Friday 14th October

The Lure of Leura

Nestled within the magical Blue Mountains is ‘Ellengowan’, a timeless residence that has just been listed for sale.

“Homes in Leura all have a certain charm being deep in the Mountains,” says Agent Darren Curtis.

The estate encompasses more than a hectare of idyllic sprawling grounds which have been thoughtfully conceived, the property has been created to provide the most luxurious Blue Mountains experience possible.

The property is located less than two hours drive west of Sydney, and only minutes from the upmarket township of Leura.  It boasts a grand two-storey residence which was completely renovated in 2005, and includes five bedrooms, four bathrooms, an abundance of living and entertaining spaces, formal lounge room, formal dining room, library, a glass-enclosed sunroom, attic, and a rumpus room.

“Ellengowan is arguably the finest home in this historic area. Very rarely do homes like this come to the market and we are proud to be representing it in this sale,” says Curtis.

The fully lit surrounding grounds are dotted with established trees and water features and provide a private haven that is magical all year round. Shrouded in mist on a winter’s morning and blooming with flowers during spring, the grounds encompass expanses of level lawn which offer a wonderful, safe environment for children.

Agent Darren Curtis has sold two significant homes in the Mountains area over the last couple of years, one for $3.3 million, and one for $2.5 million. He expects ‘Ellengowan’ to sell for somewhere in the middle of these, close to $3 million.

For further information, find it on Millionplus.

Parked in the middle of Middle Park

Gary Copolov, the Principal of Gold Medal Marketing, is selling his stately Victorian home in Melbourne’s Middle Park for over $3.7 million.

The stunning residence has been extended by award winning architects Coy and Yiontis and renovated to spectacularly marry the ubiquitous period character the home exudes with modern lines and a contemporised posterior.

The residence includes a parents private retreat with a large bedroom, luxurious ensuite, sun room and deck retreat. It also includes three further double bedrooms, two fabulous living spaces, media room, and a state of the art kitchen with back of house scullery.

Outside are Dan Gayfer landscaped gardens, a lush entertaining courtyard, a roof top terrace, double off-street parking, and an outdoor beach shower.

For further information, find it on Millionplus.

Double Bays Spacious, gracious living

Demand is expected to be strong for eight prestigious apartments in Double Bay which offer the best of both worlds, being strategically located in vibrant Bay Street - the cherished heart of the village - yet spacious enough to provide cocooned, home-style comfort.

Utilising classical elements and traditional craftsmanship, Montre will be a masterpiece of grand European styling that would not look out of place gracing the finest streets of Paris.

“The apartments are more like the graceful residences of old,” says Murray Wood, Director of Project Marketing for Colliers International.

Tree-lined Bay Street is Double Bay’s most desirable boulevard, with high-end retail shops and refined apartment developments such as The Chancellor and The Gallery.

“We expect most buyers will be ‘empty nesters’ from the Eastern Suburbs and possibly the Upper North Shore, but we also anticipate some interest from ex-pats and international jet-setters,” says Wood.

Montre includes three two-bedroom apartments with a study priced from $3.25 million, three three-bedroom apartments with a study priced from $3.95 million, and two penthouses priced from $5.65 million.

Developer Oceania Property, which is known for Bell Aire at Bellevue Hill, Arc at Waterloo, Alura at Cremorne, Huntley Park at Hunters Hill and several prestige individual homes, states that Montre is their benchmark development.

Director of Oceania Property, Nico Wijarto Tjen says, “What we are offering is grand, easy-care apartments for those who appreciate the finer things in life. We could have opted to cram more smaller apartments on the site but we were determined that our building was in keeping with the distinctive streetscape and retained traditional Double Bay values.”

The architecture, by Kann Finch, cleverly combines classic stonework and Juliet balconies with crisp geometric facades of burnished steel and glass, topped with a Mansard roof. Overall, the look is reminiscent of a European building, blending fashionable shops at street level with discrete apartments above.

“In Europe, apartment living isn't a temporary phase in life. People are born and die in apartments, so they're spacious, elegant and comfortable - real homes, not like some of the box-like units built in Sydney,” says Nico Wijarto Tjen.

The apartments include gourmet kitchens with integrated appliances and walk-in pantries, Crema marble flooring, plush wool carpets, custom-designed joinery, ducted reverse-cycle air conditioning, and double parking.

For further information, visit their website.

Melbourne's $Million club grows

There are 40 suburbs across Melbourne that have $1 million-plus median house prices, according to RP Data.

This is four more than last year and 18 more than recorded over the year to June 30, 2009.

Toorak, with 111 house sales during the financial year, ranked as the most expensive suburb according to the RP Data list, with a $2.4 million median price.

Toorak was the founding member of Melbourne's million-dollar club, when 10 years ago it recorded 174 house sales resulting in a median price of $1.05 million.

Deepdene was second priciest at $2.02 million – but from just 11 sales ranging from $1.55 million to $3.7 million.

Tim Lawless, national head of research at RP Data, says 10 of the 40 suburbs fell within the prestigious Boroondara Council region.

There were six of the suburbs in the Bayside Council area, and five in each of the Port Phillip and Stonnington precincts.

The remainder were distributed across Glen Eira (four), Banyule (three), Whitehorse (two), Melbourne (two), Darebin (one), Mornington Peninsula (one), and Moonee Valley (one).

New entrants to the list were Alphington ($1.07 million from 31 sales), Caulfield South ($1.03 million from 87 sales), Ivanhoe ($1 million from 83 sales) and South Melbourne ($1.01 million from 101 sales).

Given the list’s requirement for at least 10 sales over the 12-month period, some suburbs such as Kooyong don't show enough activity, recording only nine transactions - all except two of them were over the million-dollar mark.

Throughout the year to July, values across Melbourne's top 20% of suburbs dropped 9.8% compared with much smaller falls across the more affordable price segments.

For the full Property Observer article, click here.