Toorak defies the property downturn
Melbourne’s blue blood suburb of Toorak continues to draw buyers prepared to strike deals that defy the coronavirus crisis.
Melbourne’s blue blood suburb of Toorak continues to draw buyers prepared to strike deals that defy the coronavirus crisis, with even more activity expected over winter.
In one of the year’s biggest buys, the Arvanitis family mansion, which had recently listed with a $12.95m price guide, sold for more than $10.5m, according to market players.
This sale points to a surprising period of activity in local markets as wealthy buyers turn their attention from annual holidays in Aspen and Europe to fixing up their local real estate holdings.
Selling agent Marshall White Stonnington director Marcus Chiminello could not be reached for comment, but the couple who sold the home — Areti and Peter Arvanitis — have built another home in Toorak.
The Grange Road home they sold was promoted as a Nic Bochsler-designed residence surrounded by about 2000sq m of tranquil gardens, as well as pool and mod grass tennis court.
The five-bedroom, four-bathroom home is near Toorak Village and could be renovated or rebuilt to suit the buyer.
The sale continues a run by Mr Chiminello, who also handled an off-market sale of a home in nearby Barnard Road, Toorak, for $10.5m.
That four-bedroom mansion sold at a premium to pricing expectations last year, and more activity, mainly off-market, is stirring to life.
Meanwhile, Melbourne’s luxury apartment leasing market, particularly in inner city Fitzroy, has achieved higher rental prices than anticipated, with the Spanish Club Residences redevelopment fully rented out.
Tim Gurner’s redevelopment of the Spanish Club Residences in Johnston Street saw it lease 25 apartments, ranging from one to three bedroom units, within half an hour of them hitting the market.
One-bedroom residences have fetched $400 per week, two bedrooms from $500 per week and three bedrooms from $920 per week. The complex draws its design inspiration from Spain’s boutique hotels and mansions.
Each apartment received 5-10 applications, sparking a bidding war between applicants, some offering more than the asking rental price.
The leasing success came as Mr Gurner said the market was proving more resilient than he had anticipated during the pandemic.
“Admittedly I was nervous to launch a leasing campaign as my view on the market was that it would take many months to recover from the effects of the coronavirus, but after seeing the turnout and the rapid leasing success at The Spanish Club I’ll happily eat my words — it was truly one of the most astounding things I have witnessed in my property career,” he said.
“Interestingly we have seen a huge change in the past two weeks — our recently completed Albert Place Residences project, which is also leasing now, has gone from registering roughly 230 views per day on real estate listings in April, up to 2700 per day at the end of May — a tenfold increase.
“I’ve never seen a turn-around quite like it — my view now is much more optimistic and we’ll be re-evaluating our project launch timeline for the rest of the year to see what we can fast-track to bring to the market to take advantage of the renewed market sentiment if it continues,” he said.
Completion of the Spanish Club Residences apartments is expected by mid-June.
Established in 1969 along Fitzroy’s Johnston Street, The Spanish Club was founded by Padre Eduardo Sanchez, the Chaplin to the Spanish, who persuaded the Spanish government to assist in purchasing the building to serve as a social centre.
The club, or “Spanish home” as its name translates to, quickly grew to become a home away from home for hundreds of Spanish immigrants settling in Australia in the late 50s and early 60s, and over the years it evolved to offer extensive social and education opportunities for the Spanish and wider community.
Faced with ageing club facilities and financial distress, The Spanish Club struck a deal with Gurner in 2017 to reinvigorate the site, restore the heritage facade and create a new clubhouse and club-run Spanish tapas restaurant with 32 residences above.
The Spanish Club will soon move into a new clubhouse.
