Channel Nine’s finance editor Chris Kohler lists charming Richmond home

• Owners: Chris and Susannah Kohler
• Type of property: A renovated Victorian cottage
• Address: 11 Chestnut Street, Cremorne, Victoria
• Price guide: $1.15 million-$1.25 million

As 9News’ finance editor, Chris Kohler has more knowledge about property than most. 

You can find him discussing topics like interest rates, housing and financial markets on Nine News or on Instagram or TikTok, where he’s known for his finance-themed videos.

But when it came time to buy his first home with wife Susannah in April 2020, he was just as nervous as any first-time buyer.

“I was overthinking it by miles. I had all this stuff swirling around in my mind about interest rate projections, clearance rates, volume, time on market,” Kohler recalls. 

“Susannah was a great calming influence … and talking to parents and people who’d been through the buying process before was really useful because otherwise I probably would’ve been paralysed by anxiety about the whole process.”

At the time, Australia had just been plunged into its first COVID-19 lockdown, with a nationwide ban on auctions resulting in a unique buying experience.

“The buying pool just dried right up at that time, so we ended up buying the house over text message with the agent, which is such a weird way to buy,” Kohler says. “It was a bizarre time.”

Having recently returned to Melbourne from Sydney, the newly married couple bought a two-bedroom, one-bathroom Victorian cottage on Chestnut Street in Richmond, a few minutes’ walk from bustling Swan Street.

The neighbourhood, which Kohler had admired from afar on his train trips from the inner east to work in the CBD, is also close to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Barkly Gardens and the Yarra River.

“I had always looked out the window into that Cremorne pocket and thought what a beautiful little spot it was,” he says.

The couple welcomed their first child, John, a year later in April 2021 and, after living in the home for around 18 months, started chipping away at small renovation projects. These ranged from changing the carpet in the bedrooms to resurfacing the floorboards, painting, and installing built-in wardrobes and shutters.

They eventually moved on to tackling bigger updates, completing full bathroom and kitchen renovations and replacing the pebbled stones in the backyard with a more kid-friendly artificial turf.

“We have done quite a bit and we’ve brought a lot of love and energy into the place,” Kohler says. “And it was a really Cremorne do-up – our builder lived one street away from us, the person who sewed our curtains lived two streets away. It was really nice in that sense.”

Kohler points to the home’s soaring ceilings, its backyard, and the way the sunlight hits the house at different times of the day as some of his favourite features.

“The sun spills through this stained glass that we have above the [front] door, so in the afternoon you just get blues and reds thrown across the wall.”

The young family frequents nearby cafes Denis the Menace and LaManna & Sons, and the shops and restaurants along Swan Street. They also love the proximity to the CBD and the neighbourhood’s family-friendly vibe.

“When you go out the front with a toddler, there’s usually another toddler hanging around looking for someone to muck around with,” Kohler says.

SOLD - $1,235,000

11 Chestnut Street, Richmond VIC 3121

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View property

With John now almost three, the couple have decided to put their property on the market in search of a home with more space. While Kohler says they’ll be sad to say goodbye to the house, they aren’t planning on moving far.

“We’ve had four really wonderful years in that house. It’s been where we were able to bring our son home. It’s just been a really wonderful place to live,” he says.

“We’d love to stay in Cremorne, or Richmond more broadly; we really feel like we’re Richmond people now.”

• Nine is a majority shareholder in Domain.