Bragging rights: Award-winning Australian homes for sale across the country

The label “award-winning home” is often given pride of place in a property listing. But while it looks good on paper – or on a screen of some kind – does an industry accolade get potential  buyers through the door?

In the case of the stunning home at  57 Cliff View Drive, in Allens Rivulet in Tasmania, most of the people looking at the home are aware of its architectural pedigree, said agent Harry Coomer from Charlotte Peterswald for Property.

“The architects certainly help, Room 11. Working off the back of their success has given us a platform to bounce off, which is nice,” Mr Coomer explained.

“In this calibre of home no corners have been cut, and the awards are proof of that.”

Properties such as Cliff View Drive were attracting local and interstate interest, he said, and generally speaking, were seeing a big influx of buyers into Hobart looking for lifestyle properties.

He added that the price — open to expressions of interest above $950,000 — made it relatively affordable, particularly considering the quality of the home and its close proximity to the Hobart CBD.

The three-bedroom home was built over 18 months for about $450,000, and was awarded the Esmond Dorney Award for Residential Architecture in 2011: Tasmania’s highest award for new residential architecture. It was also profiled in a New York Times article in 2011.

Records show it last sold in 2014 for an undisclosed sum, and was rented for $650 a week in 2016.

It’s not the only prize-winning property on the market at the moment that’s attracting keen buyer interest. In Melbourne, a three-bedroom warehouse at 7 Oxford Street, South Yarra, had 16 groups through on its first open for inspection.

Its renovation by NMBW Architects scored them a Victorian Architecture award – the John and Phyllis Murphy Award for Residential Architecture Houses, Alterations and Additions, in 2014.

Agent Michael Ebeling from RT Edgar said that they’d also sold the property to the vendor ten years ago, and they’d since gutted it and reconfigured the floor plan, vastly improving it, as reflected by the award.

He said the home was a lot lighter and a lot more open, with a better ergonomic flow between the rooms, and potential buyers could move in and start living.

“It’s got fantastic light – I think that’s pretty important in Melbourne’s winter,” he added, saying that with proper two-car garaging and a lift, it would appeal to empty nesters or downsizers.

On the NSW north coast, Coastal Abode Properties has two award-winners on the books – one at Pottsville, and the other at Byron Bay,

Agent Nicole Abbott said that the award given for the Pottsville property was a distinct plus for buyers.

“I think that that price point, it gives them confidence in the price,” she said. “Mostly with the renovation, because renovations can be done badly.”

“It’s a really unique house –  it was a really odd-shaped block and it’s been really well designed,” she added.

The five-bedroom house had also appeared on Open Homes Australia, although that wasn’t necessarily where people had heard of it.

“I think most people who have looked at it have then gone and watched the episode,” she said.

However, while awards be well-earned, househunters also need to consider the property’s specific pedigree and long term-prospects before taking the plunge.

Sydney-based buyers agent Michelle May said that while it “definitely helped” to have some kind of award attached to a home, it also mattered what the award actually was.

“It definitely does add value, but be careful you are paying for the right kind of thing” she explained,

“Ultimately you’ve got to do your own investigations. A lot of new developers say ‘architect designed’ but that doesn’t mean a lot, the builder could also be really rubbish.”

She said it was important to research what else the architect or designer had worked on, and the ‘gravitas’ of the award received.

She added that she was finding the buyers she worked with were increasingly interested in sustainability.

“That – the Sustainability Awards – would be an award that would be more practical to aspire to for your new house,” she said. “That would actually attract a lot of people.”

“People think – if architects think its beautiful and it receives an award, it must be”, she explained.

“I think people have to very careful about slapping an extra amount of money on it” she said.  “You have to distinguish between falling in love with a property and meeting your brief.”

John Carew of Mayfield Property Buyers agreed, suggesting that paying 20 or 30 per cent above the market rate for an award-winning home might not pay off in the long run.

“For an architectural-type award the build quality would be quite high, and it should be a quite unique property,” Mr Carew said.  “But in five to ten years it might not have that price premium any more.”

“Awards are obviously fantastic and a lot of industry bodies have them” he said, but again, buyers had to do their research.

It was important for buyers to look at the fundamental value of the home, he said, and to make sure what was being paid per square metre was reasonable considering the current market dynamic.

“I would imagine there’s some buyers that do get a little bit caught up in it”, Mr Carew said.  “But no matter how many awards the property might have,  you have to have the same level of due diligence and rigour.”