62 Kinkora Road HAWTHORN

Comments on 62 Kinkora Road HAWTHORN

I have rated 62 Kinkora as requiring a major reno.
 
Its major positives are its Grace Park position (heritage and older units opposite don't feel an issue) and its incredibly evocative and powerful façade, which will attract buyers now and support a major reno in the future.
 
The front rooms are grand and mostly completed – requiring STBI (building inspection) only a cosmetic touch.
 
The hallway has width – as does the driveway to the east.
 
However this home is the story of two halves – the front being flat, attractive and issue-free.
 
The rear is another story: it's poor and needs to be smartly and expensively addressed if this potentially grand home is going to the next level – a period Grace Park special.
 
Currently, flow from front to back is poor, broken by a wall from the last renovation – which in my opinion (the whole reno) has not worked at all – other than to please its current owner. As well, connection to the back yard is also weak – mainly due to the slop not being addressed.
 
So current reno, slope, and south facing rear (light, but only single level) are the issues – add in trees and it’s not a simple walk in Grace Park to fix – however it is largely manageable with time, smarts and dollars – although the trees are still something nobody can be sure of.
 
Money – the good news is a significant capital injection should see a return on resale if done well, as the area has a history of high sales and good growth.
 
The not so good news is the market appears as hot as it did 5 years ago – with huge crowd numbers through the last two weeks (all homes, not just this one) and very positive media talk, with better than expected economic numbers, ADD in almost forever promised low-interest rates AND that the pandemic was from a financial point of view largely a poorer persons disease AND it is possible to see an attack on 6 for the final price of this home.
 
In fact, 48 Hawthorn Grove has a lot of similarities and it got (with a one-off buyer) $6,100,000 in the lockdown last year – off-market.
 
Of course, there was a less than stellar result – 22 Chrystobel – south sloping rear was the same $3,800,000 price four years apart – top of market 2016 to lower of market 2020 – but it was a difficult block, sloping and south rear.
 
How the much underquoted 57 Mary goes this weekend will give an indication of market depth and the renovated version of what you are looking at – 41 Mary – had four bidders in the lockdown market and got $6,700,000.
 
They wanted $6m when it was off-market last year and if the crowd numbers manifest into a sense of group urgency energy, then a big number is more than possible – and then likely repeat for the foreseeable future and more and more return and Grace Park remains a favourite for its class and location to shops, schools, transport and all things Hawthorn.