By Ewen McRae
The Sunshine area is turning into the capital of the west according to one real estate agent, following another record sale.
A property at 211 Duke Street, Sunshine North, sold at auction on September 22 for $1.53 million, smashing the previous record for the 3020 postcode of $1.38 million.
It continues a strong year for the suburb, with two properties in Sunshine West selling for $1.31 million and $1.16 million in June.
Douglas Kay Real Estate agent Peter Kay said the record sale last week reflected how attractive the Sunshine area was, especially to families.
“I think a changing reputation in the area, as well as a number of supportive infrastructure plans, continue to propel confidence in the area,” Mr Kay said.
“There’s such a dense employment hub in Sunshine, and there’s framework for further construction such as the Melbourne Rail Project, so businesses and buyers are really starting to view the Sunshine area as the capital of the western suburbs.”
The auction ran for close to an hour, with four bidders pushing beyond the previous record and towards the magical $1.5 million mark. A local family was the winning bidder.
The four-bedroom, four-bathroom property was built 15 years ago for $800,000. Mr Kay said the sale would likely hold the record for some time.
“It’s going to be hard to beat in the near future,” he said.
“Anything in the $1.4 million range would have been a great result, and to get $1.5 million in the western suburbs and particularly the Sunshine area had never been done before.
“I think it’s pretty evident now that people are happy to pay a million dollars plus in Sunshine, but you have to give them something special that they can’t find each week. A house like this only comes on the market once in a blue moon.”
