Big crowds and big sales for inner-city Brisbane auctions

An old, oddly shaped Greenslopes home with unobstructed views of Brisbane city has fetched $1.42 million at auction.

But it certainly wasn’t the humble brick house that won over the buyer, with immediate plans to bring in the wrecking ball and rebuild.

Set on a hill just a few hundred metres from Logan Road, 40 Beanga Street sits next to luxury homes that capitalise on their own stellar views.

On Saturday, neighbours gathered on their balconies, looking out onto the crowded backyard where auctioneer Mitch Peereboom called for an opening bid on the rundown three-bedroom house.

More than 100 onlookers attended the auction, where 25 bidders had registered.

A bottle of Moet & Chandon for the first bid ensured the things got underway quickly, with a lowball of $700,000 shooting out within seconds of Mr Peereboom offering the champagne.

The winner of the bottle bowed out from there, as the next bid lifted the auction toward more realistic levels, at $1 million.

With just a handful of bidders participating, the house quickly reached $1.42 million where it sold to a middle-aged woman.

She wished to remain anonymous, but did reveal she would demolish the house to build her own.

Mr Peereboom said it was a good result for what amounted to a block of land with a view.

• Related: Buyers drawn to 40 Beanga St for unusual style
• Related: NIMBYism drives up Brisbane property prices
• Related: Study shows Queenslands affordability lags

“Obviously today with the end sale price, it’s indicative of the competition we had,” he said. “With 25 registered bidders, it was an excellent outcome.”

The aspirational nature of the property is what drew the interest of some many bidders, Mr Peereboom said.

“This particular property, it’s about what you can do with it. The ability to build your dream home here.”

Earlier in Newmarket, a stunning character home with a niche floor plan achieved a strong result after a slow start to the auction.

The two-level Queenslander at 20 Newbery Street was configured for dual-living, with both levels separate, no internal staircase or access between floors.

Selling agent Jesse James said: “It was a very original layout and original characteristics upstairs. Downstairs is a modern renovated version.”

Serious buyers were certainly out in force from the very outset. The first bidder won the auction, after dropping a bomb bid to open.

He started at $1.2 million and while one other bidder tried to bump up the price in $10,000 increments, the first and original bidder won, snapping up the five-bedroom house for $1,385,000.