10 Glover st North Willoughby vs. 28 Glover St North Willoughby

10 Glover was sold for 3.45M last year. But it seems hard for the owner of 28 Glover St to secure an offer over 2.9M. The auction is this Sat.

Both property are with same lot size and similar condition. Does it mean that Willoughby house price has dropped 20%?

 

If I had the cash, I would so buy this house (at the right price).

 

Meanwhile, 2 streets away from Glover Street there was this sale last Saturday:

A Willoughby auction of epic proportions

Reserve was 2.45M, sold at auction for 3.98M. I know the street and know the house - such a shame the new owners are going to knock it down. An original character house with so much potential to restore to something really nice. I thought the price that the agent was quoting pre-auction (2.5M) was way too low - a similar block with older house sold in the next street (Bedford) last year for 3.78M.

 

A real beauty that one. Such a shame , should have a heritage order on it.

 

I really cannot understand why you think such an old crappy house is attractive. Modern house is "modern" for good reasons. It would be a curse for the owner if it had been under a heritage order.

 

The mere fact that an owner wishes to buy into a particular area then proceeds to demolish an item of significance shows disrespect rather than "being modern". Nothing with as much grace can replace such houses once demolished, the character of an area is eroded and evenutally lost.

Areas such as Burwood Heights (Appian Way), Haberfield, Camperdown, Leichhardt, parts of Waterloo, Glebe, The Rocks etc have been able to retain their character and command great prices without sacrificing the houses which sit upon the land.

That house in Glover St is a fine example of Queen Anne style - steeply pitched roof (more expensive because it has Marseilles Tiles (terra cotta) as opposed to the cheaper Welsh slate, Coke burning fireplaces with marble hearths, tall windows with curved fanlights, intact oculus leadlight windows, ornate lathe and plaster ceilings, sandstone footings, hardwood joists and flooring.

We simply do not show the respect due to our early craftsmen.

 

I think the house would look amazing when restored. Such a shame that we don't have the same attention to detail any more

 

Check out areas such as haberfield, albert park, middle park.

All about preserving the whole area because unfortunately money does not equal taste

 

Nothing better than a restored old house with a contemporary extension out back (and up). Best of both worlds.

 

"Taste" is subjective. I personally don't like federation style house at all. Modern houses are brighter, more spacious, open-planning, with intelligent network, less maintenance, compact design, and on and on.

If federation style is so great why it is no longer popular now? I admire T-model for its historical significance but doesn't mean I would give up an BMW.

"Market is always right!"

 

What about garages, wasted space of all-through drive-way, old pipe work, rooms in the roof, high cost of custom build, narrow front doors, waste of land spaces compared to two-story house.

 

Your taste, not nectaste of many wealthy

Many people want to live in an exact environment as of centuries ago in an ever evolving world. I would suggest being open-minded and an objective comparison.

I personally found properties in conservation area is always significantly cheaper than those comparable ones in non-conservation areas.

 

It's nothing about the market being right. Most people can't build houses so they have to choose what to build from the selection that's available from building companies (unless they are rich enough to get an architect to design exactly what they want and pay a premium to have it built). Older architectual styles are generally more labour intensive and harder to scale up than the cheaper pre-fabricated "modern" styles. Builders can build more modern houses in the same amount of time and therefore make more money.

 

A 40 square medowbank modern project full brick house costs 1.3M. Renovating an old federation major normally costs about 700k or less.

Cheap or not is not a deciding factor here.

 

I'm referring to building a house from scratch, not renovating costs

 

For rebuild, custom old style house won't cost 1.3M plus. I have never seen anyone who spend 1M+ to build an old style house in non-conservation area. But I have seen many spend 1.5M+ building modern mansions.

When it comes down to details, old style "beauty" will soon be ditched for so many practical advantages of modern houses.

 

You're comparing apples and oranges. Houses are generally priced per square metre. A McMansion that is 400sqm or more is about triple the size of a typical older home. Also, if you've spent 1.5 million+ building a McMansion you've probably been ripped off quite significantly.

 

So the buyer spent 4M to enjoy a house with no doubke garage, single story, wooden tiny windows, narrow porch, pitched roof, century old pipes and wood fireplaces like living in 19th century. No, not for me.

 

Binet Homes and plenty of others deal only in that market. They're not mass produced but bespoke houses.

 

The buyer spent 4m dollars for the block of land my friend...

Your out of touch and maybe clueless please show me a house of your taste???