Hampton's come a long way

The joke goes: if you live in Hampton, you do so because you want to. If you live in Brighton, it’s because you think you have to. More than just a dig at Brighton’s social class, the quip is equally a commentary on how much Hampton has pulled itself up in the world – and, more particularly, alongside its bayside peers.

Ensconced between the ritzier Brighton and village-like Sandringham, the south-eastern bayside suburb, 14 kilometres from town, is a haven these days for comfortable, professional families – doctors, lawyers, engineers and the like – who tightly hold onto their housing stock.

But the suburb wasn’t always this way. Having started out in the late 1800s as something of a seaside resort – with hotels, pier, coffee palace and baths for day trippers from Melbourne – surrounded by market gardens, Hampton was chosen to repatriate returning soldiers after both World Wars I and II, which spurred periods of development and boosted the local population.

Marshall White agent Robin Parker, who grew up in Hampton and attended the now-closed local high during the 1970s, remembers the suburb as decidedly working-class.

“It used to be known as, ‘Hampton, oh’, as in ‘oh, how’s that working out for you’,” recalls Parker, who still lives with his family in Hampton today. “In the 1990s, it was mainly families of tradies.”

Parker says a gradual gentrification of the area began during the 1990s, with Hampton Beach being reclaimed and the local lifesaving club restored, a renewal that has sped up considerably in the past decade or two.

Renovation and rebuilding have been rife. Many of the post-World War I California bungalows of the Castlefield Estate – on streets that still bear the names of towns and battlefields, such as Rouen, Villeroy, Imbros, Avelin, Passchendaele and Amiens – have been preserved, modernised and extended. In contrast, almost all of the post-1945 redbrick war service homes, on the east side, have been replaced by newer constructions.

On the expensive “Brighton Beach triangle” side of Hampton Road, the housing is an eclectic mix of old and new, with some heritage protection particularly around the Orlando Street precinct; but new building is widespread, including some high-density development in and around the station.

“You almost have to coerce vendors to sell,” says Parker, who is selling a blue-chip property in Holyrood Street on 2000-plus square metres only because the owners want to build again.

Locals love

The growing cosmopolitan feel of Hampton Street precinct with new cafes and bars; particularly “south side of the (railway) gates” below Service Street, which used to be thought of as a bit of a ghost town. “There’s a new cafe society emerging,” says RT Edgar agent James Paynter.

Access to bay and beach – being close to the bay not only helps to fan the summer heat and buffer the winter cold but it also provides a spiritually nourishing backdrop to modern living, with bike and walking trails along the foreshore.

The suburb’s walkability – because it isn’t a large suburb, most residents can walk to schools, the station and shops.

That it isn’t Brighton – and that it is less status than its more posh neighbour.

Where else to look: It used to be that if you wanted to buy in Hampton, there were plenty of properties to look at. Now, it seems, you may need to look at anywhere between Elwood and Beaumaris for bayside property. For Brighton – with median house price of $2.2 million – you’re likely to have to stick your hand a little deeper into the pocket for a comparable property. Sandringham, Beaumaris and Hampton East (median house price of $1.13 million) offer more affordable options.

Three of the best in Hampton

8 Gordon Street
$3.5 million-plus
5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 car spaces
Auction on Saturday at 11.30am
Inspect from 11am-11.30am, on Saturday
RT Edgar, James Paynter 0418 390 133

This is Hampton at its best under one roof. The house has the outward charm of the original 1920s design but, behind that, it has been substantially renovated and extended out and up, with four bedrooms upstairs and a main with en suite/walk-in wardrobe downstairs. It has an indoor-outdoor entertaining area, which opens up onto a floodlit tennis court. Importantly, though, it is ridiculously close to Hampton Beach and foreshore, Brighton Beach Oval, shops and schools (Xavier, St Leonards and Haileybury).

Room for improvement: Everything a Hamptonian could want.

1 Lawson Street
$1.9 million-plus
4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 3 car spaces
Auction at 11am, October 29
Inspect on Saturday from 11am-11.30am
Wilson, Graeme Wilson 0418 315 645

Few of Hampton’s post-World War II redbrick constructions still stand – and those that still do are rapidly disappearing – replaced by contemporary homes catering to modern lifestyles. This two-storey house built in the past decade is a prime example that ticks every box: spacious open-plan living/dining/kitchen with an unusually large walk-in pantry-cum-laundry, which with rear alfresco area is well set up for entertaining; downstairs main bedroom with huge en suite and walk-in wardrobe, two further bedrooms upstairs and second living zone with multiple balconies.

Room for improvement: There’s room for a pool, which was included in the existing owners’ longer-term plans when they added a roof terrace and redesigned the barbecue area, ensuring the footings were sound enough for a later addition.

24-26 Grenville Street
$4 million-plus+
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 car spaces
Expressions of interest closing on October 27
Inspections by appointment only
Buxton, Peter Hickey 0412 569 480

Timing and opportunity are seeing homeowners band together to sell adjoining properties with the hope of reaping a better reward than selling singularly, as these two neighbours, who lived in their respective properties for some time, have decided to do. Offering a combined 1020 square metres, the property will appeal to developers who may be able to squeeze onto the block a dozen or more multi-level apartments or half a dozen townhouses. Otherwise, the land perhaps may appeal to just a single cashed-up buyer interested in building a dream house.

Room for improvement: Dream your best.