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4/5 Gladstone Street, Battery Point. Fall.

IT has been decades since this Salamanca Mews apartment has been on the market — and who wouldn’t love the chance to snap it up?

For anyone hunting for an inner-city pad, they would have to look far and wide to try to find a more perfect position than this Battery Point home.

The location of the complex — between Gladstone Street and St David’s Park — offers easy access to vibrant Salamanca Place, Hobart’s waterfront precinct and the CBD.

Hobart’s finest restaurants, cafes, bars and specialty stores are on its doorstep.

Whether it is time to pop to Salamanca market to grab some fresh produce, or to indulge in the precinct’s live events like Dark Mofo or the Taste of Tasmania, this is as prime as prime positions get.

Plenty of space.

Cook up a feast.

This ground level Mews apartment offers a fresh and light-filled living and dining area plus a spacious balcony with a north-facing aspect.

Apartment living does not have to mean sacrificing space. The living dining area here measures 6.7m x 7.1m, not unlike many houses.

The paved outdoor area makes the living zone feel larger still. It wraps around the home on two sides and measures over 110sq m. It also has an undercover area for shade when the summer sun is shining.

The living area also includes an open plan galley-style kitchen with a large pantry, tiled floor and plenty of bench and cupboard space. The kitchen and the living and bathroom areas have underfloor heating.

The home has been freshly painted, and it feels cosy and warm with its new top quality wool carpets. Entry into the home is via a hallway with two bedrooms located to the left.

The main bedroom is larger, and it includes the convenience of an ensuite.

Comfortable living.

Got dinner plans?

The home has two bathrooms, the main located almost in the centre of the floorplan, and next to the second bedroom and the living space.

Adjacent there is a separate laundry.

The apartment complex has a secure entry car park on the lower ground level with lift and stair access. This apartment includes one parking spot.

The Salamanca Mews apartment complex was built in ’94 and is a highly maintained and beautifully landscaped place to live.

Battery Point’s unit market is Tassie’s No.1 for price, with the latest realestate.com.au figures showing a $80,000 gap between Battery Point and second-placed Hobart.

There were 28 Battery Point unit sales in the past 12 months and a gigantic 43.7 per cent increase in the median unit price, just another example of the level of demand for this neighbourhood.

Battery Point’s unit No.4 at 5 Gladstone Street is priced at “Offers over $1.2 million” and listed with Fall Real Estate Sandy Bay.

The post Looking for a perfectly positioned pad? Check this one out appeared first on realestate.com.au.

90 Lucas Rd, Lucaston is on the market for $279,000. The eco-shack is set more than 20ha of private bushland.

FIERCE competition for Tasmania’s most-sought after streets is pushing up prices as nostalgia, aspiration and the search for a bargain drive up homebuyer demand.

According to search data provided by realestate.com.au, Lucas Rd in Lucaston has emerged as our most popular street for prospective homebuyers.

SEE THE FULL LIST BELOW >>

Katoota Rd, Katoota comes in second on the list of high-demand buys, with Bilton Walk in Claremont third.

Tasmanian home prices have continued to rise despite the coronavirus pandemic. CoreLogic reported Hobart home values were up 0.9 per cent over the quarter through July.

The view from the living room at 90 Lucas Rd.

This compares very favourably to quarterly slumps of -3.2 per cent in Melbourne, -2.1 per cent in Sydney and -1.6 per cent nationally throughout the COVID-19 period.

Well-known streets in blue chip areas remain in strong demand. However the Huon Valley has emerged as Tassie’s No. 1 spot for buyers, with the top two of our most wanted streets.

“It’s an unusual one,” realestate.com.au chief economist Nerida Conisbee said.

TASMANIA’S TOP 20 MOST POPULAR STREETS TO BUY

1. Lucas Rd, Lucaston

2. Kaoota Rd, Kaoota

3. Bilton Walk, Claremont

4. Musks Rd, Sandford

5. Napoleon St, Battery Point

6. Lords Rd, Pelverata

7. Palmers Rd, Oyster Cove

8. Schofield Dr, Sorell

9. Hillmorton Rd, Lindisfarne

10. Stoke St, New Town

11. Back Tea Tree Rd, Tea Tree

12. Braeview Dr, Old Beach

13. Molle St, West Hobart

14. Bullock Dr, Leslie Vale

15. Beechworth Rd, Sandy Bay

16. Secheron Rd, Battery Point

17. Elizabeth St, Hobart

18. Newcastle St, Battery Point

19. Burgundy Rd, Howrah

20. Winmarleigh Ave, Taroona

“It’s different from the other top in-demand streets. People looking for a tree change would be part of that. Also it is cheap there, big, bushy blocks really cheap.”

Some of the buyer search traffic is coming from stickybeaks and voyeurs, who “love looking at luxury houses in fantastic streets” Ms Conisbee said.

But plenty of it is genuine buyers, with search up around 50 per cent on this time last year. A key factor there is the more time people have to browse due to COVID-19. But the pandemic had also allowed us to better understand what we want in our homes and from our lifestyles.

“Often those streets in those suburbs are particularly nice, even for those affluent areas,” Ms Conisbee said.

“They might have a much better view, nicer houses or something else desirable that tends to lead to higher levels of interest.

“In some cases affordability can be a driving factor in a street’s popularity too.”

Nostalgia plays a key role too,” Ms Conisbee said.

“If you have grown up in or around these suburbs or in the city you get to know these streets. They’re in nice suburbs. There are good schools close by and there’s a lifestyle there people want. It might be close to the water, or be on a big block or have something unique about it That all plays into the aspirational aspect of that,” she said.

And if you are looking to buy, or sell in these most-wanted streets, prices will be at a premium.

“As a buyer in these streets, you’re going to be up against more competition and more likely as a result you will pay a higher price than for houses in other less popular streets in the same suburb,” Ms Conisbee said.

The post Where are Tassie’s most sought after streets appeared first on realestate.com.au.

Hobart’s most sought-after streets aren’t all in blue chip suburbs.

HOBART’S most popular home rental locations have been revealed, with experts saying there is a clear difference between where people want to rent and where they want to buy.

Realestate.com.au data, based on the past three years of searches, shows Davey St in Hobart is the number one location where Tasmanians want to rent a home.

SEE THE FULL LIST BELOW >>

Realestate.com.au chief economist Nerida Conisbee said Davey St’s popularity was due to its affordability and convenience.

“A lot of renters just want somewhere cheap, practical and close to shopping etc. That is what is on offer there,” she said.

350A Davey St, South Hobart. Petrusma.

Other rental areas most searched include Edgar St in Claremont and Glenorchy’s Vieste Dr.

“Popular streets for renting are very different to those for buying. The motivation there is different,” Ms Conisbee said.

“They are decent suburbs but they are cheaper suburbs. Renters are not aspirational, they are more practical. It’s not an investment, they are just looking.”

TASMANIA’S TOP 20 MOST POPULAR STREETS TO RENT

1. Davey St, Hobart

2. Edgar St, Claremont

3. Vieste Dr, Glenorchy

4. Molle St, Hobart

5. Canberra Rd, Claremont

6. Salvator Pl, West Hobart

7. Victoria Esp, Bellerive

8. Baintree Ave, Dynnyrne

9. Macquarie St, Hobart

10. Maple Ave, Moonah

11. Grevillea Ave, Old Beach

12. Southview Cres, New Norfolk

13. Mctavish Ave, North Hobart

14. Church St, Kingston Beach

15. Capri Dr, Sandy Bay

16. Castray Esp, Battery Point

17. Beach Rd, Snug

18. Princes St, Sandy Bay

19. Corby Ave, West Hobart

20. Buckingham Dr, Howrah

Ms Conisbee said “It’s no surprise” how different popular streets are when comparing buyers to renters.

“They are suburbs that young people want to live in, because renters are generally younger,” she said.

“They might be suburbs that are fun to live in, super cheap or close to universities.”

Knight Frank department manager Robbie Yeoland said the company managed six Macquarie St rental properties.

350A Davey St, South Hobart. Petrusma.

She said Knight Frank regarded Bellerive as the most popular Eastern Shore suburb to rent at, while the company had seen a rise in international renters.

“We are seeing that many Hobart renters are from places such as India, Nepal and Pakistan,’ she said.

“The reason is because Tasmania is a regional area as classified by Immigration Department, and so by spending a couple years in Tasmania, it helps people from those countries progress the status of their residency application.”

Ms Yeoland said Knight Frank had acquired 19 former Airbnb properties as rentals since January – a direct result of COVID-19 border restrictions.

james.kitto@news.com.au

The post Realestate.com.au data shows the most popular areas for rentals based on three-year search results appeared first on realestate.com.au.

The sought-after Byron Bay.

Byron Bay’s popularity with seachangers is peaking at never-before-seen levels as homebuyers flock to the area as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Byron, as it is affectionately known, has also become a beacon for celebrities and industry leaders as the successful flock to the northern NSW town.

Both factors were again witnessed by the latest purchase in the town’s highly prized ‘golden grid’ enclave.

Byron Bay’s ‘Golden Grid’ has become some of the most wanted real estate in Australia. Picture: Supplied

Josh White, CEO and founder of sports and entertainment marketing agency Lampoon Group, who counts cricket superstar Ellyse Perry, former rugby international and TV star Nick ‘Honey Badger’ Cummins and Olympian Jessica Fox as among his clients has eyed a shift to the northern NSW town for over a decade.

He finally made his move to the location favoured by the likes of Chris and Liam Hewsworth, Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman (just to name a few), snaring a blue chip property in the heart of Byron Bay on Carlyle Street.

The sale price was undisclosed but is believed to be around $2 million.

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Sports Agent Josh White with client Ellyse Perry. Picture: supplied

The home was very much a ‘renovator’s delight’ and White plans to build a new home on the 474 sq m block he can call his own.

“I grew up surfing and still remember going to Byron with my family for the first time when I was 9. Dad got me my first surfboard from the old Maddog Surf Shop. I have always had this love of the place and wanted to get up there one day,” White said

White and his Golden Buy. Picture: supplied

A ‘renovator’s delight’. Picture: Supplied

But it was the COVID-19 epidemic that was the tipping point.

“It’s become a time when people are reassessing where they are at and looking to get more balance in their life,” he said.

“To get out of the hustle because it can be all consuming. You can find that balance up there. I wanted to head north and get back to my roots and this was the perfect opportunity.”

A seachange or a treechange is the move many Australians are considering as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

Over the last quarter through July regional home values dipped just 0.1 per cent as opposed to a 2 per cent fall in the combined capitals, according to Core Logic.

You can see why Byron is in demand.

Wategos Beach has long been a Byron Bay highlight.

In Byron, consistent demand has seen house prices trend strongly upwards over the last decade. According to realestate.com.au data, the median house price has jumped from $712,000 in 2011 to $1.41 million last year.

The peak year was in 2017, when the average house price hit $1.578 million, before the market slipped.

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However leading Byron Bay agent Ian Daniels, who sold White his new property said demand and prices are reaching new highs.

“I’ve been here 20 years and there was a peak in September 2007 before the GFC and a peak again almost exactly 10 years later in September 2017, but I think what is happening now has surpassed that,” he said.

Chris Hemsworth and Matt Damon with some locals in Byron Bay. Picture: Instagram

Zac Efron’s is living in Byron Bay. Picture: Instagram

The ‘Golden Grid’ is a leading plank in the latest price spike.

“It’s the part of town where the old quarter acre blocks are and where settlement here started,” Mr Daniels said.

“It’s where the bank manager lived and the station master lived. Now it’s walking distance to Clarke’s Beach and the iconic Top Shop. Everyone knows it.”

Byron Bay real estate has come a long way since 1972, when you could buy a souse (top left) for $5200. Picture: Real Estate NSW

Byron Bay’s town centre and the beach beyond. Picture: News Corp

The change in consciousness that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought is another leading factor in Byron Bay’s surge in popularity.

“Now due to COVID-19 people are saying ‘let’s make that move we always wanted to’,” Mr Daniels said.

The famous Cape Byron Picture: Dylan O’Donnell

“People who were thinking of doing it in their 50s and 60s are saying ‘let’s do it now’,”.

“The first two months of Covid, there wasn’t much happening, but the last two months have been my best sales months for a long time. There are a lot of buyers ready to go.”

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Sports Agent Josh White of Lampoon with one of his clients Nick Cummins. Picture: supplied

“We are very blessed to live here and the town is made up of some pretty amazing people who have made the conscious decision to take a leap of faith and make the move to a better life for them and their family.”

For Josh White, that dream is already being fulfilled.

“When I started looking a few months ago there wasn’t much interest but then things changed. I’m stoked I’ve now got a place up there,” said White, who also counts global brands, Oakley, ASICS, Beats by Dre and Danone YoPRO among some of his other clients.

The post Byron Bay: popularity with seachangers peaking as agent to the stars buys up appeared first on realestate.com.au.

Buxton listing agent Carl McCann shows off the bay views from this clifftop Clifton Springs property. Picture: Glenn Ferguson

A CLIFFTOP Clifton Springs property with private beach access and panoramic bay views has hit the market on the town’s most exclusive strip.

Described as “one of the best parcels of land in Victoria”, the 5145sq m allotment occupies a prime stretch of north-facing waterfront with vistas across to Melbourne.

The rear boundary of 49-51 Clifton Street, Clifton Springs extends to the high water mark, with a private path leading down to the beach below.

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Views over the You Yangs and Melbourne await the new owners.

Buyers have the option of renovating the existing six-bedrooom home on the site, which includes two titles, or rebuilding.

Buxton agent Carl McCann said there was nothing else like it on the market.

“It’s one of only a few along there and I think it’s the pick of them, being on the end it doesn’t have any neighbours on the eastern side,” Mr McCann said.

“It’s a terrific spot and once this one is gone, that’s probably the last one.

“You have got views across to Melbourne CBD … if you had the same thing on the other side of the bay you would looking at $6m.”

A lawn leads from the house to a path down to the bay.

Buyers are interested in both renovating or rebuilding on the site.

There’s scope to update the interior.

The property is being sold as one parcel, although there is the option to carve off 830sq m on its own title at the front.

It’s right next door the Clifton Springs Bowling Club and just moments from the golf club and The Dell.

Price hopes are $1.8m-$1.98m, with expressions of interest closing on August 27.

Mr McCann said the vendors had lived at the property for 30 years and there was scope to improve both the house and the existing beach access.

“We have had interest from Melbourne and locally, it’s been a mix of interest between renovating or building a new house,” he said.

The Clifton Springs Bowling Club is on the eastern side of the property.

Living areas on both levels of the two-storey house offer uninterrupted bay views across a vast lawn.

There’s also a kitchen and dining room on each floor, with four bedrooms downstairs and another two upstairs.

Clifton Street has become Clifton Springs’ millionaire’s row in recent years, with a string of top sales.

A modern, four-bedroom house with direct beach access at No. 25 set the town’s price record when it sold for $1.85m in 2015.

Mr McCann, who recently joined the Buxton Geelong group, said he was looking forward to working with the agency.

The post Clifton Springs listing ‘one of the best parcels of land in Victoria’ appeared first on realestate.com.au.

9 Spa Street, Holland Park West, is a large family home on a corner block.

Anyone looking through the family home at 9 Spa Street Holland Park West would be forgiven for thinking it had not long been built.

It has a modern layout, generous accommodation (six bedrooms, including a self-contained apartment on the lower-ground floor, very COVID-19), and is in immaculate condition.

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Yet the Pietrobon family, Fran, Vic and their two children in their early twenties, have lived in the house for almost a decade.

Its everlasting appeal is mostly down to Fran, who designed the home with the help of an architect after the family bought the corner block in 2010.

“It wasn’t easy but the architect was great, and allowed me to go back and forth and make so many changes,” Fran said.

One of the living rooms has a bespoke stone feature wall.

“Generally I knew what I wanted but it took 12 months to finish. I don’t think there is anything I would change. I have loved this house.”

One of the rooms on which Fran was not prepared to compromise was the kitchen, or rather, kitchens.

There are two — one indoors, one outdoors. Both are topped with hard-wearing quartzite benchtops; the main island alone is made up of nine tonnes of quartz that had to be craned in.

The kitchen island is made up of nine tonnes of quartzite.

Being from an Italian background, Fran said she loved to cook and the kitchen was where she and the family spent most of their time.

“A lot of tomatoes have been chopped on that island bench,” Fran laughed.

There is also a large butler’s pantry, hot and cold zip tap, integrated fridge, and suite of Smeg appliances including two ovens, a microwave, steamer and induction cooktop.

The back deck offers fabulous views of the city.

Elsewhere in the home are a number of living spaces including a pool room, cinema room, study, store rooms and an outdoor patio leading to the family’s infinity pool.

Ascend the central staircase and you will find the master bedroom, with a generous walk-in wardrobe and ensuite, and an additional three bedrooms. From this level you can also capture

spectacular views of the city and sunsets across the rooftops of neighbouring houses.

One thing that is definitely not lacking throughout this home is storage; Fran made certain of that.

The house has two kitchens, one indoor, one outdoor, as the owner loves to cook.

“There is storage galore. I put cupboards in every nook and cranny. For me a house has to be practical. It has to look pretty, but it also has to be usable,” Fran said. “The down side of that it the joinery bill is through the roof,” she laughed.

The house has four garages, two on the ground level and two on the middle level.

For the family of four it has proved a spacious home, but its sheer size is part of the reason why the Pietrobons are now selling.

The home’s cinema room is one of several living spaces.

“It’s a very comfortable home and took a lot of time to get right,” Fran said, “but there is also a lot of cleaning and we just don’t have time for that anymore.”

I suspect it’s Fran’s fastidiousness that has kept the house in pristine condition all these years.

“It is well maintained. For an eight-year-old home it does look almost like new,” she said.

Cleaning gripes aside, will Fran miss the home she has put so much work into?

“On the one hand I think I will be a bit sad, but on the other hand I won’t. I love the position and I love the house, it’s just too big for us now and I want to reclaim my weekends.”

The house is open for inspection today at 10am.

The post Brisbane home that’s pretty and practical appeared first on realestate.com.au.

Investors in the market must play the long game. Photo by Gaye Gerard/ Sunday Telegraph

Investor activity – buying, selling and renting – across Sydney is far more complex than normal as the market moves through what’s been a busier winter into the traditional spring selling season.

There are testing times and emerging opportunities.

Asking rents have fallen, and sharply, according to the valuation firm Herron Todd White (HTW), while vacancy rates have climbed. Capital values have however not declined at similar levels thus triggering reduced investor yields.

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A recent rental reduction took place at a Fairlight two-bedroom unit leased for $620 per week after getting $745 in 2019.

Suburbs on the northern beaches that rely on tourism such as Manly have seen a reduction in weekly rents and higher vacancy rates. But when it comes to sales, HTW noted investors are there ranging from local, out of towners and international buyers. Agents have noted stronger activity from expatriates as the uncertainty in the global markets make the Australian property market a relatively safer investment.

The northern beaches is popular with investors. Picture: John Appleyard

Western Sydney has experienced a lower impact from COVID-19 in comparison to other areas of Sydney, such as the inner suburbs, according to the latest HTW update.

In the greater west, a popular investment option comes in the form of a house and granny at which can provide a second rental stream. A three bedroom Colyton home with a detached two bedroom granny flat recently sold for $659,000, with a combined rental potential of $700 per week, calculating a gross rental return of 5.5 per cent.

Government initiatives have helped keep “some calm” in the western suburbs, but HTW noted a lot of speculation from property professionals that the longer the pandemic goes, the more stress there will be on tenants paying their rent and investors paying their mortgages.

“As a result this potentially could see an array of properties hitting the market within a short period of time which could put downward pressure on property price.”

More first homebuyers are entering the market. (Pictures by Julian Andrews).

Agents within Sydney’s inner city and east are reporting investor purchasing appears to have dropped sharply, particularly in high density areas, especially Haymarket, Zetland and Forest Lodge.

SQM Research had vacancy rates for Zetland peak in May at a record high of six per cent and have slightly reduced to 5.6 per cent.

HTW noted a two-bedroom unit on O’Riordan St in Mascot that sold in 2016 for $800,000 resold last month for $790,000.

“This result demonstrates how investment grade properties within certain high-density locations are performing sub-par when compared to owner occupier style properties.”

However, HTW noted more first homebuyers are entering the market which does help increase demand for some of the investment style units, but there is still an oversupply of apartments advertised for sale and lease within these locations.

The report noted the investor market across southwest suburbs, in particular the Liverpool LGA, was very active.

But HTW has seen rentals stagnate and in some areas fall. It noted on realestate.com.au there were 99, modern two-bedroom two-bathroom units available and 160, three-to-four bedroom homes available for rent within the Liverpool LGA.

HTW suggests investors are wondering whether there will be any upside capital growth in the next few years.

They can’t see growth in many resales at the moment.

But they note there are opportunities for investors who can tolerate the reduced rental income and “ride out the storm” until the market starts to recover.

The post Plenty of opportunities for investors in Sydney market if they hold long-term appeared first on realestate.com.au.