A COVID-safe policy of refusing Sydney buyers entry to properties for sale in the popular Central West town of Orange has not discouraged interest.

Principal of McGrath Orange, Josh Fitzgerald said, “As a group we made a decision when COVID started to evolve in Sydney that in order to keep our community safe, we’d qualify out-of-area buyers and make sure they had approval from the police and NSW Health before they could come out to inspect our properties.”

18be0477-bb98-a94e-449c06dde9630ab8_3.jpeg

The office set strict protocols for inspections of properties and encouraged video walkthroughs for out-of- area buyers.

Despite the restrictions, McGrath’s Scott Petersen has just negotiated the sale of historic, “Mena” at 50 Kite Street for a record price of $2.6 million.

The sprawling five-bedroom home on 2327sqm (approx.) was built by James Dalton of the pioneering Dalton clan of Orange. Designed when art nouveau was at it's peak Mena still has original features throughout including lead light windows, open fireplaces, original period tiles, cedar archways, 5-metre ceilings with decorative moldings and Australian cedar used throughout, including 36cm skirting boards. 

c5dac5f9-e39c-6290-752ee1245df27a74_3.jpeg

The footprint of this grand heritage listed home has not changed in 146 years and has been meticulously maintained and restored with no expense spared in the building and fitting out of this iconic property. Master craftmanship is evident throughout the entire residence.

The exquisite grounds complement the home, complete with the original stables, established gardens with magnificent trees, wide lawns and a stunning private courtyard.

c5d3977a-951c-c9d1-b34fd448c5714aa5_3.jpeg

Mr Petersen said, “The market in Orange is red hot with much of the interest coming from Sydney. Buyer enquiry has ramped up again since Sydney went into lockdown but his office decided early on that they needed to act responsibly. We’re very conscious of protecting our community,” he continued.

The Mosman-based buyers inspected the property just once before the COVID situation developed and fell in love with it. Naturally they wanted to inspect the home again before signing on the dotted line.

c5d61250-bbb0-c366-edf12e368ba9b7f6_3.jpeg

Mr Petersen said, “We felt we needed to abide by our earlier decision of restricting out-of-area buyers from inspecting our properties until we had the approval from NSW Health. It just seemed the safest and most responsible thing to do – protecting our region from any possibility of people accidentally bringing the virus to the community.”

While interest in the nationally heritage-listed property continued through lockdown from local buyers and from Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney, the Mosman buyers decided to back their initial impression of the property.

c5c4b2e2-eb15-ee66-d230bb578a2f5075_3.jpeg

They are delighted to call “Mena” their new home, with plans to relocate to Orange.

“If people show genuine interest in our properties, we’ll do a private walk-though video or FaceTime,” said Mr Petersen. For locals we do one-on-one inspections but no large groups.”

Interest in the lifestyle region of Orange has not waned during Sydney’s lockdown. Mr Petersen said the first round of COVID restrictions last year ramped up interest in the district. “When Sydney comes out of lockdown this time, we’ll see another spike,” he said.

Source: McGrath

For further information or to enquire about similar properties for sale click here or phone or email Scott Petersen of McGrath Orange via the contact form below

Similar to this:

McGrath expands with two new offices in Orange and Molong

John McGrath – Regional areas outperform cities: The top 10 hotspots

Regions benefit from exodus from Sydney and Melbourne - HIA