13th May 2021 / Sarah Lowry: Run-down Kew home with derelict kitchen and bathroom sells for $7.24 million – $1.7 million above reserve

Run-down Kew home with derelict kitchen and bathroom sells for $7.24 million – $1.7 million above reserve

Brought to you by Domain - Rachel Wells

Inside the derelict kitchen at 6 Edward Street, Kew which sold at auction for $7.24 million.

A run-down Kew home with ripped-up linoleum floors, missing bathroom tiles and water stains on the ceiling has sold at auction for more than $1.7 million above its reserve.

The large, five-bedroom home on 1216 square metres of land at 6 Edward Street – one of Kew's most sought-after streets – sold on Saturday for $7.24 million, a huge result that surprised even the listing agents.

Real estate agent Nick Fletcher from Fletchers Canterbury said although there had been good interest in the home prior to auction, no one was expecting such an extraordinary result.

The home was listed with a price guide of $5 million to $5.5 million.

"Obviously our expectations were for $5 million to $5.5 million and the vendor gave us instructions to put it on the market at $5.5 million," Mr Fletcher said.

The new owners of this $7.24 million Kew home plan to knock it down and build their dream family home.

"So this was a really strong result and well above our expectations."

Mr Fletcher said the result was even more surprising given the auction got off to a slow start.

"We opened on a vendor bid of $5 million and at $5.3 million we came inside to seek instructions," he said. "It wasn't until we came back out that it really got going."

The original Kew home sits on 1216 square metres of land.

Mr Fletcher said competitive bidding from five bidders, including a mix of home buyers and developers, eventually pushed the price well above the vendors' reserve.

The original home, which has been in the same family for "roughly 60 years" has no heritage overlays so it was popular among both developers and home buyers wanting to build a new home.

6 Edward Street, Kew VIC 3101

The successful bidder was a local family who plan to build their dream home on the site, which sits within Kew's prestigious Sackville Ward and is close to some of the area's most exclusive schools.

He said the vendors – a family estate – were "ecstatic with the result".

"A fair bit of work went into preparing the home for sale and getting everything out and presenting it as best we could," he said.

The original five-bedroom home in Kew's exclusive Sackville Ward had been owned by the same family for 60 years.

Mr Fletcher said that, despite the huge sale price, the owners could expect to see a good return on their investment in the longer term.

"For a home buyer to secure over 1200 square metres of land in the Sackville Ward and build their dream family home that they could potentially live in for 20 years or more, the return will be there down the track," he said.

Thinking of selling? Contact Nick today for a confidential discussion 0403 387 580 or Nick.fletcher@fletchers.net.au