This home was due for the wrecking ball: Now it's a family haven in a sought-after street and suburb

• The property: Restored weatherboard coastal cottage
• Address: 33 Surf Street, Mermaid Beach, Queensland
• Auction: 2pm, November 14
• Agent: Ray White Malan + Co – Broadbeach, Daniel Donovan 0419 706 296

Once doomed, this old-school beach shack has been reimagined and offered for sale in a red-hot Gold Coast market.

Records show it sold in the 1970s for $31,500, but times have changed, and the current vendors bought it for $1.015 million seven years ago. No price guide can be given for the current auction on November 14 through Ray White Malan + Co Broadbeach’s Daniel Donovan and Conner Malan.

After

Before

The Gold Coast is famous for its shimmering, modern apartment towers, but some buyers want to step back in time. They can do exactly that with the restored retro beach house at 33 Surf Street in Mermaid Beach.

The three-bedroom home, constructed in 1955, was destined for the wrecking ball before the vendors, Jamee and Kurt Parker, snapped it up. 

They realised that, while it was a daggy cottage with not much style, it had plenty of soul.

Importantly, the couple were not daunted by the task ahead. Kurt is a builder, and he and Jamee have renovation experience.

After

Before

“I was actually pregnant with our first daughter when we first looked at the property and she started kicking as we walked in, so that’s how I knew it was the one for us,” Jamee says.

“We’d done a couple of renovations previously so knocking it down and rebuilding never really crossed our minds, but it was always meant to be our family home.”

The Parkers honoured the shack’s roots but brought it up to date.

“Basically everything is a modern version of its original design, except for the fireplace which we installed ourselves and made the place really cozy in the winter,” Jamee says.

“We even sourced some old bricks from the original Southport Brickworks for the front pathway up to the house.

“If you took a picture of it in black and white, you’d actually think it was from the ’50s, not 2025.”

After

Before

The fresh and bright home is only 100 metres from the beach.

Campaign photos from when it was last on the market in late 2018, show a basic abode with classic sheeting walls and wood floors.  

Its present state – crisp white walls, bifold windows, breezy bedrooms and a country-style kitchen – is a huge departure from its original condition.

A media room behind grand barn doors, an outdoor shower and a flower-draped arbour above the rear deck complement its coastal charm.

Donovan says the shack is back to its most beautiful state, and has been a much-loved family home for the Parkers and their two daughters.

“They’re looking forward to welcoming the new family or buyer,” he adds. 

After

Before

Mermaid Beach is a highly sought-after suburb where the median house price is $3.42 million, having risen 118 per cent from $1.547 million over five years, according to the latest Domain House Price Report.

The salubrious Hedges Avenue, known colloquially as millionaires’ row, is where buyers pay some of the biggest prices in Queensland.

This year, two contemporary homes sold on the waterfront strip for $23.445 million and $27.5 million. Properties just a couple of blocks away, such as 33 Surf Street, are easily the next best thing.

Donovan says some buyers are acquiring traditional cottages and bringing them back to life, rather than calling in the demolition squad.

“A lot of people are trying to restore them, but what is available is few and far between,” he says. “They’re becoming a lot arer to find, that’s for sure.”

The location, close to The Oxley, a boutique retail and dining precinct, is top-notch.

“You’ve got the ocean at the end of your street, and you’ve got the best of both worlds, being in proximity to The Oxley, but not right in the thick of it,” Donovan says.

The prospective buyer profile is diverse.

“We’ve had a few interstate people reach out to inspect the home, and we’ve had locals looking at it, too,” Donovan says.

“There’s been a mix – some people are looking to live in it, and others might use it as a holiday place.”

Auction

33 Surf Street, Mermaid Beach QLD 4218

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Donovan says Mermaid Beach’s market is driven by scarcity.

“It goes from strength to strength, year on year,” he says. “It comes down to supply and demand, and is probably the biggest residential beachside suburb on the Gold Coast that is low density.”