The Collector House at 45 Carnegie Crescent, Narrabundah sets suburb record

Known as The Collector House, the two-storey home at 45 Carnegie Crescent sold for a price well in excess of $3 million, according to the selling agent.

The seller was getting ready to list the property for sale when a local buyer put in a successful offer.

The suburb record was previously set in 2020 when 7 Throsby Crescent sold for $3 million.

Completed in early 2021, The Collector House received a commendation in the Australian Institute of Architects' ACT chapter awards last year.

The seller of the five-bedroom home, local builder Ben Matthew, teamed up with architect Ben Walker on the design and build.

The project started in 2019 when Mr Matthew bought the property for $660,000, CoreLogic records show.

Over two years, the build was documented on an Instagram account, @thecollectorhaus.

According to one post, the original brick home was full to the brim with the previous owner's possessions, leaving no other option but to "pull the rubbish out through the windows".

"The hoard in this house was so bad the rubbish was one metre deep in all bedrooms you couldn't open the doors," the Instagram post stated.

More than 120 tonnes of garbage was removed before the home was demolished and the new build could begin.

Now, inside the concrete exterior is a luxury home with five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a gym, home theatre, sauna, pool and spa.

Voids and courtyards were used strategically to allow natural light into the rectangular- shaped house.

Hardwood trusses and framing were salvaged from the original house and reused as a ceiling feature in the new home.

Selling agent Mario Sanfrancesco of Blackshaw Manuka said the house was days away from hitting the market when it sold.

"We had photographs, video, word copy, everything ready to go," he said.

Mr Sanfrancesco showed the property to one of his clients who was interested in buying in the inner south.

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"A couple of inspections later and some detailed thought and a little bit of negotiation - they acquired it literally days before it was about to be launched," he said.

Mr Sanfrancesco said there were plenty of "cash buyers" looking to purchase Canberra homes at this level.

"It's the combination of the scarcity of land, the current building costs and the pipeline of even finding a quality builder and the time involved," he said.

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