Olympic champion Eric Murray’s renovated villa has sold for $1.21 million within a week of hitting the open market.
A couple who made a pre-auction offer on the property on Victoria Street, in Cambridge, just hours after setting foot in it last Wednesday are now the new owners.
Murray provisionally accepted their offer of $1.21m last week and the auction for the three-bedroom, two-bathroom home was bought forward several weeks ahead of schedule.
Other buyers were invited to bid at the Bayleys auction room today, but no one else did.
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Bayleys listing agent Amanda Merrington said the successful buyers had a “pinch me” moment.
She earlier told OneRoof that the whole thing happened very quickly.
“They [people who made the offer] viewed the property within 24 hours of it going online, had their offer made within a few hours of that – they knew straight away.”
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They then had a nervous wait until the auction, she said. However, their quick actions were rewarded when no one else decided to bid.
Merrington admitted there had been a little bit of “matchmaking” involved in getting the Cambridge couple to the property. One of her Bayleys colleagues had attended the VIP launch party for the property the week earlier and had immediately thought of this cash buyer who she thought would love it – and she was right.
The couple reused some of the existing materials in the house including the bricks from the old chimney which were repurposed as pavers. Photo / Inhousenz.com
Murray and partner Thea Lyle, who renovated the property with the help of his son Zac, were also “thrilled” and shared a celebratory glass of champagne with the new owners after the auction, she said.
“Eric shared some great stories of the villa's journey with the buyers.”
He had been stoked to get an offer so early in the marketing campaign because he had been ready to move on to his next project, she told OneRoof last week.
“He was after a result, he’s found his next project and he didn’t want to muck around."
Murray told OneRoof he knew that the 1912 property would get a lot of interest and he had been looking forward to today’s auction to find out who the new owner who got to “love this old lady going forward” would be.
“The goal of Cambridge Villa was always sticking with its character, being an original villa. Its modern features, climate control and the future-proofing we did to the property, it is easy to see the work we put into getting the old girl up to a really lovely level of comfort. The fact we have the before and after, it’s very easy to see."
The kitchen was relocated to create an open-plan kitchen and dining area. Photo / Inhousenz.com
The kitchen before the renovation. Photo / Supplied
Renovating the 1910 villa had been a passion project for Murray who purchased it almost two years ago for $806,000.
He had just one renovation under his belt after doing up his Vogel Street home and had been ready to take on something more ambitious when the old tired villa hit the market. The property had been owned by a couple in their 80s and had been empty for about a year.
He told OneRoof that he had spent thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars bringing the “old girl” back to life with the help of friends, family and tradies.
However, a change in life circumstances prompted him to sell the villa and look for another renovation project he could do with his family in mind. He had also been hoping to pay off some debt and create something more suitable for their current needs.
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