A Minnamurra home in a premier riverfront reserve location has hit the market, having remained in the same family for about 60 years.
The home is located at 46 Charles Avenue, Minnamurra.
The current two-bedroom cottage sits on 556 square metres, and is due to be auctioned on November 18. It also comes with the unique bonus of a tinny and mooring as part of the sale.
Austin Keane was a Professor of Mathematics and a Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Wollongong.
The family lived in Sydney at the time they bought the Minnamurra property in the 1960s.
It was a vacant block at the time, and they built a fibro shack there as a weekender.
"I can remember my father saying, 'I bought a $5000 block of land and put a $1500 house on it', or something like that," daughter Joanne said.
"My brother and I spent every school holiday there for 15 years.
"Minnamurra was gorgeous then. The freedom of living there, and swimming across the river to the beach and spending the whole summer on the beach, running wild.
"Kiama Downs didn't exist (at the time), the school wasn't there. Minnamurra was a tiny village with plenty of older people and holiday-goers."
Her parents eventually retired to the Illawarra when Austin fell ill; he died in 1979.
The weekender they built was later knocked down and the current home constructed.
"My mum Lorna built a small house for herself and stayed there, and only recently passed away in February," Joanne said.
"The property was also loved and shared with friends, colleagues and family over the decades."
Joanne said it was "incredibly difficult" for her and brother Phillip to part with the property, but necessary.
"Minnamurra will always be there for me and I'll come back still as a near 70-year-old to swim the tides," she said. "It's the safest waterway on the coast.
"I'd love someone to own it next that shared the love of the space that we all had."
The home is now for sale with a price guide of $3.5 million to $3.7 million.
The premier riverfront reserve location offers water views from the kitchen, dining and living areas, with direct access to enjoy a swim, fish, paddleboard or kayak.
Also, the owner can cross the river for a surf at Mystics, the beach popular with locals.
The sale also comes with a tinny (rowboat) and mooring.
Joanne said this could be a unique but appealing selling point for potential buyers. "The moorings, they are valuable," she said.
Selling agent, Andy Wharton from First National Coast and Country said the early interest in the home was mostly from out-of-area buyers.
"They love that it's pretty much unchanged, but it's in very good order.... People also love the river frontage," he said.
"Its aspect is very good, facing the river, and it's in a quieter part of the street.
"Maybe one or two houses like this come up on the Minnamurra River per year."
He said given the position, the next owner may look to undertake a knockdown-rebuild at some point.
There's reportedly scope for redevelopment or renovation; according to the marketing, a second storey addition would take in unrestricted views of Rangoon Island and the river inlet.
According to CoreLogic, currently the median sales price of houses in Minnamurra is $1,571,069.
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Brendan Crabb
I'm a member of ACM's national property team, covering the Illawarra and South Coast. Based in Albion Park, NSW, I write about exciting, interesting or just downright quirky properties that have been listed for sale, major sales, market trends, auctions and more. One of my favourite aspects of being a journalist is I believe everyone has a story to tell. What's yours?
I'm a member of ACM's national property team, covering the Illawarra and South Coast. Based in Albion Park, NSW, I write about exciting, interesting or just downright quirky properties that have been listed for sale, major sales, market trends, auctions and more. One of my favourite aspects of being a journalist is I believe everyone has a story to tell. What's yours?
