Erle Levey
The top end of Noosa’s property market is seeing good activity, even if the buyers are very careful.
“The fundamentals of Noosa have not changed,” Graham Smith of Sotheby’s International said. “Everyone wants the connectivity to the beach but are prepared to look further afield to get lifestyle with the beaches.”
Graham and Sotheby’s International colleague Stephen Brown are taking a boutique set of three riverfront apartments, pool, at 116 Hilton Tce, Noosaville, to auction on Saturday, 25 February, at 12pm.
It’s a rare offering to bring such a property to the market.
There are two ground-floor apartments offering two bedrooms and a bathroom, and a three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment upstairs.
Each have a garage on title.
“It would be easy to create a connection between the top level and one of the ground-floor apartments,” Graham Smith said.
“The inquiry level has been good – either local or from Melbourne.
“The firmer inquiry has been from people looking to take all three as all apartments have holiday-letting approval.
“The projected net rental return is sizeable. It should prove an exceptional investment.
“The bottom two will be sold fully furnished. There are forward bookings on those.
“Upstairs is negotiable with the furniture being included.”
When the current owners purchased this property in 2015 it was the veritable ugly duckling, an unloved red brick block of flats.
An extensive rebuild was undertaken, lovingly creating a true river house, with wide and deep verandahs looking over the park and the river beyond.
The result is a relaxed yet elegant main residence above with two smart, self-contained units below.
This leaves the ability to unite one of the lower units (unit 1) with the upper level and create a five-bedroom, three-bathroom and two-living area home and leave the second ground floor unit to use as guest accommodation or provide a robust short-term rental.
The large penthouse-style unit features European oak timber flooring, high ceilings, fully air-conditioned throughout, and glorious bathrooms with Hansgrohe fittings.
The bedrooms are spacious, there is Starlink connectivity, back-to-base security, European appliances, butler’s pantry and expansive stacker doors to combine the large verandah space with the comfortable living area.
Louvres feature throughout the property, along with LED downlights, feature wall and stair lighting, while the solid masonry/concrete slab construction provides insulation from heat/cold and noise.
The two lower units have large easy-care floor tiles, living room air-conditioning, and full kitchens in both.
The laundry and bathrooms are separate.
Both units feature some of the original brick construction, one with simple white paint, one with bespoke render and glazing.
The verandah spaces are large enough to house the bar table 
and chairs, barbecues, outdoor sofa and chairs.
The property is securely fenced with two separate gates at the street frontage and one gate leading directly onto the park to the rear.
The concrete plunge pool is at chest height and is surrounded by lime trees, kaffir limes and lemon trees.
The three-car garage features a full-width loft storage, while 16kw of solar panels sit on the roof.
Solar hot water is also installed for the penthouse unit with mains override when necessary.
