in brief: julia gillard’s house for sale
The residence of 9 Medford Street, Altona, is up for sale. Realestate.com.au states that the house has ‘the allure of luxury’ and is an ‘inviting modern residence,’ which boasts generous form and separate informal living and dining areas, a contemporary granite and stainless steel kitchen, as well as three bedrooms (the main bedroom with a walk-in robe and ensuite), two bathrooms, and three carport spaces. The auction is set for 2PM on December 14, and the property is listed as having a median house price of $545,000. This Saturday at the open for inspection, a hundred plus people crammed in to see the house, with the inspection beginning fifteen minutes early at 3:15PM.
Of course, the reason for the added interest could be the fact that it was the home of former Prime Minister Julia Gillard since 1998.
Investors were among the hundreds to cram into the property at the viewing on the weekend, although it can be assumed that sticky-noses wanting to investigate every nook and cranny of Gillard’s home made up a fair percentage as well.
WBP Property Group director Greville Pabst has stated that the ‘celebrity association’ could have an ‘intangible effect on the sale price’ and that the ‘former status and high profile of the owner is likely to lend positive influence to the property.’ This means that Gillard could pocket as much as $500,000 more than her initial purchase price of $140,000.
This added interest in the property, though, does have its drawbacks, with potential homebuyers put off by the high-profile nature of the previous owner. A first-home buyer looking to buy in the Altona area who was at first unaware of the status of the previous vendor stated that it was a deterrent rather than an enticement simply because ‘it will probably go for more.’
Conversely, another potential buyer stated that ‘if [they] had the money, [they] would buy it tomorrow,’ and that they ‘might sell [their] other couple of properties [they] have for this one.’
It’s undoubtedly the ‘Gillard influence,’ which is drawing buyers to the property. But it is drawing a likely equal number of overly curious sticky-noses completely uninterested in buying the home. It begs the question: where is it necessary to draw the line in such inspections and sales?
