Angela Mackenzie “always knew I had the worst house in the best street” but never did she imagine it would become the first in Stockton to sell for $2 million.
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The 52-year-old bought 20 Wharf Crescent, a home which enjoys a stunning harbour and Newcastle city outlook, in April 2015 for $920,000.
Then she took a sledgehammer to it and renovated.
“It was like a rabbit warren with lots of little rooms and walls,” Ms Mackenzie said.
“I worked with Tristan Parkes from [building designers] The Plan Centre to come up a plan to make it liveable for me.
“I didn’t change the footprint of the property but together we came up with a plan to make it something that was a bit more user friendly and a bit more modern. I wanted something that was multi-generational as well.”
The result was a stunning transformation from a tired-looking brick home to a four-bedroom luxury residence with floor-to-ceiling glass maximising the views, a two-person elevator, atrium, beautifully landscaped gardens and a plunge pool with Balinese inspired cabana.
The home on 569 square metres was sold by Dowling Wallsend’s Lucas Gresham on October 26 for the new suburb record, according to Australian Property Monitors (APM). The previous highest sale was $1.9 million for a beachfront home in 2015.
He said the home was secured by someone originally from Stockton who has been living in Sydney for over 20 years.
Mr Gresham has lived in Stockton his whole life and said the market had shifted in the past 18 months.
“The $800,000 range – $750,000 to $850,000 – was probably the high end in Stockton in terms of the everyday sales,” Mr Gresham said.
“Then, all of a sudden, everything I’ve started to list is now a million dollars and it might not have garaging or the things it needed before, so that pocket of the market has lifted.”
According to APM, 13 Stockton properties have sold this year for over $1 million. There has been a total of 45 sales for a median house price of $750,000. The median house price for 2016 was $629,750 for 80 sales. In 2015 it was $552,500 for 92 sales.
“Over the past 18 months it’s been moving and moving and each week I’m hearing new people say, ‘Wow, I can’t believe this place,” Mr Gresham said. “The word is getting out and the more the word gets out I believe it’s going to become the Manly of Newcastle.”
It is not only Stockton that has seen the increases. Mr Gresham sold 19 Paperbark Court in Fern Bay on October 20 for a suburb record of $920,000, according to APM.
