Early spring test for Brighton’s bathing box market

Early spring test for Brighton’s bathing box market
Jonathan ChancellorAugust 10, 2011

Box 40, one of the 85 bathing boxes at Melbourne's Brighton Beach, is set for September 3 auction.

With $190,000-plus expectations, it seems unlikely to challenge the recent record price for the Dendy Street location.

That was a brand-new bathing box that fetched a record $260,000, even though four other boxes were concurrently listed for private sale with $185,000 plus hopes in mid-June this year.

There are now three other listings for private-treaty sale.

Set on one of the most photographed locales in Australia, Box 40 comes with new weatherboards and a Balinese-style ceiling.

"These highly sought icons of Brighton are a proven investment, and number 40 won't last long," Katie Reid at Nick Johnstone Real Estate says.

"This is possibly the most practically appointed bathing box of them all with a retractable deck/ramp for easy water-sport equipment storage and access."

Bathing boxes existed in Brighton as far back as 1862, with the 85 boxes at Dendy Street being a throwback to the 19th century, when the increasing popularity of sea bathing clashed with Victorian-era prudishness.

The boxes hit $200,000 for the first time in 2007, but during the 2008-2009 global financial downturn there was a $171,000 sale.

Box 73 is currently listed at $180,000 through Buxton Brighton agent Chris Carrington.

“This was listed back in March but there have been a few newer ones available so harder to sell now and will ramp it up once the weather improves,” Carrington says.

Box 72 is for sale through Helen Taylor at Hodges Brighton. Sam Paynter at the Hodges Brighton has $180,000 to $200,000 hopes for Box 16.

The first public auction was in 1999, when a box sold for $60,000.

The local council owns the land for each box and charges an annual licence fee of about $600.

Only Bayside ratepayers or residents are allowed to own one. They are typically 2.4 metres by two metres by two metres.

There are about 1800 bathing boxes and boat sheds around Port Phillip and Western Port Bay.

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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