1. Brighton Victorian Villa Lists for $5m Two Years After Selling for $7m

    ‘Rolvenden’, a c1888 Victorian villa on nearly a half acre block at 139-141 New Street came to market this week. What is surprising is that the asking price is $2m less than the property’s $7.0m sale price back in 2010. Surprising to the Radical Terrace, the listing agent actually responded to our pricing enquiry letting us know that they “don’t have market feedback as yet, but…expect buyer interest to be in excess of $5 million dollars.” Don’t have market feedback? Doesn’t a 2010 sale of $7m indicate a pretty close comparable, seeing that it’s the same house?

    Also a bit surprising is the agents’ recycling of its old 2010 listing photos of the property. Granted, those pictures are sufficient in displaying the positive attributes of the home, but definitely leave questions on the current state of the property on the table, especially when such a drastic price cut in involved. The 5-bedroom, 6-bathroom home comes with a very unique garaging/carriage house accessed via a large pebbled driveway. The home was renovated extensively between its 2003 sale of $2.005m and its 2010 sale of $7.0m. 

    The home itself is perhaps the most prominent - and certainly the largest - on a relatively desirable stretch of New Street, otherwise characterised by more modest $2m-$3m villas on far smaller parcels. As is typically the case with anomalously large historic homes in inner suburban locations, Rolvenden was among the first to be developed in its pocket of Brighton and sat in relative isolation for its first 30 years. MMBW maps dating to the turn-of-the-century reveal just a modest neighbour to the north, the stately Victorian Italianate ‘Bronte’ to the south (now situated at 2 Sussex Street), and a small handful of homes directly across the street. 

    The listing: ‘Rolvenden’, 139-141 New Street, Brighton

    Click below for more listing images and the property floor plan.

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  2. A Rare Loser in South Yarra: What Once Was $4.5m is Now $3.8m

    It’s never a good thing to sell a home for less than your purchase price. And, to be honest, it’s a bit surprising to find such an example in South Yarra. Nonetheless, they do exist as is evidenced with the recent listing of 9 Kensington Road. The home was purchased by its current owners for $4.5m in April 2010 and now agents Mark Wridgway and Jeremy Fox of RT Edgar are shopping around for humbler $3.8m+ expectations (unless, of course, they’re underquoting…which is a whole different story altogether…). The 4/5-bedroom terrace is well-renovated, comes with a rare single car garage, and is situated on Kensington Road, one of South Yarra’s original powerhouse streets of prestige residences, now dominated by regal terraces and desirable apartment blocks (with a few notable mansions at the far northern end of the cul-de-sac). The interiors were designed by Stuart Rattle and feature a conservatory overlooking the urban courtyard garden and plunge pool (which is perhaps the most unique trait of this terrace).

    When one encounters a listing at a loss, the first thought is that the owners overpaid. However, #9’s next-door neigbhour #7 on an identical sized lot lacking off-street parking traded hands several months earlier in 2010 for $4.15m, making the $4.5m purchase price of 9 Kensington in 2010 seem justifiable. 

    We’ll be eager to see the price at which this property trades at its auction in a few weeks.

    The listing: 9 Kensington Road, South Yarra

    Click below for more images and a FLOOR PLAN!

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  3. A Pre-Land Boom Mansion Hits Market with $3.5m+ Expectations

    Despite being laid out in 1837 by Robert Hoddle soon after he surveyed the Melbourne CBD grid, East Melbourne was not developed until the 1840s. Land was laid out for numerous religious and educational institutions (few of the latter still exist) and parkland. By the time gold was discovered in Victoria, members of the city’s growing professional class had colonized East Melbourne as the city’s first prestigious suburb. Jolimont Terrace, the location of the featured property, is situated across from the Melbourne Cricket Ground, initially laid out as a “Government paddock” but quickly morphed into a cricket ground in 1853. And although it is quite clear that the road was laid out as early as 1866 (see isometric view below), development of the street occurred primarily in the 1870s and early 1880s. Homes were constructed of solid stone construction and included prominent mansions (eg. Inveresk, c.1877) and well-regarded row houses. Anecdotal evidence (the engraving at the top of 40 Jolimont Terrace) reveal that the subject property was built at the dawn of the land boom in 1882. Given the terrace’s generous width, protruding bay window, and grand proportions, it was likely not a speculative build. 

    The four bedroom home comes with a car spot and a master bedroom with ensuite. More importantly, the mosaic tile in the entry foyer seems to be original (or a damn good re-creation) and is nothing short of stunning. 40 Jolimont Terrace last sold for $1.55m in Aug 2001 and appears to have been renovated around that time. Now, RT Edgar Toorak agents Tim Wilson and Jeremy Fox are taking the property to auction with expectations around $3.5m.

    1866 isometric view of Melbourne (above) showing the location of Jolimont Terrace before its build-out. A mid 1880s map (below), showing the present day roads that comprise the Jolimont neighbourhood.

    See more photos of the property, floor plan, and listing information below.

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  4. Radical Roundup: New & Notable This Week

    VIC

    IVANHOE - One of about only a dozen Ivanhoe homes fronting the Yarra River, 9-11 Riverside Road listed this week with hopes of smashing Ivanhoe’s price record through Miles agents Damien Carter and James Davis. The post-modern 6-bedroom rests on nearly an acre and comes with a riverfront tennis court. The home last sold for $2.47m in Nov 2003 and has doubtfully been refurbished since. Nonetheless, it comes with $5m+ expectations which would eclipse current Ivanhoe record holder 59 Studley Rd which sold for $4.3m in Aug 2010. 9-11 Riverside Road, Ivanhoe

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    MELBOURNE CBD - A colossal 500sqm tri-level apartment in the redeveloped Sargood House at 73 Flinders Lane hit the market this week with $4m+ expectations through Barleys Estate Agents John Hayes and Danielle Martin. The apartment last traded for $1.43m in Dec 2005. The price seems paltry by 2012 standards, but 2005 was early in the reinvention of Melbourne CBD’s appeal to high-end residential buyers. Wood Marsh gets a solid B grade for their interior design and extensive outdoor spaces. The listing: 602/73 Flinders Lane

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    BEAUMARIS - Beaumaris, a suburb developed almost entirely in the post-war years holds very few Colonial homes. One of those few - ‘Talbot House’, c1880 - listed this week. Although never considered a landmark property, the very nature of its age warranted a Heritage Listing and lengthy verbiage by listing agents Michael Cooney and Craig Cox of Hodges Beaumaris. The home itself is chock-full of over-the-top furnishings and faux-finishes. It last traded (as a development site, interestingly enough) for $1.95m in Aug 2005. History comes at a cost: the house and 1.5 acres comes with price expectations so outlandish, it’s not even worth writing the number here. The listing: ‘Talbot House’, 28 Cromer Road, Beaumaris

    • Above images: Talbot House today (above) and an ariel from 1945 with the featured property located at the center with the single, straight pathway and established trees (below) 
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    GISBORNE SOUTH - Nothing quite says ‘Americana’ like steep gables, bay windows, an outer suburban location, and a seven-car garage. Or at least that comparison is what John Saurini of Leeburn is hoping will attract a $3.25m buyer to acquire a 74-acre listing of his on a less-than-salubrious cul-de-sac in Gisborne South. Although the Radical Terrace will admit that the indoor pool, atrium living and dining areas, and “walk-bridge” definitely lend itself to an American-style evangelical Christian family with double-digit children. 39 Namnans Way, Gisborne South

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    NSW

    WOOLLAHRA - Unit 15 in the desirable Woollahra block ‘Lyndhurst Gardens’ has returned to market with a new listing agent and an old price (low to mid-$3mils). Randall Kemp of Ray White Woollahra bumped his Ray White co-workers Penny Timothy and Ian Campbell. The Radical Terrace last visited this listing in March: check out our write-up on the block here. You may remember from that piece of ours that Unit 9 was looking for $2.18m; that unit ended up landing exactly $2.0m in Apr for a unit identical to the featured property. 15/3 Rosemont Ave, Woollahra

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    EWINGSDALE (BYRON BAY) - A Tuscan-styled home outside of Byron Bay that’s been off-and-on the market for the last few years reemerged this week. Price is unchanged: $2.9m. The home last sold as vacant land in 2004 for $880k. Janis Perkins of Raine & Horne Byron Bay has the listing: 210 Balraith Lane, Ewingsdale Byron Bay

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    SYDNEY CBD - Unit 4102, a sub-sub-penthouse in the well-known apartment high-rise The Cove, listed asking “offers over $4.8m.” It’s a big bump for the three-bedroom Unit 4102, having last traded for $3.8m in Dec 2010 with no signs of a renovation in the interim. Nevertheless, a high precedent for sales over $4m exists on levels 40 and up in the building (See below). Monique Lavers of Sydney Cove Property has the listing:

    1. Unit 4101 (floormates!): $4.15m, Apr 2008
    2. Unit 4201: $4.575m, Oct 2008
    3. Unit 4302: $6.71m, Mar 2006
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    SYLVANIA WATERS - Whenever a Sylvania Waters property comes our way, it’s a pleasant surprise: few suburbs reveal the shifting trends of what is deemed desirable than this harbourfront suburb in Sydney’s Shire. This week’s featured four-bedroom home comes with “20 metres of deep waterfrontage with pontoon and jetty” and a price history that’s a social demographers dream. Let’s take a look at 274 Belgrave Esplanade’s sales timeline:

    1. $700k, Mar 1996
    2. $2.1m, Nov 2002
    3. $3.3m, Sep 2007
    4. $2.7m, Mar 2009
    5. $____m, And today? 
    It would make a good game to guess the property’s price, but listing agent Scott Moore of Beattie Moore Property gives it away all too quickly: “Buyers guide over $2.7m”. And if a discounted sale isn’t enticing enough, the listing headline reveals the home is, indeed, a “HUGE FULL BRICK RESIDENCE”. Phew. 
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    VAUCLUSE - Isn’t any home with that iconic gun-barrel view of Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House worthy of note? Enter 27 New South Head Road. Robert Paradis of LJ Hooker Bondi Junction has the new-ish 4-bedroom-with-pool home that lands a sweet Vaucluse location past the S-curves. However, those S-curves aren’t the only obstacle you’ll cross scoring this property; it wil also set you back over $4.75m. The listing: 27 New South Head Road, Vaucluse.

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    KIRRIBILLI - Little of Kirribilli’s colonial housing stock survived the early 20th C apartment building frenzy of the densely populated peninsula. Thus 60 Willoughby Street’s c1880s construction, quirky yard with pool, and period features come with a price tag “above $5m”. However, working against the home’s high price is it’s minimal view and lack of harbourfront. A long-listed comp at 69 Carabella Street has been lingering on the market for nearly 2 years. Kingsley Yates and Rachael White of Ray White Lower North Shore have the listing. 

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    ELIZABETH BAY - Last sold for $5.75m as new construction in 2010, Unit 4 at 1 Onslow Avenue in Elizabeth Bay now comes with a discounted price. Jason Boon of Richardson Wrench is seeking $5.5m+ for the full-floor apartment. 4/1 Onslow Ave, Elizabeth Bay

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    MITTAGONG - What appears to be a tragically unsold spec home emerged on the market through agent Ian Rayner. The 2 acres-and-a-McMansion comes with a $3.15m ask and a secret Mittagong address. Big number for two acres and scant landscaping. Check out the ambiguously located haunted house here.

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    SA

    TENNYSON - A oceanfront home in the Adelaide suburb of Tennyson listed recently with low-$3mil expectations. The mansion comes with 6 bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms and a rooftop meditation deck. Agent Lynette McMahon is quick to make reference to the home’s “Californian beach mansion” aesthetic. 27 Tennyson Heights Court, Tennyson

  5. Sky High Pricing in East Melbourne: A $5.5m+ (Attached) Terrace

    123 Gipps Street, an elegant William Pitt-designed c1887 4-bedroom Victorian Italianate terrace situated in patrician East Melbourne, is back on the market once again. We’re not sure what it is about this home that lends itself to constant flipping, but in the last 7 years the home was traded hands three times:

    1. Oct 2005: $2.15m;
    2. Aug 2009: $2.85m; 
    3. Jan 2011: $3.1m. 

    However, this time, RT Edgar listing agents Jeremy Fox and Andrew Smith have set the pricing bar a bit higher. The duo are seeking outlandish $5.5m+ expectations. The Radical Terrace can think of no comparably sized terrace in East Melbourne or South Yarra to have traded in this range. In fact, based on our research, few single-family homes have traded above $5m (thanks be to tightly-held mansions, the Morgan Family’s George Street abode comes to mind). Let’s have a look at the other $5m+ sales in the 3-0-0-2:

    • $5.0m: 99 Hotham Street (a larger, detached terrace), June 2010
    • $5.5m: 181-189 Gipps Street (still bouncing on and off the market, this detached home is over twice the size of 123 Gipps), June 2007
    • $6.0m: 178 George Street (it’s a mansion, c’mon folks), March 2006
    • $10.5m: 118 Gipps Street (yup, across-the-street neighbour sold for a famously high price; then again, it’s one of Melbourne’s most well-known and well-preserved town mansions), August 2007

    Does 123 Gipps Street belong in this club? We presume a renovation (of indeterminate date) that brought ‘Casa de Maria’ lots (and lots) of marble, the home’s 2 car spaces, and a location on well-maintained block devoid of apartment blocks have allowed Jeremy and Andrew’s pricing hopes to flutter high. But the jury is still out if the vendors (and agents) get so lucky. The listing: 123 Gipps Street, East Melbourne

    Marble.

    And more marble.

    Few things say “$5m” as well as an uncovered carport. 

  6. South Yarra Stunner Lists for $5.5m+

    Situated in a quirky pocket of mid-century apartment blocks and modern townhouses, ‘Barwon’ - an elegant c1881 Victorian mansion on 1266sqm of South Yarra land listed with price hopes around “in excess of $5.5m”. The Percy Oakden-designed and heritage-listed home traded back in Feb 2005 in less-than-stellar shape for $2.8m. Extensive renovations have gone on in the years since 2007 when the first of permits was submitted to Heritage Victoria; and the result is Radical Terrace-approved. The four bedroom home includes a massive master with ensuite, pool, pool house, an exceedingly discrete double car garage, and interiors featuring a collection of different flooring materials that work well together from polished aggregate concrete to distressed and polished floor boards. The seemingly reasonable house price likely suggests Barwon’s situation on a slightly drab block, as opposed to the more desirable Domain-adjacent location of 58 Millswyn, a (creepily) similar South Yarra Victorian mansion asking over $8m. Even still, we’d take ‘Barwon’ over Millswyn any day. 

    Jeremy Fox and David Colbran of RT Edgar Toorak have the listing: 38 Cromwell Road, South Yarra

  7. Radical Roundup: New & Notable This Week

    SA

    • ALDGATE  ‘Windcombe’, a true-to-form Palladian-style home in the Adelaide Hills is listed for $1.695m. Sold as a parcel of land in 2000 for $250k, the home that now stands was built soon thereafter and modeled after the 18th C Bath, England manor home of the same name. The home was shopped around on the market back in 2008, but it’s unclear to the Radical Terrace if it successfully sold in that marketing campaign. Despite the home’s new construction, the floor plan is almost creepily 18th century in its efficiency and lay out. Dale Gray of Brock Harcourts Ouwens Casserly has the listing: 105 Milan Terrace, Aldgate.

    NSW

    • KILLARA Yet another sub-$5mil property in the Polo Belt. This time it’s 22 Rosebery Road, just off Killara’s desirable Springdale Road and it’s listed for $4.5m through Barbara Gunther of McGrath Upper North Shore. The home sits on a half-acre, features a pool, plays a bit of tennis tetris, and has some vaguely authentic Federation architecture. The listing: 22 Rosebery Road, Killara

    • NEWTOWN  Jack Bao of Loyal Property City has quite an investment opportunity for you. An 11-bedroom brothel on King Street in Newtown can be yours for $2.3m+. Not only does every bedroom have an ensuite, but there are 3 extra toilets, 3 “discrete greeting areas” and, of course, laundry facilities. Check out the listing here. 
    • HUNTERS HILL Tragedy strikes hard in Hunters Hill. Accordingly, listing agents for 23 Bonnefin Road have taken a drastic approach: outlining the specific replacement cost for the home. Leon Chan and Anthony Scelzi of Leaders Estate Agents break down 17 cost items that total $500k. One thing the agents aren’t an open book about: the most recent sale price. Although they claim it sold for “around $3m” in 2007, it actually sold for $2.794m, the exact amount they are now seeking; dramatically less than the $3.5m+ they were hunting for when the waterfront renovation project first listed nearly two years ago. 23 Bonnefin Road, Hunters Hill
    • NEUTRAL BAY Listed over a week ago, a harbourfront home (complete with swimming pool!) at 17 Baden Rd in Neutral Bay listed with a $7.5m asking price through Knox Family Real Estate (who may or may not be the actual owners of the house themselves?). The home hasn’t sold since the early 90s, and by the look of the interiors hadn’t been renovated for several decades prior. 17 Baden Road ‘Kurraba Point’ Neutral Bay

    VIC

    • TOORAK A 6-bedroom 1930s manor home on Toorak’s desirable Huntingfield Road listed this week with $7.5m+ expectations through RT Edgar Toorak agents Simon Hicks and Jeremy Fox. The home last sold for $4m in May 2005 and appears to have undergone a recent renovation. Huntingfield’s desirability lies in its well-maintained architectural consistency; virtually all homes on the road are of similar large size and were built in the inter-war years. The featured home, 17 Huntingfield Road, sits on a 1/4 acre block of land and comes with a swimming pool and its own eponymous website. 

  8. RT Edgar’s Oops Moment

    We know Toorak is desirable, but…really? Jeremy Fox and David Colbran of RT Edgar Toorak took the power of a suburb a bit too far, falsely listing a Prahran house at 4 Grandview Grove as Toorak. Granted, it’s a pretty damn nice Victorian Italianate “mullet” house; it’s well-renovated, features polished concrete floors and a slick backyard pool. And Grandview Grove is the least Prahran-like Prahran street, but straight-up calling it Toorak is a bit of a stretch. I mean, you may be able to get away with Armadale, but Toorak? Then again, at $4.8m+, it’s asking quite a Toorak price…

    The listing: 4 Grandview Grove, PRAHRAN

  9. Farmhouse in Prahran? Say It Ain’t So!

    Oh, but it is so! And it actually does look a bit like a farmhouse, complete with odd broom-thingy on the front porch and a very tired interior. In the inner-suburb of Melbourne otherwise known for its attached Victorian rowhouses, this property does in fact represent a pretty rare offering; the setback from the road (and gravel DRIVEWAY) make it quite unique. The original tile work, marble fireplaces, and “ancient” landscaping are definitely worth salvaging; the rest is in need of a pretty hearty refresh. Murray Street is undoubtedly the nicest Prahran Street east of William St (and the second nicest street in the suburb to Grandview - which may as well be an Armadale or Malvern address given its distinctly suburban vibe; often-talked about “The Avenue” comes in at 3rd place in the hierarchy of Prahran streets). Murray St doesn’t see many listings, especially none of which are as sizeable as this farmhouse

    RT Edgar agents Sarah Case and Jeremy Fox have the listing that’s going to auction on 22 February. They are expected $2m+, which in my mind is a very, very strong BUY.

    The listing website: 22 Murray Street, Prahran