A prominent Canberra lawyer has sold his architect-designed house in Griffith for $6 million, before he even got a chance to live in it.
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The luxury Landsborough Street property features five bedrooms, expansive living and entertaining areas and a huge basement with space for up to 14 cars.
Kamy Saeedi and wife Carly purchased the block with the intention to build a home perfectly suited to their family of six.
CoreLogic records show the 1073-square-metre block last sold for $1,375,000 in 2019, when a low-set brick home sat on the property.
The Saeedis partnered with Steven Cetrtek from Thursday Architecture to design the home.
"We engaged him and designed a home in the way we live, because I've got four kids and I love cars," Mr Saeedi.
But just as the build began a sprawling farm in Sutton, with horse paddocks and stables, came up for sale.
Mr Saeedi said it was the "dream home" for his wife Carly, who loves horses. So they decided to buy it.
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"But given that we had already started [the Griffith build] I said, 'Look we'll just proceed and finish it. We might not like the farm anyway and we'll move back here, it'll be perfect.'"
It didn't quite go as planned, Mr Saeedi said.
"I'd prefer to be in the house in Canberra but my wife and the kids prefer their horses and the farm so I lost that battle," he said.
So, the Griffith house went up for sale in April with Berkely Residential.
Aside from the 341-square-metre basement garage, Mr Saeedi said his favourite part of the house was the views from the main bedroom, which takes up the entire first level and includes a walk-in wardrobe and en suite.
On the ground floor, one side of the house features a luxury kitchen with a wine fridge and butler's pantry, which opens out to a large living area with a fireplace. Outside is a heated swimming pool and covered entertaining area.
On the other side of the house are the remaining four bedrooms, including a guest bedroom with a walk-in robe and en suite.
Michael Lyristakis of Berkely Residential said there were a significant amount of inquiries throughout the expressions of interest sale campaign.
For most buyers, the fact that it was essentially a spec home - a new-build completed by a builder not the buyer - was an appealing factor.
"In addition to that, the fact that the basement is so large - you don't see that very often," Mr Lyristakis said.
"Most spec homes have a 2-, 3- or 4-car garage, not 340-odd metres with the ability for 14 cars and then also the availability to do what you want with it: gym, cinema, workspace, workshop," he said.
Mr Saeedi said he was happy with the $6 million sale price, in the current market.
"I've met the buyers and, I've got to be frank, they're very decent people and that really made it comfortable to let it go to someone decent," he said.
While the Griffith home sold on Friday as a private treaty transaction, the weekend also proved successful for Canberra auctions.
It was a quieter week for the capital, with just 52 homes taken to auction compared to 102 the same time last year, CoreLogic records show.
However, preliminary reporting found 70 per cent of auctions were successful, compared to 62 per cent last year.
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