An unassuming home bought for just 78 pounds almost 100 years ago has just sold for $2.5 million at Pearl Beach on the NSW Central Coast.
It’s the first time the four-bedroom home had been offered to the market since the original owner, Evelyn Smith, bought the land in 1928.
Then part of the new Staples Estate, the 675sq m block is just 150m from the sand dunes at Pearl Beach.
The property was passed down to Mrs Smith’s daughter, Irene Edwardes in the early 1960s and in 1965 a three-bedroom cottage was built on the rustic block by a local builder, and family friend, from Terrigal, Noel Murrel.
Mrs Edwardes, her husband and their daughter, Kim, moved into the home in 1966 and later added a fourth bedroom in the ‘70s.
The cottage was later passed down to Kim Jones and she lived there with her family up until a couple of years ago, when she elected to rent the property out.
“We will be sad to say goodbye to such a piece of family history, but the time was right for us to move up to Queensland and pass this little piece of paradise on,” Mrs Jones said.
“Never in my life could I have imagined having this much money, we can’t believe how much it sold for.”
CoreLogic data reveals property prices in the beachside hamlet have soared in the past 12 months, jumping 45.4 per cent to a median price of $1.76 million from 40 sales.
Selling agent Alana Gargaro, of independent agency Residential HQ Central Coast, said properties across the Central Coast were in high demand but Pearl Beach was “special”.
“While the whole of the Central Coast has certainly seen an influx of demand from buyers across Victoria and NSW, Pearl Beach remains one of the most sought after areas for its natural beauty and charm,” she said.
“It’s quite quirky, you’ve got all the people that are riding around on their bikes and quite artsy types of people. It just has a ‘wow’ factor.”
Ms Gargaro said she secured the listing based on the ongoing relationship she had with the vendors after first meeting them seven years ago.
“I met them at another property they had when I sold a property in the same street,” she explained.
“Over time I just kept in contact with them… then this year I was able to take over managing their rental properties.
“It all stemmed from just old fashioned keeping in touch.”
Ms Gargaro said this was also a sale she managed carefully, keeping in mind that the property had been in the one family for 93 years and she had to handle it and the vendors with care.
“Kim was toying with the idea earlier this year, but I told her she had to be 100 per cent confident about the sale before we listed it,” she said.
“I didn’t want her to feel unsure about it because I think that makes it a lot harder.
“It turned out that she ended up finding a property in Queensland to buy, so she thought this was the time to let go of Pearl Beach.
“She’s found what she thinks is her forever home in Queensland, so I think that helped.
“But it was so important not to push.”
Ms Gargaro said the new owners were a Sydney couple who planned to use the cottage as a holiday home.
