Comedian Damian Callinan gets last laugh in 112-day home sale

Actor, writer and prolific funnyman Damian Callinan has sold the Preston pad where he honed his creative talents for a variety of comedy shows to a globetrotting fan.

And he exited with a joke, informing his agent he had drunk the Moet & Chandon champagne they left for the buyer and replaced it with a bottle of Aldi moscato.

Callinan move into the 1/18 Gilbert Rd two-bedder in 2016 and it was where some of his best gags were conceived for recent comedy shows including Wine Bluffs and his Mayor For A Day series.

RELATED: Comedian Damian Callinan lists creative Preston pad for sale

Victoria’s best home and top 50 ranked: Readers vote

Damian Callinan reveals his property journey through a series of disastrous share houses

The property’s sale was finalised on December 13 for $450,000, within the $445,000-$480,000 price guide set for the home — and above the $425,000 he spent on it when he bought it off the plan.

The apartment is also where he finalised the script for his 2018 movie The Merger, which he starred in with actors John Howard and Kate Mulvany, wrote children’s book Weird School and rehearsed for an appearance in the upcoming season of the Newsreader on ABC.

Callinan previously told the Herald Sun he and wife Zillah Morrow had kept their creative spirit alive during the pandemic thanks to a vibrant local community serving up espresso martinis and throwing open the terrace doors to listen to the hum of trams and passers by.

Ms Morrow is currently project manager of arts, music and culture festival Rising Melbourne.

She Sells Fairfield director real estate agent Jodie Hill said while the home had spent 112 days on the market after buyers waiting on finance baulked at its October auction, Callinan had certainly got the last laugh.

As the deal was being finalised the comedian asked if it was all right that he’d left a bottle of Aldi moscato for the buyer after he’d drunk the bottle of Moet & Chandon Ms Hill had left for them.

“I just had to say, no it’s not all right, Damian,” Ms Hill said.

“Though he was only joking and hadn’t drunk it.”

The buyer, a woman returning from travelling the world and who hadn’t been at the auction, was happy with the purchase — and was a fan of the comedian.

Ms Hill added that the sale, while successful, had shown vendors did need to be aware the market had shifted from this time last year and that more time might be necessary for a sale.

Mr Callinan and Ms Morrow have hinted they will look for a new home nearby, or potentially in Melbourne’s inner west.

Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox.

MORE: Queenscliff hotel buyer to launch luxury accommodation, dining, day spa plans

Businessman buys ex-Collingwood star Travis Cloke’s Kangaroo Ground property

1970s-style Reef Cottage where you can walk out the door and go snorkelling for sale