Suburb records tumble with sales in Gungahlin suburbs Casey and Franklin

The Gungahlin suburbs of Franklin and Casey are home to new top sales as house price records continue to tumble across the ACT.

Casey’s residential sales record has been smashed by $170,000 with the sale of 12 Bev Lawson Street for $1.3 million.

The five-bedroom house on a 618-square-metre block was sold through McGrath Estate Agents Belconnen/Gungahlin agent Kris Hellier​.

It breaks a previous record set by the $1.13 million sale of 33 Winchester Street in late 2016.

Mr Hellier said the latest, off-market sale exchanged on Friday and reflected the value of buying in the Gungahlin region, particularly Casey.

He said existing and future infrastructure, including light rail, were contributing to demand.

“It’s value for money. If you take the same home from any Gungahlin suburb…and drop it into the inner north, it’s obviously going to be worth a lot more,” he said.

“The whole market is really strong. I think the only factor that will affect that is the Reserve Bank of Australia increasing interest rates and pushing people out of the market.”

Mr Hellier said the house at 12 Bev Lawson Street was snapped up by a former Canberra family returning to the capital after a period away.

He said the house features 90-year-old recycled Sydney bricks, Italian tiles, a large kitchen with quality appliances, an enclosed alfresco area and a pool.

/**/

Further south, Franklin also has a new record with the sale of 32 Marie Pitt Street for $1,170,000 at auction on Saturday.

It’s the second time the suburb’s residential sales record has been broken this year. In February, a house at 30 Dorothy Green Crescent was snapped up for $1,134,000.

McGrath Estate Agents Belconnen/Gungahlin agents Mick Barlow and Ashleigh McGregor sold the sprawling, 1014-square-metre property.

Mr Barlow said there was strong demand with more than 70 groups inspecting the four-bedroom house.

The auction attracted four registered bidders and was sold to a family living in Franklin.

“There was some spirited bidding,” Mr Barlow said. “The big attraction was the block size.

“There’s a lot of buyer confidence in the area, especially for higher-end homes.”

Mr Barlow said Franklin’s location was a big drawcard with many existing residents, like the buyers of 32 Marie Pitt Street, wanting to upsize in the suburb.

The latest two sales are among a string of suburb records broken throughout Canberra this year, including in Gungahlin.

A house in Amaroo broke its own suburb record at auction earlier this month, selling for $1.4 million under the hammer.

Other Gungahlin suburb records broken include a $1,425,000 sale in Ngunnawal in April and a $1.4 million auction result in Forde in March.

Meanwhile, a sale in Forrest has become the suburb’s third-highest on record.

The huge 3832-square-metre property at 9 Melbourne Avenue sold off market for $3.86 million last week through Luton Properties.

A $5.5 million sale broke the Forrest record – and became Canberra’s third-highest sale – in April.