<p>It seems Andrew Winter and his team may have done too thorough a renovation in Wollongong, as the owners decided just before auction to withdraw the property from sale and move back in.</p>

<p><img alt="newdapto" height="353" src="/images/stories/2013/02/newdapto.jpg" width="470" /></p>

<p>&quot;They did too good a job,&quot; says listing agent Michele Lay of Ray White of the <em>Selling Houses Australia </em>team. &quot;If you see it on <em>Selling Houses Australia</em> you&#39;ll see how beautifully it came up.&quot;</p>

<p>The episode featuring the Wollongong house aired on Wednesday, and the auction was supposed to take place in September last year. The house was on the market for some months last year, says Lay.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The marketing had said &quot;With a realistic vendor and all the hard work done for you; this house MUST BE SOLD&quot;.</p>

<p>A short walk to the Wollongong CBD, the three-bedroom cottage last sold for $185,000 in 1999 and was on the market briefly in 2006, according to RP Data. The <em>Selling Houses Australia </em>team added new&nbsp;paint throughout, new blinds, new doors, new light fittings, new taps and a revamped kitchen and outdoor entertainment area. Lay says it could have attracted a rental of up to $460 per week. In 2009 it was listed for rent for $400 per week.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=31751 project_image_fid=160996]</p>

<p>Lay&nbsp;was marketing the property with price hopes of $399,000 plus.</p>

<p>The median house price in Wollongong fell 9.9% in&nbsp;the past year but rose 10.5% in the past five years, according to RP Data.</p>

<p>For more about prices and yields in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.urban.com.au/property-observer" target="_blank">Wollongong, see the&nbsp;RP Data suburb page.</a></p>

<p><em>For real-life property lessons from reality TV shows, download our free eBook&nbsp;<a href="http://propertyobserver.com.au/ebooks/free-ebook-lessons-from-the-block-and-other-property-reality-television-shows" target="_blank">Lights, Camera, Auction!</a></em></p>


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Wollongong vendor decides to move back in after Andrew Winter's work is done

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<p>{yoogallery src=[images/stories/november23breakingdawn]}</p>

<p>Cashed-up Twihards can stay in the house where Bella and Edward consummated their marriage for about $4,000 a night.</p>

<p><img src="/images/stories/bellaedward1.jpg"></p>

<p>The six-bedroom, 1,022-square-metre house is in Mamangua Bay, between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Brazil. The honeymoon scenes in <em>Breaking Dawn: Part 1 </em>were filmed at the house, called <a href="https://www.casaemparaty.com.br/en/default" target="_blank">Casa em Parat</a>y, in addition to a soundstage in the US. </p>

<p><img src="/images/stories/bellaedward2.jpg"></p>

<p>Casa em Paraty was designed by Thiago Bernardes and includes a 220-metre private beach and 700 square metres of verandas. It rents for R$7,000 a night, or about A$3,930.</p>

<p>Those on "Team Edward" will know that the vampire reduces the marital bed to splinters on the couple's wedding night, but as the bedroom scenes were not filmed at Casa em Paraty, the main bedroom is still intact. </p>

<h2><strong>Recently listed properties:</strong></h2>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=90553]</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=24323]</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=3459]</p>
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Twilight Breaking Dawn honeymoon house available for rent for $4,000 per night

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<p>{yoogallery src=[images/stories/june21shellrw]}</p>
<p><strong>13 Shellbank Avenue, Mosman, NSW, 2088</strong></p>
<p>Yachties will be in heaven in this four-bedroom, five-bathroom waterfront residence with its own jetty, boat shed, pontoon and mooring shed. The contemporary, light-filled house has an infinity pool and large outdoor entertainment area, and those who don't want to climb the stairs to the third level will be glad to learn there is a lift. All four double bedrooms have ensuites and walk-in wardrobes, and the house also features a home study. It is being sold by <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.rwm.com.au/136041" title="Richardson and Wrench" target="_blank">Richardson and Wrench</a> agents Richard Simeon and Mark Manners, with price expectations of $13 million plus.</p>
<p> </p>
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<p>{module 238}</p>
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Waterfront indulgence in Mosman

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<p>{yoogallery src=[images/stories/June23pakenham]}</p>
<p><strong>51 Comorant Parade, Pakenham, Victoria, 3810</strong></p>
<p>With lake frontage, this five-bedroom, three-bathroom house has luxurious fittings and finishes. It has a huge family room and separate retreat, a modern kitchen and a beautiful "outdoor room" with a spa and entertainment area. The house is within walking distance of shops and cafes, and it has a double garage with internal access. The house is being sold by <a href="https://www.century21.com.au/c21/propertySearch/brochure.cfm?grplstno=VIC60406581&amp;listing=residential&amp;buyrent=buy&amp;sbrb=PAKENHAM&amp;State=ViC&amp;pcde=3810" title="Century 21" target="_blank">Century 21</a> agent Craig Currie, with expectations of $650,000 plus.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>{module 238}</p>
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Lakeside luxury in Pakenham

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<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/hanging-gardens-of-the-world/2011062350586" target="_blank">Recently</a> we looked at the growing trend of architects designing buildings with gardens in unlikely places, such as on the roof or walls. Here are 10 examples from around the world of buildings that have gone green all over.</div>
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<b>Triptych</b> - Melbourne’s answer to Sydney’s Patrick Blanc-designed Trio building, which has a 33-metre by five-metre garden on one wall, would no doubt be the 187-square-metre living wall at one of Southbank’s newest developments, Triptych. Rising from levels two to six above the Kavanagh Street entrance, the wall includes 43 species of plants and grasses, selected to withstand the unpredictable Melbourne climate. Gardening firm Fytogreen grew the garden off-site and has also decked out the lobbies with vertical gardens.</div>
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<p><b>Adelaide Zoo – </b>When<b> </b>Adelaide Zoo unveiled its giant panda exhibit last year, the endangered animals weren’t the only attraction. Fytogreen was also behind the creation of the enclosure’s two vertical garden walls, comprising about 10,000 plants encased in biodegradable foam modules. Fytogreen is currently working on Australia’s largest green roof at the Victorian Desalination Plant, which is worth $4.2 million and due for completion in December 2011.</p>
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<p><b>MONA, Hobart –</b> Patrick Blanc’s now global brand of vertical gardens has made it across the Tasman to the Museum of Old and New Art, or MONA, in Hobart. As if artworks themselves, Blanc’s internal garden walls sit alongside Egyptian tombs and subversive pieces of contemporary art in David Walsh’s $100 million museum.</p>
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<b>Caixa Forum, Madrid</b> - Adjoining Caixa Forum, a post-modern art gallery in Madrid, is another Patrick Blanc creation. The green wall complements the nearby Botanical Gardens while making a vivid contrast with the gallery’s rusted red steel façade. This 2007 work is one of Blanc’s larger works. His smallest is “la robe vegetal”, a gown made from plants he created with Jean Paul Gaultier.</div>
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<p><b>Reykjavic City Hall –</b> This 20-year-old civic building in the Icelandic capital is home to an impressive full-moss walls that runs directly into the waters of Lake Tjornin. Phillip Johnson is promoting the moss wall concept to Australia. “It’s a really resilient form of green wall that changes colour when it dries out, then comes back to life when it rains. It works well on south-facing walls and can have an amazing evaporating cooling effect.”</p>
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<p><b>ACROS Fukuoka building</b> –This unconventional Japanese office building was built on top of precious parkland in Fukuoka City. Therefore, the architects sought to recreate the green space by installing tiers of terrace gardens that step up 60 metres from the parkland below. The building is cloaked in 35,000 plants representing 76 species, creating a cool environment for office workers.</p>
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<p><b>California Academy of Science, San Francisco</b> – Imagine the domed contours of Melbourne’s Southern Cross Station, cover it in 1.7 million plants, and you have something like architect Renzo Piano’s stunning living roof at the California Academy of Science. The one-hectare roof mimics the bay area’s hilly terrain and includes native flora that provides endangered insects with a protected habitat.</p>
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<p><img src="/images/stories/waldspirale.jpg"></p>
<p><b>Waldspirale, Darmstadt, Germany</b> – Literally translating to Forest Spiral, this residential complex is all colours and curves with a truly unique rooftop garden. Austrian artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser designed Waldspirale in the 1990s and became famous for blending bold colours and uneven levels with the natural landscape.</p>
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<p><img src="/images/stories/kensington1.jpg"></p>
<p><b>Kensington Roof Gardens, London – </b>Virtually invisible from the street, Europe’s largest roof garden (6,070 square metres) is accessed via a discrete doorway marked simply “99 Kensington High Street”.</p>
<p><img src="/images/stories/kensington2.jpg"></p>
<p>Commissioned in the 1930s by a department store magnate, the rooftop includes themed Spanish, Tudor and woodland gardens complete with garden pond and resident pink flamingos. Sir Richard Branson purchased the gardens in 1981.</p>
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<p><img src="/images/stories/commonground.jpg"></p>
<p><b>Elizabeth Street Common Ground, Melbourne –</b> Not all vertical and rooftop gardens are for the rich and famous. For example, this social housing development on Elizabeth Street has a large rooftop garden, which developer David Waldren of Grocon says has multiple functions. “It plays an important part of resident rehabilitation, includes a productive veggie garden and provides a safe place for children who live on the upper floors to play.”</p>
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Hanging gardens of the world

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<p>{yoogallery src=[images/stories/June9kawana]}</p>
<p><strong>7 Santorini Court, Parrearra, Queenland, 4575</strong></p>
<p>A stunning architectural design makes this three-bedroom, three-bathroom Queensland masterpiece special. The waterfront property has a uniquely designed 19-metre swimming pool and views overlooking a private pontoon and an open waterway. <a target="_blank" title="Century 21" href="https://www.century21.com.au/maroochydore/">Century 21 on Duporth</a> agent Damien Said is listing the property with a price of $1.285 million plus. All three bedrooms have ensuites, and the main bedroom overlooks the pool and beyond to the canal. A timber deck allows for appreciation of Queensland's sunny climes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>{module 238}</p>
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Kawana Island beauty

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<p><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><a target="_blank" title="Brisbane clocks in at bottom of market" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/brisbane-clocks-in-near-bottom-of-market/2011060350400"><img src="/images/stories/five.gif"></a><br></span></p>
<p>Brisbane's time on <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/brisbane-clocks-in-near-bottom-of-market/2011060350400/Page-9" title="Brisbane clocks in at bottom of market" target="_blank"><em>Property Observer</em>'s property clock</a>. Experts say the residential market is at the bottom of its cycle, and they see a good opportunities for investors going into the next upswing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/aussie-home-buyers-deeply-in-debt-but-paying-it-off-fast/2011060950452" title="Aussies deeper in debt, but paying it off quickly" target="_blank"><img src="/images/stories/fortyfive.gif"></a></p>
<p>The percentage of Australian home oweners who <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/aussie-home-buyers-deeply-in-debt-but-paying-it-off-fast/2011060950452" title="Aussies overpay their mortgages" target="_blank">overpaid their mortgages</a> last year.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a target="_blank" title="Chicago Willis Tower" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/international/chicago-s-willis-tower-on-the-market/2011060650422"><img src="/images/stories/oneoheight.gif"></a></p>
<p>The number of storeys in <a target="_blank" title="Chicago's Willis Tower" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/international/chicago-s-willis-tower-on-the-market/2011060650422">Chicago's Willis Tower</a>, which is 18% empty and looking for a buyer or investor.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a target="_blank" title="America: buyer beware" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/america-buyer-beware/2011060550325"><img src="/images/stories/sevenhundredthousand.gif"></a></p>
<p>The<a target="_blank" title="America: buyer beware" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/america-buyer-beware/2011060550325"> number of foreclosures </a>during the first quarter of 2011 in the United States.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/commercial/sydney-s-pitt-street-third-most-expensive-in-the-world-for-retail/2011060150362" title="Sydney's Pitt Street retail rents" target="_blank"><img src="/images/stories/three.gif"></a></p>
<p>Sydney's Pitt Street's ranking in a CBRE list of the <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/commercial/sydney-s-pitt-street-third-most-expensive-in-the-world-for-retail/2011060150362" title="Pitt Street third most expensive for retail" target="_blank">most expensive retail rents in the world</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/aussie-commercial-investors-like-their-chances/2011060750424" title="Aussie real-estate executives like their chances" target="_blank"><img src="/images/stories/fortyeight.gif"></a></p>
<p>The percentage of Australian real-estate executives who are <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/aussie-commercial-investors-like-their-chances/2011060750424" title="Aussie real-estate execs like their chances" target="_blank">optimistic about their portfolios</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a target="_blank" title="Interest rates hold steady" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/interest-rates-hold-steady-at-4.75/2011060750429"><img src="/images/stories/fourpointsevenfive.gif"></a></p>
<p>The current interest rate, after the <a target="_blank" title="Rates hold steady" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/interest-rates-hold-steady-at-4.75/2011060750429">RBA decided not to lift rates </a>this month.</p>
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The 7 must-know numbers of the week

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<p>{yoogallery src=[images/stories/istana]}</p>
<p><strong>The Istana, Bukit, Bali, Indonesia</strong></p>
<p>The Istana private villa in Bali was designed by Australian-based French architect Fredo Taffin as a tranquil piece of tropical grandeur. The 5,200-metre estate has two infinity-edge pools and ocean views from all angles. The villa's team features a Western chef, four butlers, two drivers, two masseuse and spa staff, housekeeping and maintenance people and a round-the-clock security team.</p>
<p>“The Istana was Bali's first destination villa and was designed to offer world-class amenities and the highest level of service. Architecturally speaking the low elevation keeps the building 'down to earth' with proportions that are discreet and elegant, rather than intimidating,” Taffin says.</p>
<p>In 2007 architect Gary Fell renovated and upgraded the 2002 villa to give it a more contemporary edge.</p>
<p>"Throughout the villa, contemporary furniture finished with high-gloss lacquer and custom-made silk wall panels play against the more rustic teak floors. Modern ceiling treatments channel light into the volumes created by the open, traditional roof structure," Fell says.</p>
<p>The Istana, which is a Malay word for palace, has been operated as both a private villa and a commercial resort. It is being sold by <a href="https://www.TheIstana.com" title="The Istana" target="_blank">Elite Havens</a>' <a href="mailto:matthew@elitehavens.com" title="Email Matthew Georgeson" target="_blank">Matthew Georgeson </a> with an asking price of around $7 million.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>{module 238}</p>
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Bali high

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<p>CB Richard Ellis has appointed Ashley Kerfoot as an associate director of the company’s Structured Transactions &amp; Advisory Service in Western Australia.</p>
<p>The Perth-based team at St Georges Terrace advises institutions, government bodies and companies about landmark projects in all states and territories.</p>
<p>“Ashley’s appointment is an exciting move that will enable us to expand our already strong position in Western Australia,” CBRE senior managing director Peter Agostino says.</p>
<p>Kerfoot’s previous role was at the WA Department of Housing, where he worked in capital management.</p>
<p>Kerfoot began his new role on June 1, 2011.</p>
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CBRE appoints associate director of Strategic Transactions & Advisory Service team

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<p>{yoogallery src=[images/stories/June14normanby]}</p>
<p><strong>6 Normanby Avenue, Caulfield North, Victoria, 3161</strong></p>
<p>Global Reviews CEO Greg Muller and his wife, Jacquelyn, are selling their Caulfield North home with an asking price of $1.5 million plus. The house has period charm and modern elegance, comprising three bedrooms and two bathrooms. <a target="_blank" title="Marshall White" href="https://www.marshallwhite.com.au/?pagecall=property&amp;propertyID=1670130">Marshall White</a> agents Justin Krongold and John Manton are selling the property, which will go to auction on June 25. The house, which is full of natural light, has high ceilings and a landcaped garden.</p>
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<p>{module 238}</p>
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Cassidy Knowlton

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