Where in Melbourne can you still find a period house for under $400,000?

A new client approached us a week ago about assisting with the negotiating and auction bidding for a house she’d identified herself. The street was one I was very familiar with; Adelaide Street Albion.

She had chosen well.

Close to station, surrounded by plenty of period houses and near parkland.

I told her she’d selected like a Buyer’s Advocate.

One glance at the online listing was enough to tell me that this property was potentially a $400,000 house. Although this seemed particularly affordable my Melbourne standards, our client’s budget was quite sensitive and we needed to work out whether our budget had a chance with this acquisition. Further analysis hinted that indeed we did have a good chance because the house is a two bedroom cottage with a subdivided back yard.

The question was – how could we ensure a sub-$400K purchase?

We canvased the idea of a pre-auction offer with the agent and after careful negotiations, agreed on $385,000. Our client had identified a great property in an area with exciting growth prospects. We assisted and enabled them to secure a dream in Melbourne’s little suburb of Albion. Based on rapid gentrification thanks to price growth in the inner west pushing families further out, a significant rail upgrade project, an easy 8-rail-stations-commute to Southern Cross and easy access into the CBD, Albion can’t stay a secret for long. And in the same auction weekend which saw this gorgeous family home in neighbouring Sunshine break a record with a sale price of $935,000, our buyer has every reason to feel excited about the future growth prospects of this gorgeous house.