A long-overlooked beachside suburb with ocean views that rival glamour postcodes is suddenly desirable after bettering its record price in less than two months.
Battery Hill, sandwiched between Dicky Beach and Currimundi, has shot up the property ladder with a $1.4 million sale on a street named after a gun manufacturer.
That follows the recent record of $1.216 million set in June at 14 Vickers Street, an architecturally designed home a few hundred metres from the sea.
The latest sale was 20 Anderson Street, a double-storey original 1980s home perched on the top of the hill with sought-after north-facing ocean views and vistas all the way to Mount Coolum “that can’t be built out”.
Agent Luke Carter, who owns Harcourts Caloundra with wife Katherine, said after decades of being passed over because of its unglamorous name, people were finally appreciating Battery Hill.
“I don’t think a lot of the people realise the quality of the views in Battery Hill,” said Mr Carter.
“If Battery Hill was called Sunshine Hill or Sunset Hill it would be worth $2 million a property, but the views in Battery Hill are just good as any position on the Sunshine Coast and they are really only a short walk to the beach.
“People don’t identify Battery Hill with that glamour view position. But there are buyers who are starting to figure it out.
“Those properties up at Sunshine Beach and Coolum that have these glamour views, they are all multi-million-dollar homes, and the views at this property (on Anderson Street) are as comparable.”
The “solid” four-bedroom red brick house was built soon after the land was sold for $75,000 in 1989. It changed hands to the most recent owners in 2006 who paid $670,000 which at that time was a lot of money for the area.
However, they have well and truly made a profit, with the price more than doubling as the couple opts to downsize in the area.
“This one is all original, it’s not a big spec architectural glamour home. It’s just a solid original house,” said Mr Carter.
The interior features original 1980s timber kitchen and rafters with some modern touch ups to the exterior such as glass verandah panels and rendering.
He said the buyers were a local couple and their son who had belief in the area and could see its potential.
The property was sold in about a week from when it was placed on the market and six of those days were during Queensland’s recent lockdown when people could not undertake viewings in person.
Mr Carter said he was inundated with up to 70 enquiries but because of the lockdown situations here and interstate he could not show people through.
The eventual buyers were the only ones who could visit after lockdown lifted which gave the trio an advantage in negotiating the deal — a cash offer with no cooling off period.
Mr Carter said Battery Hill’s name carried a rich history which made it unique compared to blue chip beachside neighbourhoods.
Battery Hill got its name from an early period of military history when Robert Bulcock senior erected an observation tower to watch out for Russian warships during the Russian Scare circa 1880.
Mr Carter said in during World War II, Battery Hill was where guns were mounted to protect the Queensland coast from ships coming in from the north.
“You’ll notice the streets are named after guns used in war or gun manufacturers so you’ve got Anderson, you’ve got Browning, you’ve got Winchester, you’ve got Vickers, you’ve got Bofors, they were all famous guns.
“Anderson is a manufacturer of a US pistol used in WW2.
“I know this because I’m ex-military; I served in the Iraq war and have family members who served in Gallipoli and in World War 1 and World War 2.”
Mr Carter said American and Australian soldiers were posted to Battery Hill during World War II to protect Moreton Bay from the possibility of attack from Japanese or German ships.
“That was a great vantage point to make an attack,” said Mr Carter.
“On the Sunshine Coast we don’t have a huge amount of history so it’s good having somewhere with a bit of history attached to it.”
While the sale was a boon for the sellers, Mr Carter said the biggest winner was the buyers who had secured a top position at a better price than neighbouring suburbs with comparable — or even less spectacular — views.
For example, Mr Carter said he had recently sold 3 Simpson Street in Shelly Beach for $1.475 million which was going to be knocked down. That house only had a “glimpse” of the water, he said.
“I honestly think as much as the seller here has secured a great outcome, I think the big winner into the future will be the buyer,” he said.
“They are going to miss that view. The (previous) owner absolutely loves that view and to to be honest after you’ve been on the property you know why.”
