern Suburbs have the listing. The home last sold for $2.85m in Dec 2000 (purchased from the Packer family, it seems) and for $2.1m before that in Oct 1998, both large prices for those days. If 14 Notts gets the price they want, they’ll still be shy of the $9m record for a Notts Ave property when Apt 3 and Number 8 Notts Ave sold in July 2006. 14 Notts Ave, Bondi Beach

• Bondi Beach’s top-end sell-off continues, this time with yet another apartment in “The Bondi” at 152 Campbell Parade. The north-facing Apartment 702 is looking for the mid-$6mils. Next door neighbour Apt 701 achieved a sale of $6.75m in 2009 and Apt 802 directly upstairs nabbed $9m in Feb 2010 (it had a sizeable terrace, it should be noted). D’Leanne Lewis of Laing + Simmons Double Bay has the listing and she’s insisting on calling it “The Sub-Penthouse.” 702/152 Campbell Parade

SA

• A 2007-built limestone-clad Gilberton mansion ‘reminiscent of some of the most majestic homes in England and Europe’ listed this week with $4m+ hopes. Listing agents Marina Ormsby and Peter Veitch Toop & Toop Real Estate are keeping the exact address confidential, but they couldn’t help but leak the home’s prestigious position on Edwin Terrace, often considered South Australia’s best street. The 950sqm home comes with a lift, self-described “grandiose” rooms, and a “fastidiously” landscaped yard. Bring your valium, that sounds stressful! The listing: 9A ‘Confidential’ Edwin Terrace, Gilberton

WA

• A 9-year old (although, really, it looks far older) McMansion in South Perth has re-listed on the market this week after unsuccessfully spending 7 months on the market with an $8.25m ask last year. Listing agent Pamela Wilkinson of Acton South is trying her luck with similar pricing hopes: Domain reveals indicative $8.5m+ hopes. The home is situated on Hopetoun Street, one house back from the River, and has some dead-on north-facing views of the city. Beyond that, it’s your typical Perth abode. Check out the interior photos to see what we mean. And for the record, the home (or parcel of land?) last sold for $1.2m in May 2001. 15 Hopetoun St, South Perth

This Week in House Flips (or Distressed Sales?)

Two multi-million dollar Eastern Suburbs listings emerged on the market this week that led to some raised eyebrows here at Radical Terrace. Both abodes are the result of book-time (2007/2008) speculative apartment redevelopments. First up (pictured above and below) is a full-floor unit in the 7-unit serviced apartment conversion ‘The Grantham’, situated in a tiny cul-de-sac at the tip of Potts Point. The development received significant positive press when it first came to market, but slugged along when it came to the actual sale of the units. Nonetheless, each full-floor apartment commanded a high price, with lower floors achieving $5.5m, mid-floors at $6.25m, and a high floor (presumably the now-listed Unit 7) for $7.25m.

It’s difficult to ascertain what listing agents Jason Boon and Geoff Cox (the original marketers of the block) want for the 3-bedroom apartment, but it’s currently the second most expensive home on the market in Potts Point, second only to the merchant villa ‘Bomera’. The Radical Terrace believes the owners will get around the $7m mark and take a small hit to their pocket books. And considering The Grantham (see above) resembles more of a Brazilian favela than a luxury apartment block, any price is a good one. The listing: 7/1 Grantham St, Potts Point

Heading a few kilometres east to Woollahra, we now check out a former inter-war apartment block on Queen Street that was converted into two townhouses in 2008. Sold “new” in September 2009 for $3.275m after spending quite some time on the market, 166A Queen Street is now listed 3 years later with reduced price hopes in the low-$3ms. The developer (Teh Howell?) initially bought the block of apartments for $3.68m in 2007 before embarking on a $700k renovation which saw the addition of a top-floor master suite and hydraulic lifts for the two units and the loss of any character features. D’Leanne Lewis and Patrick Moxey of Laing+Simmons Double Bay have the listing. Pictured below.