Why life in lockdown encouraged the Wallace family to sell their first home

Couple Jo and Brendan Wallace and their children, six-year-old Bellamy and three-year-old Jules, were already starting to outgrow their three-bedroom house near Newcastle when the coronavirus-induced lockdowns first hit.

“We have some great memories of the 10 years in our first home,” Jo Wallace says.

“It was a five-minute walk to the local mall so we’d spend a lot of time at the movies, shopping or dining out.”

The central location in Charlestown that they loved as a young married couple became less appealing after their second baby arrived in 2017.

“At first we adapted it to suit our changing needs; renovating an old shed out the back into a studio for my work and knocking out the kitchen wall to create an open living and dining area,” Wallace says. 

“We doubled our floor space and made the most of what we had, but we couldn’t get away from the fact the house was located on a busy road. With two young kids at home, I also started to spend a lot less time in my purpose-built studio.”

At the start of 2020 and well before the pandemic impacted on Australia, the couple asked real estate agent Andrew McKiernan of McKiernan Real Estate to come over and value the property.

“We were beginning to consider that we needed more room and a quieter way of life, and we wanted to get a sense of what our house was worth. We thought we might move in a year or two, but a few months later and the reality of our ‘new normal’ in lockdown sped up our decision-making,” Wallace says.

Once all of their usual go-to social spots such as the local mall, play centres and pool began to close, the couple again contacted McKiernan for advice.

“Before COVID, we had been busy with work and entertaining the kids. But as lockdown forced us back inside, it highlighted everything that was wrong with the house and its location. By May this year and a couple of months of feeling quite isolated, we were ready to move out.”

After preparing their Charlestown home to hit the market, it sold within the week.

“We were thrilled but as a busy family of four, we didn’t want to move twice. We immediately put an offer on a big family home in a cul-de-sac in the leafy suburb of New Lambton Heights and after some back and forth, we exchanged contracts. We moved in on 4 July, 2020,” she says.

 With space to spread out indoors and a location on a quiet street, the new house has everything their old property didn’t.

“We might not be as close to the shops and entertainment precinct in Charlestown, but now we have a pool that backs onto bush, we have less need or desire to go anywhere,” Wallace says.

“The kids ride their bikes around with friends from the neighbourhood, we walk the dog and chat to our neighbours and we explore the surrounding bush. 

“Brendan and I have a combined home office and lounge at the front of the house with our bedroom and en suite and the kids have their bedrooms and bathroom at the back. 

“It functions really well and even though we have had to spend more time at home thanks to COVID restrictions, we don’t feel hemmed in. 

“There is plenty of space for us all and yet we have the central kitchen and dining space to come together as a family.”

The location in New Lambton Heights is especially meaningful for Wallace as she grew up in the area and her parents live in the next street.

“I always wanted to end up in this suburb but it is even better than I expected. Bellamy attends a local school; my parents are close by and it feels great to be part of a lovely family-friendly community. 

“COVID forced us to slow down and take steps to change our pace of life but now we’ve moved, we couldn’t be happier!”