At least five Brisbane properties surpassed $1 million at auction, rounding up a steady weekend of sales under the hammer.
One of the biggest results was that of a gorgeously renovated Queenslander set on 556 square metres at 23 Wren Street, Ascot, which was sold in a swift seven-minute auction.
A crowd of about 60 people watched five registered bidders battle it out for the five-bedroom, three-bathroom home.
The bidding opened at $1 million, rising in lots of $100,000 until the price hit $1.4 million. Bids then dropped to $50,000 lots, before then to bids of $1000 before the property sold for $1.715 million.
Selling agent David Treloar, of Ray White Albion, said the house had seen lots of interest during its five-week campaign.
“We attracted some good interest from Sydney,” he said.
“We had two inquiries from Hong Kong as well. It was really good local interest, which we expected, but It was really good to get some interstate inquiries as well.”
The vendors, who are returning to a suburb they had previously lived in, were very happy with the result.
“Like a lot of people there was a sense of relief, a sense of joy, and ultimately the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another,” Treloar said.
Meanwhile, the buyers, a local couple who were downsizing, couldn’t believe they managed to secure the property.
“They were somewhat shocked,” Treloar said. “They were just coming along really to see what would happen, and when inspecting it on the day thought that it would be the right fit for them.”
On the other side of the city, a hotly contested auction saw 18 registered bidders squaring off for a three-bedroom, one-bathroom Queenslander on a large, 809-square-metre block at 14 Dunrod Street, Holland Park West.
Bidding on the property opened at $895,000 jumping quickly to $920,000. After a series of $5000 bids, the price hit $1 million, which was met with a spontaneous applause from the crowd. At that point, the price continued to rise in increments of $1000.
After 15 minutes of fierce competition in front of a crowd of about 60 people, the house sold for $1.005 million.
George Trovas, of Ray White Bulimba, was selling agent. He said not everyone in attendance was interested in the house itself.
“Clearly, it was the sort of property where the post-war home could have been removed. I daresay a lot of those people I hadn’t met before were more interested in the site than the house on the land,” Trovas said.
The vendors, who built the house more than 60 years ago, were downsizing into something more manageable.
“We did receive offers prior to auction, but it was decided after discussions with the owner’s children [to go to auction], rather than enter into contracts that were subject to conditions and then have the contract fall over,” Trovas said.
“In these uncertain times, we’re probably seeing more of that than we’d like to see as agents.”
The buyers intend to subdivide the block to build two dwellings – one of which they will call home.
The third property to bust the $1 million sale price was another post-war house at 72 Hamilton Street, Sherwood, in Brisbane’s south-west.
Set on an expansive 1055 square metres, the five-bedroom, three-bathroom home sold for $1.01 million.
Bidding opened at $850,000 and proceeded to $985,000 before stalling.
Discussions then began with the highest of the four bidders, who increased their bid to $1 million, then to $1.01 million before the property was sold.
The buyers, a young family, were thrilled with the result.
“They were buying their family home and their parents live around the corner, so they wanted to be close proximity to [them],” said selling agent Maria Peirce, of Belle Property Sherwood.
“The parents were with them as well, encouraging them to buy it. They were were a little bit shocked, but happy,” Pierce said.
Another two properties – at 325 Swann Road, St Lucia, which sold for $1.128 million and 27 Raven Street, Camp Hill, for $1.1 million rounded out a steady weekend in Brisbane which had an early reported clearance rate of 48 per cent from 77 auctions.
Source: www.domain.com.au