What Makes Spotswood So Unique?

On the last auction weekend of 2016 we attended four auctions for our clients. One in particular was in Watt Street Spotswood, and this property was one of only two which we vied for during the entire year. Sadly we were the under-bidders. But there is a good explanation as to why properties in Spotswood rarely hit the market, and when they do, they are highly contested.

Spotswood featured just 37 house sales over the last year. ^

Just 7km from the CBD, sitting at the western base of the Westgate Bridge, home to just on 2300 people, and bound by a tiny 3.1sqm area, this teeny-tiny suburb is quite unique. It offers more than just cute houses and an easy commute though. Boasting a good primary school, a train station just six stops to the city and a great little line up of cafes (including our fave, Candied), a family-friendly, down to earth old pub with beer garden (the Spottiswoode Hotel), and of course, Scienceworks Museum, it is deserving of its reputation as a sleepy little gem.

The median house price sits at $927,000 which is a strong figure compared to neighbouring suburbs. Compared to the same period five years ago, the median house price has increased over 50% and equates to a compound annual growth rate of 9.1%.

Earlier in the year Cate and Amy enjoyed doing a short documentary on Spotswood’s best streets…

Needless to say, it was little shock, but huge disappointment for our lovely clients when this four bedroom family home sold under the hammer yesterday to a buyer who admitted freely that he was not going back home to his wife without an executed contract of sale. Boasting a beautiful yard, lovely upstairs attic style bedrooms and a beautiful additional library to the existing lounge, it was easy to see why it had attracted local families.

Just five kms north, we had better luck at 78 Commercial Road Footscray in one of our most favoured streets. This freestanding period Victorian with gorgeous lacework, a great layout and a deep back yard fronting onto Wolverhampton St stole our attention when a late brief from a Sydney investor rolled in just a week ago. The due diligence process had to be thorough because this old stunner had its own set of issues, from timber rot to some unlevel flooring, and we could see the potential a handyman and painter could add in a short time frame. The significant opportunity however would be the potential to copy some of the neighbouring properties and subdivide the rear half to create a free standing dwelling fronting Wolverhampton St. Whether developed in the short term or land-banked into the future, this neat Victorian with great tenants in place currently was too good not to gear up for and bid on.

Armed with a budget of mid nines, we did grit our teeth and cross our fingers when the auction bell rang.

We proudly secured the property within the top end of our designated budget for $967,000 and called our clients with the exciting news. Buying a property interstate without having seen it in person is always a leap of courage which requires trust and confidence in the advocate. It is not a task we take lightly. From sending film clips through for a ‘virtual’ walk-through experience, to extensive building reports, planning alert searches and providing an overview of the area, we did our best to highlight the good, the bad and the ugly. But despite some timber rot and localized unlevel flooring, we really struggled to find negatives about this diamond in the rough.

Commercial Rd sits within one of our favoured pockets of Footscray and earlier in the year we enjoyed sharing our short documentary;

Now the 2016 remaining auctions are few and far between and scheduled on weeknights this week, or final Spotlight next week will feature a favourite story or two to celebrate a very busy year marked by strong capital house price growth, tough competition, fantastic industry colleague support and an incredible team in our little office.

^ sourced from REA