The home at 5 Elizabeth St, Fannie Bay. Picture: Supplied
In what is believed to be a Territory first, a luxury Darwin home has been listed for sale for $2.85m ā or the equivalent in Bitcoin.
The fully renovated home at 5 Elizabeth St, Fannie Bay, hit the market on Sunday, just days after the āJim Beam Houseā was listed for $10m around the corner.
Seth Chin, selling agent and managing director of Chin Property Group, said offering Bitcoin as an accepted form of payment broadened the pool of potential buyers.
āThereās a growing number of Territorians and Australians investing in crypto, and itās more widespread than many realise,ā he said.
āApproximately one in five Australians own cryptocurrency, with the Australian crypto market valued at around $50 billion to $70 billion.ā
Mr Chin said the legitimacy of cryptocurrencies was only increasing.
āSince the approval of Bitcoin ETFs in the US in January last year, and with major financial institutions such as BlackRock and Vanguard getting behind Bitcoin, crypto has now been firmly established as a real asset class,ā he said.
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The home sits on a leafy, private 1090 sqm block. Picture: Supplied
The home is a blend of original and modern character. Picture: Supplied
Architect, builder and vendor, Randal Ashford said he was āall forā accepting Bitcoin as payment for his Fannie Bay home.
ā(With Bitcoin on the table), the sale could be of interest to both national and international buyers looking for an opportunity to put their money into bricks and mortar in one of Australiaās capital cities,ā he said.
Mr Ashford said he was no stranger to cryptocurrency, having owned Bitcoin for years.
āI do a lot of investing around Australia and internationally, and having Bitcoin gives me that flexibility,ā he said.
Mr Chin said the $2.85 million asking price for the Fannie Bay property was equivalent to about 16 Bitcoins as of Monday.
āFor anyone holding Bitcoin, this represents great buying,ā he said.
āBitcoin is currently priced around $180,000 AUD per coin.ā
Mr Chin said if someone had purchased 16 Bitcoin in August 2018, they would have paid around $150,000 AUD.
āToday, those same 16 Bitcoin ā¦ could buy you a $2.85 million property in one of Darwinās most sought-after suburbs.ā
The kitchen is completely new. Picture: Supplied
The homeās three bathrooms are also new. Picture: Supplied
Mr Chin said a Bitcoin transaction could also benefit the vendor, as the value of the cryptocurrency had appreciated much faster than the Australian dollar.
āBitcoin is increasingly seen as digital gold,ā he said.
āPeople are using it not as currency, but as a store of wealth.
āAnalysts predict that Bitcoin could reach $1 million within the next five years.ā
The home as 5 Elizabeth St was built in the 1970s and purchased by Mr Ashford in 2023 for $1.1m.
āIt was a completely rundown property with squatters living there, graffiti in places and overgrown trees,ā he said.
āIt hadnāt been lived in for years when we bought it.ā
Mr Ashford said he bought the 1090 sqm property for its location and āgood, strong bonesā with plenty of natural light and ventilation.
āIt was an architecturally designed house ā¦ and all commercial construction with concrete columns and slabs,ā he said.
āWe found heaps of little gems ā little architectural features and details ā throughout.
āThere was a twin brick feature wall and the stairs were cantilevered off the brick wall.
āThere were all the curved planters outside and even the way the roof ventilated spoke of architectural design.ā
Polished concrete floors feature throughout the downstairs area. Picture: Supplied
There is easy flow between the indoors and out. Picture: Supplied
Mr Ashford said he kept the building envelope but everything else was new, from the roof through to the electrics, airconditioning, kitchen and bathrooms.
The home has five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a new pool, solar system with batteries, Sonos sound system and high end finishes.
Downstairs there is open plan living, flowing out to the entertaining area, while upstairs is further living space, a balcony and bedrooms.
Mr Ashford said he loved the distinct zones in the home, which were well suited to family living.
āDownstairs is where the chaos happens and upstairs is where we chill out,ā he said.
āDownstairs is really industrial, where our kids can go crazy without having to worry about damaging the house.
āThe polished concrete floors mean the kids can ride their bikes through, and you could literally hose it all down.
āUpstairs, we put in real American oak flooring.
āThe kids calm right down when we go up there, and I think thatās because of the materials, the finishes and the tones.ā
The property sits across the road from a park and Fannie Bay shops, and around the corner from East Point Rd.
āYou get all the sea breezes and you can see the ocean from the balconies, but you also have privacy,ā Mr Ashford said.
