Home buyer beats investors with bold bid for character home – realestate.com.au

A young homebuyer has left behind a wave of investors scouring our cheapest suburbs in an auction night for a character house in Norlane.

The $625,000 transaction was completed the night before the property was due to be auctioned for the three-bedroom house at 9 Donnelly Ave, Norlane.

Harcourts North Geelong real estate agent Nick De Stefano said the seller was keen to act ahead of last Saturday’s scheduled auction as the bid was above the $550,000 for $600,000 price guide quoted for the property.

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The three-bedroom house had two separate living areas.

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The California bungalow had undergone updates, including an expansion, after the owners purchased the 650-square-foot property in 2014 for $260,000.

“We had quite a number of interested groups from both local and Melbourne as well as interstate investors,” Mr De Stefano said.

But he said the eventual buyers were owner-occupiers.

“They’re moving into the beautiful house,” Mr. De Stefano said.

“The seller had done an extension there so they added a bathroom and another bedroom and it was very nicely presented and certainly had a lot of character.”

A third bedroom and a study area have been added at the rear.

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And a combined laundry room and second bathroom.

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The house combines classic charm and modern living with an extension with a combined second bathroom and laundry room and a large bedroom at the rear of the wooden house.

The extension created a proper home with three bedrooms, a formal living room and a separate open plan living and dining room connected to the central kitchen.

The original house features double windows, Baltic pine floorboards and high ceilings.

A driveway to the side leads to a patio and outdoor area that opens out to the rear of the house, leaving plenty of room for a vegetable garden, coop and chicken coop.

There has been a spike in sales in Norlane, with 275 properties changing hands in the last twelve months.

PropTrack data shows the median home price of $470,000 is up 4.4 percent from the same period last year.