A rare Park St property sold for $3.75m, as buyers chased the production land at Moonee Ponds with its wild 1960s red bar.
A 1960s-era Moonee Ponds home with a built-in bar has sold for $3.75m, $150,000 above expectations, after aggressive bidding on its prized 1255sq m block.
A Californian bungalow at 84 Park St smashed its $3.4m-$3.6m price guide, with buyers snapping up one of the suburb’s rarest offerings, a spacious north-facing home on one of the north’s most sought-after streets, now selling for eight people.
Inside, the retro interiors, including the built-in bar, became a big talking point during the campaign.
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“If that bar could talk, it would have great stories,” said McDonald’s Upton Essendon creator Andrew Butler.
“The family has owned this home since 1968,” he said.
“They used to say that their parents had too many people.”
The sale came on a street where a home at 54 Park St set a city record with a $12.5m result last year, highlighting the huge gap between entry-level property and elite in the same pocket.
Mr Butler said the slowness of the offer, rather than its status, made buyers more flexible.
Situated on blue-chip Park Street, the home sits amongst some of Moonee Ponds’ most prestigious residential areas.
The Retro interior has been preserved in near-original condition, offering buyers a true time capsule opportunity.
“It’s clear that Park St Moonee Ponds is a sought after area, and that part of the road as well,” he said.
“You probably have the best houses in the closest neighborhood, but also having a good position, a north-facing rear, dual access for cars, being a side drive and right of way.
“The heritage overlay meant a lack of interest from developers. So it came down to people looking for a generational home.”
The north-facing rear yard was a key drawcard, offering room for a dream family remodel or extension.
Despite its earlier interiors, the country’s size proved overwhelming, with blocks of this size becoming more and more difficult to defend, even for out-of-premium pockets.
“Well, it’s hard to find, even in areas where there’s no overlap or around less desirable pockets, it’s hard to find that size,” Mr Butler said.
“So I think it was a great way, to be a place, and the big block meant you could build a single-storey home, or do an extension to a single-storey house without the need to double.”
The campaign generated strong interest before the reduction of the two largest buyers on the day of the auction, both seeing long-term highs.
Original finishes highlight the home’s untouched character, adding to its prime cable appeal.
The flexible floorplan and large land holdings offer many options, from renovations to long-term reconstruction.
“The two strongest bidders on the day of the auction both identified that it was a production opportunity,” he said.
“But throughout the campaign, we’ve had a few buyers come in, looking for that opportunity as well.
“We all like to dream, but it was just a dream, I think for some, it may be too late when they want to renovate, expand, and have the perfect family home.”
Successful buyers plan renovations and expansions to capitalize on the scale and location of the property.
The stunning built-in bar was one of the biggest talking points of the campaign, with shoppers drawn to its 1960s aesthetic.
Mr Butler said recent record sales in the area had given buyers confidence in how to spend their money, with the result highlighting the continued demand for rare large properties in built-up areas of the north and north.
“There is a wide range where you can’t overspend,” he said.
The existing building offers immediate living, while presenting a clear space for high-end renovations.
“Knowing that there are those sales in the back pocket that just happened in the same market.
“So going forward, I think that’s the idea, that he’s less likely to overspend.”
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