Revelling in Richmond

We had an exciting brief for a Victorian cottage located in a quiet street within what is otherwise a very vibrant area. Our client’s Melbourne office is based in Richmond and the criteria was interesting.

We were instructed to find a  two or three bedroom cottage within walking or cycling distance of the office, boasting nice entertaining space for dinners and parties, and offering right of way for a car to be off street was our assignment. To add to the mix, we also had to shortlist properties with yard and side access for big dogs.

Simple? Not neccessarily, but with a bit of help from local agents, lots of online scouting, and a preparedness to turn over every stone, we quickly identified not one, but three in the area.

What we really enjoyed about this brief was our client’s ability to be open minded and definitive. She knew her likes and dislikes, and could look pragmatically at each property with an investor’s viewpoint and an ability to see past the things she could (in time) change. Understanding that Richmond median house price growth for the past year has eclipsed 10%,and factoring in long term annualised capital growth of ~8.5% was crucial in remaining focused on the strong, key attributes which differentiate a good property from a great property.

Although personal use was intended for this asset, her first and foremost priority was to purchase an outperformance capital growth asset.

Many purchasers struggle to combine both personal and pragmatist, but clear thinking and being willing to compromise on personal likes is what it’s all about.

Targeting a pocket within the Bridge Road and Burnley Street south-western corner meant that cafes, restaurants and great bars were a short walk, and tram would be within about 100m.

Missing out on one two weeks back on Fraser Street was disappointing, but without missing a beat we reverted to Plan B; a larger property just one street over with a full right of way car access, north facing yard, more land and a third bedroom in Dickens Street.

We kicked off the bidding after an opening vendor bid  of $1.1M and managed to shake off competition with quick-fire bids matched to the increments of our competitor. With three of us initially in the race, the hammer fell on our bid at $1,27M, just ten thousand dollars above reserve. At a price of twenty six thousand dollars less than the smaller property we missed out on a fortnight ago, we couldn’t be prouder.

Auctions are intriguing and so many factors are at play. Nobody could have envisaged that this property would sell at a lesser price than Fraser Street, but competition is a funny thing.

Our celebration drinks were only minutes away at the Bouzy Rouge, a fantastic Spanish inspired bar on Bridge Rd.

Sipping champagne with our gorgeous client on a Saturday afternoon was indeed very special.

Wishing her years of capital growth, great shopping and impressive dining.