Riverfront house goes for $8.42 million, as bids drop to as low as 50c
One of Bulimba’s last original riverfront relics has sold under the hammer for $8.42 million after a fast and erratic auction where bids dropped as low as 50¢.
Complete with an old Hills Hoist perfectly poised to soak up million-dollar river views and a bronze propeller out front paying homage to the suburb’s blue-collar wharfie roots, the five-bedroom brick and concrete house, at 49 McConnell Street, has set a street benchmark and a suburb record for price per square metre.
In front of a crowd of almost 120, five bidders battled before two punters turned the auction into high-stakes theatre.
“Bidding opened at $5.5 million and rose in $100,000 increments until we hit $8 million … then it got wild,” said Carla Haddan, of Place Bulimba.
“Two bidders were left and they dropped down to $300, $25 and even 50¢ bids. I yelled out, ‘are we on The Block?’”
The home was snapped up by a local family who narrowly outbid a couple from New Farm.
“They have young adult kids and while it’s a concrete home built in the ’80s and it needs a bit of love, it’s got a solid foundation to work with, so they’ll get an architect through to look at their options,” Haddan said.
The sale marked the end of an era for the sellers.
“They’re in their 90s. The husband was a foundry maker who made cast propellers for the marine industry,” Haddan said.
“He did his apprenticeship when he was 16 on that same street and his business was just down the road, in Taylor Street.”
She said the couple watched a livestreaming of the auction from the nursing home and while they teared up at the end, she said they were pleased it went to a family.
“It’s a career highlight for me, too,” she said.
“That’s the highest sale price of my career.”
While the Hills Hoist might not survive the renovation, Haddan said the new owners promised to keep the propeller as a nod to the home’s history.
It was among 204 scheduled auctions across south-east Queensland at the weekend. By Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 39 per cent from 127 reported results, with 28 homes withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold when calculating clearance rates.
On the other side of the river in Clayfield, another estate on a rare blue-chip parcel was snapped up by a local family for $5.55 million.
Five bidders fought for the four-bedroom home at 14 Florence Street.
Featuring a tennis court, pool and original fireplace, the home sits on a prized 1215 square-metre-block.
Bidding opened at $5 million and quickly jumped to $5.1 million before pausing, triggering a 20-minute negotiation among four buyers.
“Homes like this are very rare and Florence Street is generally regarded as one of the best streets in Clayfield,” said selling agent Nicholas Given, of Ray White Clayfield.
“We had 104 groups throughout the campaign and we ended up having five cash bidders on it … including a lot of local Clayfield families.
“It was honestly a hard sale for the vendors though. They’ve had it for 28 years and when you’re selling a house you grew up in, it’s emotional.”
Given said finished homes in the prestige market were fetching a premium, fuelled by buyers keen to avoid the headache of renovating.
In Kedron, a crumbling prewar cottage zoned for character protection and in need of a makeover sold for $975,000 to a builder.
Set on a 437-square-metre block at 35 Oliver Street, the two-bedroom home – one of just two original houses left in the street – attracted three active bidders.
Bidding opened at $700,000, rising in $5000 jumps until two buyers were left, including an experienced couple of renovators.
“It’s in pretty close to original condition, but it’s right next to the suburb’s most desirable pocket,” said Tony Aspinall, of McGrath Aspley.
“The house will have to be completely renovated. The roof needs to be replaced and it will probably be lifted … it needs so much work.
“But it has so much potential.”
Domain’s chief of research and economics, Dr Nicola Powell, said while Brisbane’s market still carried strong momentum, high sale volumes were testing buyer depth.
This week’s lacklustre clearance rate, she added, suggested that depth wasn’t there.
“There is still underlying momentum but it’s not as hot as it once was in Brisbane,” she said.
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