WHEN Mark Fricker decided to bid on a dilapidated property at The Junction in March 2020, the Newcastle builder and developer raised a few eyebrows.
"Everyone was commenting how brave I was to buy at that time because COVID-19 was just beginning, but I knew that it was a great location," Mr Fricker said.
"At the time everything was up in the air with lockdowns and what the government was planning to do about the situation.
"Three months later people told me I had a good buy. In hindsight, it was the perfect time to buy."
Interestingly, the auction also marked the first online auction in Newcastle due to COVID-19.
Fricker paid $1,210,500 for the 466 square metre block which was offered for the first time in 120 years.
He recognised the potential for a knockdown project in a sought-after area to develop new housing aimed at downsizers.
The result is two torrens duplexes on a corner block at Corlette Street, which is within easy walking distance to everything The Junction has to offer, including shops, cafes and restaurants.
The property at 173 Corlette Street is for sale with a guide of $3 to $3.3 million.
Fricker, who is an MBA (Master Builders Association) and HIA (Housing Industry Australia) award-winning builder from Octobrick Pty Ltd., said the home has been specifically designed to appeal to downsizers, with high-end finishes throughout and a low-maintenance yard.
"For me, it's a downsizer's dream," he said.
"It has two living areas, an oversized garage so that you can fit a car in it and easily get out of both the passenger side and the driver side.
"The garage has extra height for storage and also it is built to accommodate four-wheeled drives with roof racks so you can actually pack the car with roof racks in the garage."
The yard features a plunge pool which was designed not only as a place to take a dip but also as a water feature.
"They are part of the landscape design," he said.
"When we were building the house we wanted a water view and you can see that from all of the living area downstairs."
Mr Fricker has ensured high-end finishes both inside and out such as the Wamberal stone fence, hand-built by a local stonemason, to the Venetian marble paved terrace.
Inside offers a contemporary theme with high ceilings and a designer kitchen featuring a 40mm stone waterfall benchtop, integrated appliances and self-cleaning ovens.
The bathrooms include underfloor heating and heated towel rails.
Other features include Plantation shutters, laminated glass windows for thermal and acoustic insulation, built-in robes, an electric gate, video intercom system and a solar system.
Mr Fricker, who is the father of Australian diving champion Sam Fricker (who represented Australia at the Tokyo Olympics and won a Bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games), is considering moving into the second duplex next door.
"We have had 39 groups through on the two Saturdays that we have had it open so far," said selling agent Tom Lemke of PRD.
"I would say 90 per cent of those have been people already living in the area or in much larger homes that are wanting to get down to The Junction on a low maintenance flat area."
Mr Lemke said that the home offers a generous floor size internally with plenty of storage.
"If you look at the internal floorplan, it's 230 square metres so it is probably bigger than a lot of homes," he said.
"A lot of time downsizers have to sacrifice storage space and bedrooms to go into something smaller whereas this is not actually that much smaller, but you are getting a lot less yard and will have a lot less maintenance in that respect.
"That has been a big part of the appeal with buyers so far."
The house is open for inspection on Saturday at 10am and 2.15pm.
