A slice of heritage on offer by the National Trust
Historic Clarendon Terrace in East Melbourne is to be offered for sale by the National Trust board after 46 years of ownership.
Historic Clarendon Terrace in East Melbourne is to be offered for sale by the National Trust board after 46 years of ownership. Constructed in the Victorian free classical Style in 1857, the premises are a row of three, two-storey terraces designed by architect Osgood Pritchard, featuring a rare giant corinthian columned portico.
Designed to look like one house, Clarendon Terrace was built for Charles Lister, a wine and spirit merchant. Tenants during Lister’s ownership included Samuel McGowan, superintendent of the emerging electric telegraph network and Louis Ah Mouy, rice miller and financier.
The second owners of the Clarendon St premises were the Marks jeweller family.
The Rodney Davidson-led National Trust, which had been founded in 1956, acquired the property in 1978, amid a community outcry about its proposed demolition by Watts Holdings to construct an office block.
In 1980 the trust were approached by the Sir Robert Menzies Foundation which proposed to pay for its renovation in return for a peppercorn rental for 45 years, along with the right of first refusal of purchase if the National Trust were to decide to sell.
The Menzies Foundation recently moved into Vicland’s Central House Toorak co-working space and its chief executive, Liz Gillies, advised it did not retain any purchasing option.
The site, renovated by building contractor L.U.Simon, is currently occupied by Her Place Women’s Museum headed by Mary Delahunty.
Clarendon Terrace is emblematic of the preservation movement in a time when Whelan the Wrecker bulldozers were demolishing Victorian-era properties.
“Clarendon Terrace was purchased with government support in 1978 with the purpose of restoring, protecting under heritage laws and on-selling,” a Trust spokesman said.
“Proceeds from the sale will go towards assisting the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) to help build capacity to continue its vital work in enriching the Victorian community and heritage.”
Its most recent valuation was $12m.
Kay & Burton director Ross Savas, who has been mooted as having the listing, was not available to comment.
Historic homes set the pace
Melbourne’s top three weekend sellers were all marvellous historic houses.
The most expensive was the 1890s house at 1 Chrystobel Cres, Hawthorn, which fetched $8m.
Having come with a $7m to $7.75m guidance, buyers agent Mal James noted it was announced in the market at $7.75m. There were two bidders.
One of Melbourne’s most tightly-held eastern suburbs trophy homes sold for $7.5m after six decades of ownership by the Kerr family in Canterbury. There had been a $5.5m to $6m guidance from Iain Carmichael at Jellis Craig, and he raised the guide during its marketing to $6m to $6.25m.
The two-storey 1918 home, set on 1329 sqm on The Ridge, was bought for £12,650 in 1960 by Laurie Kerr and wife Vivienne, who died last October aged 93. Laurie, who was the founder of the public relations empire IPR, died in 2001.
There were four bidders.
The third most expensive sale was $7.05m at auction for the renovated, freestanding Edwardian residence at 223 Canterbury Rd, St Kilda West.
Its indicative price had been advised as $6.3m to $6.7m by Warwick Gardiner at Jellis Craig Port Phillip. It was announced on the market at $7.03m, and no break was required in the auction to discuss the bidding progress with its vendors.
Melbourne’s sales included one the most viewed listings on realestate.com.au at 21 Wakanui St, Northcote which fetched $4.1m through Sam Rigopoulos and Paula Beavis at Jellis Craig.
Clearances on the decline
The national preliminary weekly clearance rate has continued to fade. Tim Lawless at CoreLogic has calculated a 71.8 per cent success rate across capital cities, down from 73.5 per cent.
“Clearance rates have been softening since the second week of February when a preliminary clearance rate of 76.2 per cent was recorded,” Mr Lawless said.
The major auction markets of Melbourne and Sydney both had a 0.5 per cent drop in their clearance rate; Melbourne at 70.1 per cent and Sydney’s 76.8 per cent was the strongest in the nation.
Canberra was the weakest at 63.8 per cent, but there was a $5.9m sale when a 1920s Forrest home sold through Sophie and Richard Luton of Luton Properties. Now renovated and extended, the four-bedroom Barkly Cres house had been designed by architects Percy Oakley and Stanley Parkes on a park-like 2006 sqm which has an official $3,225,000 unimproved land value.
Northbridge sale nation’s most expensive
Sydney’s Northbridge secured the nation’s top result after the priciest offering was passed in at a Oyama Ave, Manly auction where $18m was being sought.
The six bedroom home at 25 Coolawin Rd, Northbridge, was sold through Black Diamondz Property for $11.95m.
It was sold by the Rawlings family who purchased it in 1939 for £475.
The property, bordering Fig Tree Cove, was referenced in a 1979 judgment in an appeal against the then Federal Commissioner of Taxation relating to gift duty assessments.
The next most expensive weekend sale was $11,601,000 in Bellevue Hill.
The McGrath agents Georgia Cleary and Luke Hoganhad issued 11 contracts.
All five registered bidders competed after auctioneer Scott Kennedy Green took an $8m opening bid. The 40-minute onsite Ginahgulla Rd auction received a $1000 final bid.
The local buyers plan to rent out the home while they prepare designs for a new home.
The vendor was Double Bay boutique owner Colina Anderson Stuart, widow of late company director Peter Anderson Stuart and the couple’s daughters, Alexandra and Primrose managed the sale.
The family had moved into the £10,850 house in 1960 when Alexandra was six months old.
Sydney’s highest settlement
Bellevue Hill has seen Sydney’s highest settlement so far this year when TechnologyOne director Cliff Rosenberg purchased a property for $25.2m – another strong off-market trophy home sale in the hilltop suburb. The tech entrepreneur paid a March St record.
There are whispers, however, of a $35m sale in neighbouring Rose Bay.
Locals on Dumaresq Rd have been chuffed since they have calculated it represents a record price per square metre, bettering a 2022 Collins Ave sale.
They credit the sale to McGrath agent Luke Hogan after repeated sightings on the narrow dead-end street, but Hogan remains silent.
Long weekend downturn
PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty says many vendors have avoided auctions over the Labour Day long weekend, during which there will be just 564 Melbourne auctions.
Actor Cate Blanchett and her director husband, Andrew Upton, are among the vendors who have already sold their Melbourne properties pre-auction.
Their three-bedroom home at 5 Trinian St, Prahran, fetched more than $3m having been listed with $2.25m to $2.45m guidance.
The couple paid $745,000 in 2006.
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