Welcome, it’s Adrian Bo from Ray White Park Coast, Eastern Suburbs. And today I’m on McKeon Street in Maroubra to talk about a new plan for this street as well as the story behind the man it was named after. A few weeks ago, council released plans to create a new public Plaza here on McKeon Street. The plan is to close McKeon Street to traffic between Fenton Avenue and Marine Parade and turn the area into a pedestrian precinct. Initially, this would be introduced as a six month trial, as they did on Coogee Bay Road, starting in September funded by $500,000 from “The NSW Shared Spaces Initiative” with a view to establishing live music and public art on the pedestrianised area. Residents living in apartments at the Fenton Street end of the proposed Plaza will be given access to their building car parks as well as essential delivery trucks. The Plaza will almost certainly attract more demand for parking so council are exploring expanding the on-street parking capacity. They are very keen to get feedback and input from locals regarding ideas for maximising the use of the space, so I’ll link their survey in the post. Now to the man behind the name. Humphrey McKeon was one of the earliest settlers in Sydney and bought a large parcel of land here in Maroubra in 1861.

He built the very first house in Maroubra and he set up a wool washing operation at the Northern end of the bay which grew rapidly and established the industry in the area. Back then wool for clothing was in extremely high demand and industry processes to wash the wool had not yet been developed so it was considered a highly noxious trade as harsh chemicals were used in the process. A sketch by artist Myles Dunphy in 1910 shows the wool washing operation built on the beach to take advantage of the access to the water and in fact, the factories established there look to be exactly where McKeon Street meets Marine Parade. Majestic Maroubra as it was known in 1912 when one of the first subdivisions established 75 blocks of land on Marine Parade, Fenton Avenue, Duncan Road now Duncan Street, Chapman Avenue, Nelson Road, Maxwell Avenue now Maxwell Lane, Rossiter Avenue and McKeon Street. Now, according to the records, there have been three apartment sales on McKeon Street where I’m located this year and nine last year with the highest price being achieved, number 3 at 6-8 McKeon Street, a 2 bedroom unit which sold for $1.275 million.

Last year, number 32 at 36 McKeon Street, selling for $1.35 million. The Maroubra property market has seen some considerable price increases over the last 12 months, 2 bedroom houses are up 22.5% to $1.93 million, 3 bedroom houses up 22.8% to $2.377 million, 4 bedroom houses in Maroubra up 28.6% to $3.15 million, 5 bedroom houses in Maroubra up 41.8% to $4 million. 1 bedroom units up 15.2% to $741,000, 2 bedroom units up 13.1% to $990,000, and 3 bedroom units up 16.8% to $1.278 million. All the market commentary is negative right now with interest rates on the rise and projected price declines in 2022, however, I believe quality real estate in all price points will continue to sell very well this year. Pricing may be 5 to 7% down from the peak in October last year, however, we are up over 20% in the past 18 months, making this environment a sensible market to both buy and sell. I’m a huge fan of Maroubra in the Eastern Suburbs and love digging out what’s going on as well as sharing our local community stories. I hope you’ve enjoyed this feature on McKeon Street. Keep smiling and always remember your home is worth more with Adrian Bo.