A PROPERTY on Bellbird Crescent at Bowen Mountain has sold for a ‘record’ $1.65 million, and senior sales agent at Harcourts Excellence, Danny Acosta, said he believed the area was headed for an upswing.
“It’s a pretty special house - a family home. And as majestic as it looks in the pictures, I can assure you it’s a very grand home,” he told the Gazette.
Set on a 10-acre property, the cedar home boasts five bedrooms, three bathrooms and two garage spaces, and was built by a local couple 30 years ago.
“It’s a massive price for Bowen Mountain. While it’s not an uncommon figure for the Hawkesbury, you normally see those figures in Grose Vale, Kurrajong, even North Richmond if it’s on acreage,” said Mr Acosta.
“Every single resident that’s heard of it has said, ‘you’re kidding!’ It’s turning a lot of heads. And the length of time it’s been on the market, a lot of people doubted it would go for that price.”
Mr Acosta said the property was on and off the market for around three years, but he believed over the past 12 months urban sprawl was attracting more city buyers to the area.
“For the past decade while I’ve been in this area, Bowen Mountain has always been placed aside. It’s always been very affordable and has been perceived as a little bit too far out,” he said.
“But there is an influx of buyers coming from out of the area, and all of a sudden the comparison between Grose Vale and Bowen Mountain which are next to each other, they don’t see the difference.
“Sydney has always been one of the most expensive cities in the world, and it is still in the top 10. What I’ve been finding is people are wanting to get out of the hustle and bustle, from the Hills district and beyond.
“We’re only an hour and a quarter - approximately - outside of Sydney, and the demographic is saying Kurrajong is reminding them of what Castle Hill used to be like 30 years ago.
“What’s drawing them to the Hawkesbury is the tranquility and affordability. While $1.65 million may seem super expensive to us, people are coming from the Hills district for example where you’ll pay $1.7 million for a 700-square-metre block - but there’s a railway line going through and it’s getting busier and noisier - and out here it’s good value for money.”
He said he believed the entire Hawkesbury region was headed for an upturn, and prices for properties in areas like Kurrajong Heights, Bowen Mountain and Pitt Town - which were previously seen as “a bit too far out” - were being pushed up.