1. Dwell Magazine Tells Us What We Already Know: Melbourne is Damn Cool →

  2. In spite of the abundance of large and fine-looking buildings [in Melbourne], there is a rather higgedly-piggledy look about the town - the city you will by this time own it to be. There are no building laws, and every man has built as seemed best in his own eyes.

    — R.E.N. Twopeny, “Town Life in Australia,” 1883

  3. 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

  4. Google Maps Adds 3-D Building Schemes for Melbourne

    Yay! Google Maps has finally added three-dimensional renderings of buildings in inner Melbourne. Hopefully this means 45 degree bird’s eye views of Australia is next! Check out Google Maps for more.

  5. Where To Go in Melbourne! Dwell Magazine and their Melbourne fetish continue. Of late are these two very “now” maps of where to hit up for some design inspiration in the city already known for its hip and up-to-date design. Bars, civic art, mid-century modern furniture and a lot of the same on another map. Click through and check out all the goodness now! Pictured: Webb Bridge, crossing the Yarra River

    Where To Go in Melbourne!

    Dwell Magazine and their Melbourne fetish continue. Of late are these two very “now” maps of where to hit up for some design inspiration in the city already known for its hip and up-to-date design. Bars, civic art, mid-century modern furniture and a lot of the same on another map. Click through and check out all the goodness now!

    Pictured: Webb Bridge, crossing the Yarra River

    Pin It

  6. High Rise Growth Dipping in Melbourne

    Completely unsurprising giving the nature of the “subdued” market in Melbourne, The Age reported today on the diminishing number of new homes constructed in Victoria. In 2011, just shy of 150,000 homes were built (down from 176,000 in 2010); this amount being a far cry from the estimated 220,000 homes Victoria needs to build according to unnamed “experts” in the article. On top of that, construction of high rises have dipped considerably over the past two years to about half the rate of high rise construction in 2009. 

    One thing the article fails to articulate (although, does it really matter?): what do they classify as a high rise?