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30 Avoca Street, Lindisfarne. Picture: SUPPLIED

FOR anyone hunting for a picture-perfect family home at Lindisfarne, this property could be the one.

It offers an abundance of space that would suit a variety of family demographics, plus it boasts a private position and those views that the suburb is noted for.

This low-maintenance home is being offered for sale for the first time since being built by the current owners.

Set on the sunny Eastern Shore.

Warm and inviting.

Its spacious and versatile floorplan boasts five double-size bedrooms, including a ground floor master suite with an ensuite and a walk-in wardrobe.

Next to the master there is a study or home office for those working from home. Or, if desired, it could be used as a formal dining room.

Just across the hall there are a couple more bedrooms with built-in wardrobes and the family bathroom with a corner spa bath.

An expansive open-plan kitchen, living and dining area — with far-reaching suburban, mountain and river views — is ideal for a family to come together.

The bonus of a balcony positioned alongside the kitchen and dining area will allow for that coveted indoor-outdoor lifestyle.

In the kitchen there are European appliances and gas cooking, which match perfectly with the home’s polished oak flooring and bespoke joinery.

Let your light shine.

A place to relax.

Reverse-cycle heating and cooling is backed up by Nobo panel heaters to keep the winter chill at bay.

The lower ground floor features two further bathrooms, a large rumpus or second living zone — which could be the perfect teenagers’ retreat — and a garage with internal access and abundant storage. This storage space could be developed as a cellar.

There is additional off-street parking to complement the garage.

Outdoors, the gardens are low maintenance and there is a choice of entertainment areas.

Avoca Street is walking distance from Lindisfarne Primary School and minutes’ drive from Gordons Hill Nature Recreation Area or popular Simmons Park.

The cafes, eateries, retail and services of Lindisfarne Village is about a four-minute drive from this home.

Take a nap.

What’s for dinner?

Per realestate.com.au figures, Lindisfarne’s median house price has been strong in the past 12 months with more than 9 per cent growth across 77 sales. Compared to three years ago, like many suburbs, Lindisfarne’s median is up by a huge 31 per cent.

Houses fetch $500 a week on average, REA’s data shows, with investors making a yield of 4.33 per cent.

No.30 Avoca Street, Lindisfarne is listed with St Andrews Estate Agency and priced at “Offers over $790,000”.

The post Superb views and heaps of space appeared first on realestate.com.au.

79 Camelot Pl, Bridgeman Downs, has its own lake crowned with a wooden bridge.

Picture it. It’s a lazy Sunday morning on what is set to be another hot summer’s day. You’re stretched out by the pool catching up on the day’s news, when the sound of laughter draws your attention to the nearby lake. You see your children jump in a boat and row themselves across the water, setting off on their next big adventure.

It sounds like a memory formed on an unforgettable family holiday, right?

The house sits beside its own private lake in a tightly held street in Bridgeman Downs.

Yet for Mick Foley and his two daughters aged 13 and 12, it is a scene they could recreate every weekend.

The family have owned 79 Camelot Place, a sprawling house with six bedrooms in a tightly held street in Bridgeman Downs for the past four years.

The property stretches to more than two acres and is made up of the house, manicured gardens, trees and lawns, where Mr Foley, who owns two helicopter charter companies, among other businesses, is able to land his personal chopper.

The house has mulitple living spaces.

Helicopters aside, the property’s biggest attraction has to be its picturesque lake, crowned with an arched wooden footbridge.

Mr Foley said the family had spent a lot of time on the lake over the years and he would miss it greatly.

The kitchen is the heart of the home.

“It’s a very quiet spot, and there’s the fountain and lights on it at night, and the fire pit on the other side where I used to sit with the girls. It’s a special place,” Mr Foley.

While the sheer enormity of the house may appear overwhelming, Mr Foley said that once you start living in it, you grow into the space and the floor plan has allowed the home to retain a sense of cosiness.

There are plenty of places fro which to take in the lake views.

“When you walk into it, it feels like a normal home, which is what attracted me to it in the first place. It’s northeast facing, perfectly positioned on the block, it just ticked all the boxes for me.”

Three of the home’s six bedrooms reside on the upper level of the three-storey house, including the main which has an ensuite and walk-in robe. From this level you can capture stunning views of the lake.

The remaining three bedrooms can be found on the middle storey, where again, you are hit with lake views.

The bedrooms are generous in size.

All the living areas, including the chef’s kitchen with stone bench tops, which Mr Foley said was the heart of the home, are on the lower level.

An informal eating area and family room adjacent to the kitchen has floor to ceiling glass walls to maximise on the lake views and natural light. Both these areas open out to an outdoor entertaining pavilion and deck, framed with balustrading for lakeside dining and

The house has a cinema room.

entertaining. Descend a set of stairs and follow a meandering path to the infinity edge pool, set on the edge of the lake. There is also a free-standing pavilion, for hosting parties, family and friends.

Built in the late 1990s, the only thing that belies this home’s age is the terracotta tiling throughout, which Mr Foley admits to having become too busy to replace. Elsewhere, the house is timeless in its design and architecture.

The house suits alarge family who want room to move.

Unfortunately Mr Foley said that with the family’s schedule becoming far more busy, he felt the property wasn’t being used to its full potential and so made the difficult decision to

put it on the market.

“I think it suits a large family with early age kids that want the space, and I hope someone enjoys it as much as our family has. It really is a house in which memories can be made.”

And who doesn’t want that?

The property will be auctioned on Saturday, August 29 at 11am.

The post Brisbane home has it’s own private lake appeared first on realestate.com.au.

The HomeBuilder Grant could shave $25,000 off your new home building project.

There’s no question that this year has been a strange one, both socially and economically. Many of us have been spending a lot of time at home in recent months, which has brought the shortcomings of our living arrangements into sharper focus.

In June, the federal government announced a new scheme aimed at helping homeowners renovate or build a new house, providing stimulus for the housing industry as we power up for 2021 and beyond.

The HomeBuilder Grant offers $25,000 towards the cost of building a new home or substantially renovating an existing home, as long the homeowners meet the criteria.

For new-home builders, the value of the house and land cannot exceed $750,000. For those seeking to renovate, the value of the existing property cannot exceed $1.5 million.

The value of the renovation work must also be at least $150,000 to be eligible.

Grant applicants must also meet income criteria, which is capped at $125,000 for an individual applicant and $200,000 for a couple.

Housing Industry Association managing director Graham Wolfe says those interested in applying should get a move on.

“You should be talking to a builder or builders as soon as possible as to their availability to do the work, as well as site contractors and financial lenders,” Graham says. “This is federal government funding distributed by Revenue NSW and you can do the application online.

“But you need to have a contract signed by the end of the year.”

Work needs to start within three months of the contract being signed, with the grant being paid once evidence is submitted that work has begun and the first payment has been made.

HIA managing director Graham Wolfe says you should get a move on if you’re hoping to apply for the HomeBuilder Grant.

While some parts of the economy have been sluggish during the pandemic, Graham says the building industry has been more of a mixed bag. Occurrences such as the recent storms on the south coast could mean that trades may not be as readily available as you might have thought.

Finding a suitable block of land to build on or getting a development application through council also takes time.

The HomeBuilder grant allows for an extension of the work starting for up to three months if it is due to “unforeseen circumstances”. This could include delays in getting council approvals, delays due to bad weather and difficulties in obtaining materials or subcontractors.

However, for those who have been putting off building work because of the pandemic but have already done the groundwork, Graham says the grant represents a great opportunity to upgrade or build a new home.

“A lot of people have had the time and the motivation to think about their accommodation and ask themselves if it is sufficient,” Graham says.

“If you have been delaying work on your house in NSW, there is capacity to take on this additional work to get a contract signed.”

Special provisions have been made in the HomeBuilder Grant in areas affected by bushfire. Picture: Toby Zerna

There are also special considerations for those who lost their homes in last year’s devastating bushfires.

For the purposes of the grant, rebuilding in an area ravaged by the fires is deemed a “substantial renovation”, with the option to access the grant and build a house up to the value of $750,000.

More: revenue.nsw.gov.au/grants-schemes/homebuilder

hia.com.au

The post A quick guide on how the $25k HomeBuilder grant can help you renovate or build your home appeared first on realestate.com.au.

10 Boathouse Rise, Lewisham. Picture: SUPPLIED

ALL-day sun and magnificent views across Pittwater, Frederick Henry Bay to Mount Wellington are but the tip of the iceberg.

This impressive Lewisham property has so much to offer. From its glorious views to a 2010-built solid brick home on more than 3000sq m, to the expansive, covered entertaining deck and the massive workshop with three-phase power. The lengthy features list ticks a lot of boxes.

It has storage options galore, 28 solar panels and a location within 35 minutes of the Hobart CBD — tick, tick, tick.

Wide water views.

Ready for a feast.

Family-sized space.

Spacious is a word that comes to mind in every area of this wonderful lifestyle property.

It could accommodate a variety of needs with multiple living options on offer.

Needing a 45sq m man cave? How about a teenager’s retreat? No problem.

The kitchen is a star of the property with its superior custom cabinetry, stone benchtops, breakfast bar, walk-in pantry and some top-quality stainless-steel appliances.

The generous master bedroom benefits from a walk-in wardrobe and an ensuite plus a separate toilet.

The second and third bedrooms are a great size, each with walk-in wardrobes. They are serviced by a central family bathroom with a spa bath and separate toilet.

The home’s flexible floorplan includes a formal dining room that could be used as an extra bedroom or living room.

Views galore.

Put the kettle on.

Get to work in the shed.

There is internal entry from the garage and under the house there is a space currently used as an office and storage area.

The workshop is big enough to fit all the toys, a wood heater and a bathroom.

Perhaps best of all, the ever-changing panoramic views can be enjoyed from the hub of the home comforted by wood heating and reverse cycle cooling and heating.

New realestate.com.au data shows tightly held Lewisham recorded 12 house sales in the past year. Although the data available is small, in that time the median rose 18 per cent annually and more than 67 per cent compared to three years ago.

No.10 Boathouse Rise, Lewisham is listed with PMM Real Estate and priced at $800,000-plus.

The post Big views, brick home and a large man cave appeared first on realestate.com.au.

Newcastle is one of NSW’s strongest growth regions.

Regional housing values have held firm through the COVID period compared with the capital cities across Australia.

New research from CoreLogic shows dwelling values across the regional areas of Australia slipping by only 0.1 per cent between March and the end of July, while capital city home values are down 2 per cent over the same period.

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It has especially been the case to the immediate south and north of Sydney. The Illawarra region is the standout performer. The Illawarra recorded the largest annual rise in regional housing values across Australia, up 12 per cent. It also saw the biggest jump in home sale volume over the past twelve months, with activity up 14 per cent over the year.

The Hunter Valley region saw values rise 2.8 per cent. Credit: Destination NSW

Newcastle and Lake Macquarie was NSW’s next best performing region. Its house values were up eight per cent, on the back of a seven per cent hike in sales activity.

Elsewhere, the Hunter Valley region, excluding Newcastle, saw values up 2.8 per cent annually. Its sales activity level was up six per cent.

The heightened sales activity was evident in the NSW Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven, where the house sales volume increased by 12.7 per cent. Values in the region grew by 3.2 per cent annually.

The latest quarterly regional report analysed 25 of Australia’s largest non-capital city regions, including 10 from NSW, looking at performance of both house and unit markets. Of the 50 house and unit markets included in the analysis, 37 have seen values rise over the 12 months to July.

Houses were the better performer over the year, with 20 regions recording a rise in the value of houses, while five regional areas saw house values decline over the 12 months, with two in NSW.

They were the Riverina area and the New England and North West region. The latter had the longest days on market over the year, with houses taking close to 100 days to sell, on average.

Across regional unit markets, 17 regions across Australia recorded a rise in values over the year to July.

While the region by region data shows diversity, Tim Lawless, the head of research at CoreLogic, suggests relatively steady conditions in regional markets were partly due to the areas being less affected by stalling overseas migration.

Markets south and north of Sydney are performing the strongest. Picture: John Appleyard

“Close to 85 per cent of Australia’s net overseas migration flows into the capital cities,” Mr Lawless advised.

Mr Lawless also reckons the latest data shows some momentum in the trend towards rising demand for lifestyle properties. “It was prevalent prior to COVID-19,” he added.

Regional areas certainly offer up a variety of advantages and risks compared with their capital city counterparts. Housing prices tend to be lower, providing a more affordable entry point to the market.

For instance, there is a $588,000 median around Newcastle, $590,000 in the Southern Highlands and $704,000 in the Illawarra.

Mr Lawless warns regional economic conditions can be more volatile, especially those areas that are heavily dependent on a single industry for economic prosperity.

There have been signs regional growth rates peaked in late 2019, and could head into negative territory later this year without significant improvement to economic conditions or a demonstrated shift in demand side factors like population growth.

The post Regional cities have performed stronger than capitals throughout COVID-19 crisis appeared first on realestate.com.au.