Architectural and Builder Advice James Buyer Advocates
How to create a great period renovation
The $4.2M to $11.3M Masterclass – Lessons from 17 Manning Road Malvern East
Welcome to a special report on how to put together one of the best renovations I’ve seen in years.
No, this isn’t TV shows. There are no fake over-the-top reveals, borrowed emotion and false drama. Its all 100% real.
This is about smart decisions, long-term thinking, and the quiet confidence of people who knew what they were doing.
And let’s be clear — I don’t know these people. I’ve never met the owners, the architect, or the builder. I am simply an admirer of what has been achieved. I’ve walked through the home, seen it sold, and read/reworked here what’s publicly available.
These are my observations. If you’re thinking about a major renovation, there’s a lot you can learn from this one.
The People Behind It
The owner, Ben Cooper, isn’t your average renovator. He’s the Managing Director of Cameron Real Estate, one of Victoria’s largest commercial and industrial agencies. In short — he understands deals, structures, and timing. And it shows.
Learning #1: Your background matters. When you understand property as a business — not just a place to live — you make different decisions. Better decisions. Ben’s commercial real estate experience meant he could see past the emotion and focus on value creation.
What’s impressive here isn’t just that Ben and his family achieved a top-tier result — it’s how they did it. They didn’t knock down and start again. They read the home. They saw its bones, its orientation, its north-facing rear, and its inherent beauty. They didn’t get seduced by noise — they planned, consulted, and then quietly executed one of the best balanced renovations of a period home I have ever seen.
Learning #2: Sometimes the best move is restraint. The most expensive decision isn’t always the smartest one. Reading what’s already there and working with it — rather than against it — takes skill, patience, and confidence.
Ben’s words from his website: From successful business to truly professional real estate group. That’s the result of Ben Cooper’s leadership since becoming Cameron Managing Director in 2011.
And it’s easy to see why. With over 25 years in real estate Ben is a respected leader in the field. His passion for the industry and getting the best deal done guides the 1000-plus transactions Cameron performs each year. He loves nothing more than being at the coalface of a deal or negotiation, be it directly, or in support of his valued team.
Ben also serves the wider community by sitting on multiple boards, utilising his knowledge of real estate, business process, leadership and technology. Outside work, Ben immerses himself in his other passions; family, and cultivating his thoroughbred operation on the Mornington Peninsula.
Buy the Right Home to Begin With
The owners bought 17 Manning Road, Malvern East, in 2014 for $4.2 million.
This week, it sold for $11.3 million, with six bidders above $10 million.
That didn’t happen by accident.
The block was north-facing, flat, and beautifully proportioned, sitting in one of Melbourne’s most prestigious period precincts — the Gascoigne Estate. The original home had strong bones and good flow. The parking was tight, but everything else ticked the right boxes.
Learning #3: Start with the fundamentals. You can’t renovate your way out of poor position land. You can renovate your way out of a poor floorplan, but why start behind? You can’t renovate your way out of poor position land and floorplan at a smart price or time frame —you need to get all your PPPs right.
Position. Property. Price.
Learning #3a: Capital growth starts with what you buy, what you add and what you don’t.
Have a Clear Vision — and Don’t Get Pushed Around
From what I can see, the owners had a plan and stuck to it. They likely interviewed multiple architects and chose carefully. The result speaks volumes.
Learning #4: Not all architects are created equal — and not all collaborations work. Many people get led by architects and led right up the garden path. You can tell by the result this was a genuine collaboration of two parties who knew what they wanted and how to get it, and they got along. Great renovations happen with collaboration and synergy — YES I KNOW IT SOUNDS WANKY BUT IT’S TRUE.
They went with Cera Stribley Architects, and their approach was restraint. The home was extended by just two rooms. They respected the existing and introducing modern where it mattered most — the kitchen, dining, and ensuite. Look at the side by side floor plans I have put together.
Learning #5: The genius wasn’t in the drama of change, but in the discipline of what they didn’t change. This is the hardest lesson to learn. This is so hard to be this classy.
Build with Precision and make sure you have a Grand Room – in this case they added 2 “Rare Grands”
Fortem Projects delivered the build — blending heritage with quiet precision.
They added many things but for me the 2 Grands 1) double car stacker, and 2) outdoor living zone.
Learning #6: Your builder is as important as your architect. A great design poorly executed is worth nothing. Fortem understood the brief — luxury without showing off, heritage without feeling dated, modern without jarring.
The project went on to win HIA and Master Builders Awards for best renovation, best kitchen, and best bathroom.
Finish with Landscape that Feels Like Living
Landscaping is too often an afterthought. Here, it completed the story.
Learning #7: Landscaping isn’t decoration — it’s integration. Get this wrong and even the best home feels disconnected. Get it right and the whole property lifts.
Ben Scott Garden Design Greener Visions Landscaping
Learning #8: Light is currency. When your garden design floods the interior with natural light, you’re not just improving amenity — you’re adding value to every room in the house.
I loved the sanctuary of the whole of Manning Road – and outdoor complimented indoor.
Selling Campaign — From False Start to Record Result
When the owners of 17 Manning Road, Malvern East first launched their campaign, they entered a tough market in 2024. Despite the property’s quality, the initial attempt didn’t strike the right chord on price or, in my opinion, there were simply no $10m+ buyers there.
Learning #9: Timing isn’t everything, but it’s not nothing either. Even the best product can miss its moment. The key is knowing when to pause, recalibrate, and try again.
But rather than retreat, they believed in their product — they trusted the architectural integrity, the landscaping, and the position within the prestigious Gascoigne Estate — and they refocused, using the same strategy, but different agency/agent a year later: known agency but specialist out of area high-end agent — in this case Scott Patterson.
Learning #10: Back your own judgement. When you’ve done the work properly — bought well, planned well, executed beautifully — don’t panic when the market wobbles. Hold your nerve.
The result? Six serious bidders, offers topping the trigger of $10 million, and a final sale of $11.3 million.
- What Can We Learn?
If you take one thing away, it’s this: a great renovation isn’t about money — it’s about clarity.
- Buy the right home that matches your needs, can be “fixed’ and makes $ sense. Buy quality PPPs.
- Form a vision.
- Include a Grand Room or two like a view, a garden, a special oversized room or a garage if you are thinking of resale
- Hire people who understand class is not always with a bulldozer.
- And then stick fat to what you want – not move in the wind to others wants.
Renovations aren’t about doing everything. They’re about doing the right things — in the right order, for the right reasons.
This family bought well, planned well, and executed beautifully.
That’s how a $4.2 million purchase becomes an $11.3 million success story. As opposed to a $4.2 million purchase being knocked down and costing $11 million after building but selling for a false $8 million “unsuccess” story – and that is disguised by dinner party talk as “capital growth”.
If you’re thinking about your own version of this — not a copy, but your own calm, high-performing renovation — I’m happy to share what I’ve seen over the last 25+ years, what works, and what to watch for.
Well done to all involved and particularly to the owner Ben Cooper, you are one talented real estate human. Well done, my hats off to you!
Mal James 0408 107 988