1930s brick homestead smashes northside suburb record
A brick homestead in Bracken Ridge held by a family for nearly a century has smashed the suburb house price record by more than $700,000 after 10 bidders battled it out at a red-hot auction.
In front of a crowd of more than 200, the four-bedroom property at 16 Childs Street fetched $2.727 million under the hammer, obliterating the record of $2.05 million set in April last year.
Built in the 1930s on a 3381-square-metre block by Irish migrants, the home had been updated over the years and features expansive living areas, water tanks and a four-bay shed. The couple who owned it raised their family there, with the son buying it from his parents in the ’80s.
Selling agent Dwight Colbert of Ray White Aspley said the three-week campaign attracted 100 inspections, mostly from owner-occupiers chasing lifestyle space, with a few developers in the mix.
At the Saturday auction 19 parties registered to bid, and 10 raised their paddles. Following an opening bid of $1.5 million, punters parried large leaps until the $2 million mark where “four or five bidders were blown out of the water”, Colbert said.
From there, three buyers fought in $1000 increments until the hammer fell.
“A local family ended up losing the battle to another Brisbane buyer,” Colbert said. “But the vendors were over the moon. They raised their three boys there. They all played hockey and just loved that parcel of land.”
He said the result didn’t just reset the suburb benchmark, but well and truly beat the reserve.
The house was among 127 scheduled auctions across Brisbane last week. By Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 52 per cent from 86 reported results, with nine auctions withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold when calculating clearance rates.
In Wavell Heights, a new five-bedroom, three-bathroom home on a 500 square metre block sold for $2.925 million – “well over” the undisclosed reserve.
The house, at 8 Sugarloaf Street, features 28 metres of frontage, high-set ceilings, herringbone flooring and a suite of luxury features that drew three registered bidders.
Bidding opened at $2.5 million and climbed steadily to $2.875 million before becoming a two-horse race between a young local couple and a family relocating from the Gold Coast. The Gold Coast buyers emerged victorious.
Selling agent Drew Davies of Place Ascot said it was a top result fuelled by the quality of the build.
“There’s a few others on the market right now, but this one was head and shoulders above the rest,” he said.
“All the buyers loved the 28-metre frontage and the fact that it was a true five-bedder with an office.”
Davies said buyer activity had ramped up, particularly from interstate buyers targeting Brisbane’s prestige belt.
In Sherwood, a five-bedroom Californian bungalow on a 910-square-metre block sold for $2.915 million after a downsizer moving back to the area outbid a young family.
The home at 14 Dudley Street sits in a tightly held cul-de-sac near top schools, and includes a pool, rain tank and manicured lawns.
Three bidders battled, with the auction opening at $2.3 million. Bidding climbed in $50,000 increments to $2.7 million before slowing. At $2.85 million it paused before negotiations pushed it to $2.9 million and the home was called on the market.
“The auctioneer Gavin Croft then spent 15 minutes extracting every last dollar,” said selling agent Douglas May, of Ray White Sherwood. “And it sold for a price that was within our expectations.”
May said Californian bungalows rarely came up in this pocket, with buyers ranging from families to downsizers.
“The vendors had been there 11 years and were upsizing,” he said. “I was actually helping them search for a new home for the better part of five years.”
May said he’d seen a clear uplift in Chelmer and Graceville, with the agency’s clearance rate sitting between 80 and 85 per cent, and days on market now down to 21.
“This time last year was tough, particularly in the $2 million to $4 million range. With uncertainty around interest rates, buyers were extremely risk averse,” he said.
“But now, I believe it’s a better market than COVID.”
AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said the city’s overall clearance rate remained solid, but added a noticeable drop in auction listings over the weekend reflected the tight supply across the capital.
He expected spring to be a strong selling period for the city, as buyers, buoyed by lowered interest rates and increased borrowing capacity, waded back into the market.
“The clearance rate is still up on a few weeks ago … and I do think a strong spring is still on the cards for Brisbane,” Oliver said.
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