Josh Stirling of St Kilda Hodges has sold a charming Elwood home over the weekend for just over $1 million – a very rare entry level price for the prestigious Ruskin Street.

An auction crowd of around 70 people endured the 35 degree heat to see this unrenovated, three bedroom property go under the hammer.

A renovated three bedroom property on similar land size would set a buyer back $1.4 to $1.5 million, Mr. Stirling said. “We had a couple of other sales of homes that also needed renovating nearby, which both went for north of $1.2 million, so to be in this price range – for a solid brick home in Elwood – those days are almost over,” he said.

The vendor bought the home in 1988 for $166,000. The price range represented an amazing 600 per cent growth.

No developers were keen on the property prior to auction, because of the heritage overlay, Mr Stirling said, leaving young families and couples among those who were most serious about buying. “It’s a good result for the size of the land and the position it is in. Long-term –10 or 20 years’ time – I am sure the buyers will look back and think what a great purchase it was,” Mr Stirling said. “It has never more affordable to get into a premier address such as this from an interest rate point of view. The reality is we can’t build more land in Elwood so the prices are going to go up. Obviously our vendor is a testament to that.”

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