It has had just two owners in its 124-year history, and now is your chance to put your own touch on Coonawarra’s iconic Balragon property.
And you can pick it up for less than half the current average Adelaide price.
Built in 1901 by the famous McGillivray family – who hold an important place in the history of Penola and the surrounding region – and originally part of the history and distribution of the heritage of Maaoupe Park, the property and the land around it remained in the family until 2020.
Sales company Mark De Garis of TDC Livestock & Property, who is selling the house with his partner Karly Honner, said the current owner has changed their plans for the property, giving someone the opportunity to breathe new life into the area that was once a limestone executive.
“It was bought as a large rural lot and it still has its title and the owners have plans to make it their main house and they decided to do something different, so they keep the farmland next to it and sell the house and give someone else a chance to bring it back to life,” he said.
281 Lynch Rd, Coonawarra.
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“The McGillivray family had many farms and built a house for each brother and this is one of the few left.
“It has no facilities in the sense of a bathroom or a kitchen, so you have a living space that you can build the way you want and bring it back to life.
“It originally had a lean-to that housed the kitchen and bathroom as it was during the day – and it has since been removed and the home returned to a stone shell.
“Stoneware is A1. Protected from the weather.” Outdoor woodworking needs some love, but that’s just beauty.
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“We had a builder who said it was in very good condition for its age.
The online ad suggests that apart from excellent home renovations, this property would make a great bedroom or dining room, retail accommodation or “a regional visitor experience celebrating the history, produce and places of Coonawarra and the Limestone Coast”.
“I would say this is going to be home,” said Mr De Garis.
“There is a price there and the range we are quoting is between $400,000 and $440,000, because for people to put a big investment in it there still has to be a price for them.
Real home interior.
Put your touch on the classics.
“Given the average price of Adelaide now there are people out there who probably have that in their back pocket, and by the time you spend $600,000 or more on it and it’s going to be a great house.
Mr De Garis said the local market was impressive, given its proximity to the SA/Victorian border.
“The South East has been very active and has a lot of value in it because it’s close to Victoria and everyone wants to get out of Victoria, so we’re reaping the rewards of that, and we’re still seeing a lot of inquiries from Adelaide,” he said.
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“With people not having to work in an office or a space and now people are starting to look more at the lifestyle and the region, and with Coonawarra and Penola being where they are, we’re four hours from Adelaide and five hours from Melbourne – we’re ready to reap some of that reward.
An artist’s portrait of one of the bedrooms.
Mr De Garis said the interest in the area was strong.
“It went up just before Christmas and the talks are due in two or three weeks, and it’s been one of our biggest web inquiries about the area.”
Mr De Garis said the site was close to the Coonawarra airport, which allowed people to fly in and out.
The home has thick walls, soaring ceilings, a bull’s eye porch, high skirting boards, a bay window and luxurious marble mantels.
It sits on a 5ha plot suitable for landscaping or livestock, where the seller is open to negotiating a rezoning of the boundary to suit the buyer’s needs.
According to PropTrack data, the median property price for metropolitan Adelaide is $908,000, while Regional SA is $489,000.
How the dining room can look for renovation.
Imagine if this was your living room.
