A HOUSE on Wendouree Pde has sold for a record price of more than $1.5 million.
It is the highest ever declared price for a residential property in Ballarat.
The sale of the house at 202 Wendouree Pde came after less than two weeks on the market and tops the former high of slightly over $1.5 million for a house on the south side of the lake, near Loreto College.
The record price for a property intended for subdivision was more than $1.8 million for a Wendouree Pde house last year.
Leader Property Practice valuers director Adrian Doyle said the sale last week was the highest price for a house intended as a residence in Ballarat.
"A proposed redevelopment site went for more - but this is the highest price we've seen for an existing home," he said.
"It's also significant that it sold in a week or two, when usually you would expect it to take about three months."
Mr Doyle said the sale indicated the strength of Ballarat's top-end property market.
"I think it's fair to say that a number of properties on the parade would be worth in the vicinity of $3 million, but they haven't been offered in the marketplace," he said.
"It underpins the fact that quality properties will always sell well.
"Our research tells us that in the last 18 months the top end of the market has continued to trade strongly, despite a softening of the low and middle markets."
The two-storey house includes four bedrooms, three bathrooms, an architect-designed floor plan, a petanque ring and a lift to a wine cellar with a 2000-bottle capacity.
Listing agent Jan Millar of Cosgrave Real Estate declined to say exactly how much the property fetched.
She said the views of the lake from the house on the corner of Macarthur St were a strong selling point.
"People are going to pay good dollars for a property like this when it comes up, but that doesn't happen very often," she said.
"We certainly had a lot of interest and we had enquiries from across Australia and even from overseas.
"The views are sensational and this sale certainly raises the bar for Ballarat," she said.
Cosgrave Real Estate director Gerard Cosgrave supported Ms Millar's comments and said there had been unprecedented buyer inquiries ranging from $800,000 to $2 million.