8/2A Cameron Road, Essendon, sold for $683,000 after a two-bidder auction, as Qantas couple Cameron and Kylie Graves closed a ten-year chapter.
A Qantas couple has sold their first Essendon townhouse for $683,000, a rare result at less than $700,000 for a three-bedroom home.
The sale marked the end of a decade-long chapter for Cameron and Kylie Graves, who bought the townhouse at 8/2A Cameron Rd in 2016 while both were working for Qantas and trying to break into the domestic market.
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“That was our first house,” Mr. Graves said.
“The price was important at the time because it was in line with the concessions for first-home buyers.
“It was within the price range of about $600,000, which meant we qualified for the 50 percent stamp duty concession.”
Mr Graves said the viability of the mansion had been equally important as the house backed onto a park near the Moonee Ponds Creek walking trail.
The entrance to the living room which borders a park near the Moonee Ponds Creek trail.
One of the bathrooms in the Essendon mansion, sold for $683,000, for a rare under-$700,000 three-bedroom result.
“We liked that it was at the back of a park and had room to walk in the back,” he said.
“It was also close to everything we needed: the train station, airport and city, which made a big difference to our lifestyle.”
He said access to trains, parks and trails remained non-negotiable when the couple grew older.
“We wouldn’t consider any place that isn’t close to a train station, and the same applies to footpaths and parks,” Mr Graves said.
“Even now, where we live in Oak Park, we chose a place with a train station, parks and walking trails nearby.”
The kitchen and dining room at 8/2A Cameron Road, Essendon, according to the Graves, suited their lifestyle, being close to trains, the airport and the city.
Asked about special memories, Mr Graves said the house had both highs and lows.
“Our favorite was getting our puppy and then finding out Kylie was pregnant,” he said.
“The worst part was being locked up there during Covid. That period was incredibly tough.”
Mr Graves said he was pleased the house would once again become a first step for a new buyer entering the market.
“I’m glad it went to a first-home buyer,” he said.
Cameron and Kylie Graves bought the three-bedroom Essendon mansion in 2016 as their first home while working for Qantas.
Ray White Pascoe Vale director Stefan Stella, who handled the Essendon sale, said three-bedroom homes under $700,000 were becoming increasingly rare.
“I think it really fits that market and is in the right price range.”
Stefan Stella, director of Ray White Pascoe Vale, said the $683,000 sale was remarkable given how unusual it had become to see three-bedroom houses in Essendon trading below $700,000.
“For Essendon as a whole it is very, very surprising to see a three-bedroom house at this price,” Mr Stella said.
He said the townhouse’s position in an older-style complex, near apartment buildings, affected its position in the market.
“If you were to pick up this property and move it to the other side of Pascoe Vale Rd, to a more affluent part of Essendon, you would be looking at a substantially different price point,” he said.
The second upstairs seating area at 8/2A Cameron Road, Essendon, was sold to a first-home buyer couple after a four-week search.
Mr Stella said the auction started quietly with no initial bids, prompting a brief pause.
An opening bid of $1,000 was made after the break, after which the bid increased in $10,000 increments, quickly rising to $670,000 before tightening late.
Two bidders competed and the mansion sold for $683,000.
Mr Stella said the buyer was a first home buyer who had recently moved from South Australia and had been looking for about four weeks.
The kitchen at 8/2A Cameron Road, Essendon – a buyer-friendly price for the first home that achieved a result of $683,000.
He said the buyer told him the competition had been tougher domestically, with more hype and stronger bids, and that they knew exactly what they wanted.
On interest rates, Stella said buyers were not waiting for formal announcements from the Reserve Bank, and were more likely to adjust plans when interest rate moves were widely expected.
“This weekend it still feels like business as usual,” he said.
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