Sam Ransley is 'thrilled' with his newly purchased converted church hall in North Fitzroy. Photo: Paul Jeffers
Melburnians are being offered a feast of recycled properties, ranging from pubs to former churches, as the auction market cranks into gear for the year.
One of the most unusual was a converted church hall, in North Fitzroy, sold to a professional couple for $1.485 million.
It was love at first sight for Sam Ransley, 41, and Jodie Bennett, 40, who came across the three-storey, three-bedroom house by chance.
Masonic Hall Conversion: before shot.
''We were planning to start looking in about 12 months' time when we saw this by accident and just fell in love with it,'' Mr Ransley said. ''We've always really liked conversions, and I've lived in a conversion before, so I was absolutely thrilled.''
And metres from Port Melbourne beach, another piece of history was sold at auction a week ago. A two-bedroom townhouse in Stokes Street, within the walls of the former Swallow & Ariell biscuit factory, was sold for $1.2 million to a young professional couple, said Marshall White's Justin Holod.
And many of Melbourne's converted homes, steeped in history, are becoming popular real estate.
Masonic Hall Conversion: after shot. Photo: Christina Zhou
Robin Power, chief executive at Re:CONSTRUCTION, a company specialising in conversions, said this was reflected in the prices being paid for warehouse projects.
A newly converted Masonic hall in Atkin Street, North Melbourne, is one of the off-beat properties to hit the market. The price for the first of four two-bedroom townhouses in the former hall is quoted at $600,000 to $660,000.
Another two-bedroom townhouse, in a converted community hall in Severn Street, Yarraville, is also on the market, quoted for $600,000-$660,000.
Sarah Hobday-North, architect at NOWarchitecture, said the main difference between a usual development and a conversion was the ''history element''.
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