Wilston Queenslander was once a cottage. Now it’s the street’s fourth-highest sale
A 1930s Queenslander that went from humble cottage to luxe family retreat has sold for $3,006,000 after six buyers fought it out before a concert-sized crowd in one of Wilston’s most exclusive pockets.
The former three-bedroom character cottage at 68 Hawdon Street last sold in 2009 for just over $700,000, before being transformed in 2019 into an architecturally designed four-bedroom haven with a pool – joining the street’s string of multimillion-dollar homes.
It now ranks as the fourth-highest sale in the street.
Almost 200 spectators packed in as 16 registered bidders lined up for a shot at the keys, with a buyer’s agent lobbing a “random” $2.580 million opener to kick-start the auction.
Six buyers then pushed the price to $2.76 million before the auction hit a pause.
“It was a weird one. I was confident it would be a cracker but it just sort of stalled,” said selling agent Alistair Macmillan, of Ray White Wilston.
“We had a lot of buyer’s agents there waiting until the home was called on the market, which took ages.”
Momentum returned at $2.85 million, leaving a local bidder and a buyer’s agent to duel in $1000 and $10,000 jumps until the buyer’s agent clinched the keys for a young couple having a coffee down the road as the auction unfolded.
“The fact that we had 16 bidders was indicative of the layout of that home and the fact it’s on the best street in Wilston,” Macmillan said.
“But it was a pretty emotional sale for the vendors. They built it to be their forever home but I sold them a place at Grange two months ago which forced this sale.”
The sale comes days after Domain data revealed the median house price in Wilston cracked the $2 million milestone over the September quarter, with prices almost doubling over the past five years to reach $2,015,500.
The Hawdon Street house was among 173 scheduled auctions across south-east Queensland.
By Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 41 per cent from 110 reported results, with 24 homes withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold when calculating clearance rates.
In Bulimba, a tidy four-bedroom home on a pint-sized 340-square-metre-block sold for $2.3 million to a returning expat who inspected the home for the first time just 30 minutes before the auction.
The two-level home, at 9 Edgewater Place, sits in a tiny enclave so tightly held it’s the first sale there in four years – and the same house to boot.
Bidding opened at $1.8 million and leapt to $2 million with just two punters in play.
“It went quickly and right at the end we paused and had a little negotiation before it sold,” said selling agent Carla Haddan, of Place Bulimba.
“The sellers were pleased but the buyer was a bit shocked.
“She’s originally from Brisbane but moving back from Copenhagen and had been looking for a long time through a buyer’s agent.
“I sent her this listing – which is just a five-minute walk to the CityCat – but I warned her the auction was the same day.
“So she saw it just half an hour before the event. But she loved it and bought it on the spot.”
The home last sold in September 2021 for $1.675 million.
Over in Carina Heights, a Mount Gravatt family outmuscled three other bidders to nab a “pretty old but liveable” three-bedroom brick house, paying $1.8 million.
Sitting on a 607 square-metre-block at 63 McGahan Street, the two-storey classic suburban home has had just one owner since it was built in the 50s and sits just a few doors down from a trophy home that set a suburb price record when it sold in June for $3.875 million.
Bidding kicked off at $1.3 million and rose in largely $100,000 increments before being announced on the market at $1.725 million.
While four punters vied for the keys, selling agent Pat Ivey, of Harcourts Property Centre, said two dominated.
“They both really wanted it. It was neck and neck and incredibly heated,” he said. “The family who got it plan to hold it for a couple of years and then decide what they want to do with it.”
For the vendors, Ivey said the sale was incredibly emotional, with friends and family turning out to witness the changing of the guard.
AMP chief economist Dr Shane Oliver said despite Brisbane’s modest clearance rate, the market remained red hot.
“The clearance rate really doesn’t reflect this … but Brisbane is booming, and it has been for the past two or three years,” he said.
“It had a bit of a pause late last year when interest rates remained high but Brisbane has had a second wind since then following a combination of low rates and the first home buyer deposit scheme.
“Then there’s relatively constrained supply. The only issue is affordability is getting worse.
“There’s no way someone would relocate from Melbourne to Brisbane now and if prices continue at this pace you’ll see Sydney-siders stop moving too.”
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