The Sun Wasn’t Shining On Me In Sunshine
By Cate Bakos on 8 Jul 2014
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23 Sydney Street, Albion
Photo: Realestate.com
On Saturday just gone I headed out to 23 Sydney St Albion; a quiet and interesting little pocket almost completely surrounded by Sunshine.
Situated only 13km west of Melbourne and in a zone 1 and 2 region on the rail line, Albion is unusually cute and features plenty of Californian Bungalows and weatherboard 1940s houses.
It wasn’t until I delved deeper into the history of the township that I discovered a successful business owner earlier last century had enormous influence on the styles of houses we still see in Albion today.
HV Mackay’s vision to create Sunshine Estate Garden City to house his workers was no mean feat back in the day and the character homes and English named streets remind us of how different parts of Melbourne took shape during the wartime era.
Albion, the Affordable Little Pocket
Once called Darlington, Albion remains a small little pocket but offers a more affordable alternative for those buyers who treasure a period home but still want an unsubdivided block of land for under $600,000.
“These unsuspecting buyers often fall prey to the underquoting antics and despite their best intentions to bid with confidence, often their price expectations are nowhere near the genuine selling range.”
Being priced out of West Footscray and Maidstone now, Sunshine and Albion are rapidly becoming popular options within the inner-west community. With stamp duty savings on offer to eligible first home buyers in the sub-$600,000 buying range, it should be of little surprise that several first home buyers gathered out in the gusty, cold, overcast street on Saturday to bid on this gorgeous-but troubled, old Edwardian beauty.
23 Sydney Street, Albion, Lounge
Photo: Realestate.com
On more than 800sqm of land, and boasting side street access to the sizeable rear yard, and with the house positioned towards the front of the block, first home buyers were not the only bidders in the crowd. So too were builders and developers.
Furious Bidding!
Our pre-auction catch up was at The Granary; a cosy little timber floor cafe in Sunshine near the redeveloped train station. Heading through the Main Street on foot, I passed three fruit and veg markets; welcome shopping opportunity for my organic food loving clients.
“This beautiful home was in need of significant renovation work and despite our disappointment in missing out, we had carefully set a budget based on builder quotes and some things are not meant to be.”
The crowd that stood before the auctioneer would have reached close to 150 people and the mix of individuals was completely eclectic. From family groups huddling around their young first home buyers to neighbours coming out to see the action, the only consistent element was that many young faces showed up.
Bidding started in true first home buyer fashion – fast and furious before the property was even placed on the market. At $555,000 an excited agent lunged out of the front door and off the porch with such stride, the crowd knew the property was on the market. Sadly, the bidding slowed down quickly after that point which was again, a first home buyer trait.
Auction at 23 Sydney Street, Albion
Photo: Supplied
Maybe Next Time…
These unsuspecting buyers often fall prey to the underquoting antics and despite their best intentions to bid with confidence, often their price expectations are nowhere near the genuine selling range. I fought it out with a developer once the other under bidder stopped above $570,000 but unfortunately I too had a pre-agreed limit. The property wasn’t worth paying more than $580,000 for, at least not for an inexperienced buyer with no building qualifications.
This beautiful home was in need of significant renovation work and despite our disappointment in missing out, we had carefully set a budget based on builder quotes and some things are not meant to be. But we’ll continue the search in Albion and I have no doubt that the soon-to-emerge spring listings will provide more exciting options for my lovely buyers.
For more information about Albion, read our suburb profile here.
Points of Interest in Albion. Postcode: 3020
Albion Primary School
St Theresa’s Primary School
The Granary Cafe
Brimbank City Council
