Ailu, the 1885 Italianate Camberwell mansion, fetches $6.8 million record price
Ailu, the 1885 Camberwell mansion, became the suburb's record price holder at auction this weekend. It fetched $6.8 million at its Marshall White auction with three strong bidders.
Property Observer gathers the landmark Italianate, slate roofed Victorian residence on a 1,580 square metre block, last sold for $1.1 back in 1996.
It was bought in 1996 from the Jolly family that had owned it since the mid-1930s, when the property was known as Toowomba.
Showcasing the impressive proportions of its era, it has been faithfully renovated to preserve its traditional period features.
But Marshall White selling agent James Tostevin stressed the interiors also delivered luxurious living spaces geared to today's contemporary family lifestyles.
Located in one of Melbourne's finest residential precincts, the Tara Estate, the home features a wide double arched hallway with parquetry floors.
There is a sweeping staircase leading to the tower which has two bedrooms and an upper terrace with 360 degree views all around the Melbourne skyline.
Marshall White marketing utilised drone imagery, a new technology allowing buyers to view properties from perspectives that would previously have been inaccessible. There were 1900 pre-auction views of the youtube offering.
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With a $5.4 million opening bid, James Buyer Advocates indicated Ailu was announced on the market at $6 million with all three bidders back in the race. After the day's auctioning, Marshall White director John Bongiorno told Fairfax Media the prestige Melbourne market was finely balanced and not as strong as some people thought.
Locals advise that the earlier Camberwell record was set when lawyers Peter Gordon and partner Kerri O'Toole secured $6.275 million in 2012 for 69 Broadway. It was a five bedroom 1901 home on a 3300 square metre holding sold through Kay & Burton which had likewise sold in the mid-1990s, selling at $1.25 million in 1998.
RP Data puts Camberwell's median at a near record $1.38 million.
Melbourne's fourth and seventh dearest house sales this weekend were also in Camberwell with the REIV reporting a 73% and APM a 74% clearance rate across Melbourne.
The other top house sales that Property Observer was aware of this weekend:
2. 15 Avondale Road, Armadale $4,900,000
3. 4 Riversdale Court, Hawthorn $4,350,000
4. 49 Cookson Street, Camberwell $3,190,000
5. 1 Laburnum Court, Brighton $2,925,000
6. 9 Tiffany Grove, Templestowe $2,656,000
7. 119 Wattle Valley Road, Camberwell $2,650,000
8. 39 Hannan Street, Williamstown $2,500,000