Brisbane’s continuing love affair with Queenslander homes means that buyers are often willing to pay a premium for their own piece of history.
Keeping a cool head is one of the first rules of property purchasing but when it comes to homes with a history, it can be hard to keep the heart in check.
Those adorable gables, that pretty lace fretwork and the wide verandahs; it’s hard not to fall in love with a Queenslander, particularly one that has been beautifully restored and updated.
While Brisbane buyers these days can’t get enough of their heritage homes, often paying a premium to have their own, it wasn’t always that way.
ames Curtain, lead agent at Place Bulimba, said there was a massive trend away from Queenslander properties in the 1970s and 1980s when brick homes came into fashion.
“People were excited by the low maintenance involved in a brick home and during that time, timber homes really fell out of favour,” he said. They’re the types of houses people really fall in love with.Brandon Wortley, Ray White New Farm.
“But since then, design has moved forward and changed the way people live in Queenslanders. They’re now far more functional to live in than they used to be.”
Mr Curtain said the demand for period properties in Brisbane constantly outstripped supply.
“There’s a huge appetite out there for family homes with character on large allotments – but that often means that once someone acquires one of these homes, they stay for a long time,” he said.
“Whenever we list a grand Queenslander, we’re always confident it’s going to sell quite quickly.”
Ray White agent Cameron Crouch, who sells a mix of houses in and around Sherwood in Brisbane’s popular west, said buyers paid a premium for older homes.
“If you’re comparing two five-bedroom homes in Sherwood and one is a Queenslander and one is a contemporary home, you’ll generally pay more for the Queenslander,” he said.
“Where I’m selling, the majority of my buyers want a character home. Doesn’t matter whether they’re renovated or unrenovated; they want a Queenslander.”
Brandon Wortley, Ray White New Farm agent, said character homes had a timeless quality to them and their period features often made for very emotional buying.
“They’re the types of houses people really fall in love with. They’re often very pretty and they tug at the heart strings,” he said.
“There’s certainly a market for contemporary homes – but the reason people tend to gravitate towards the old homes is because they’re unique. A modern home can be built again. You can’t replicate the history of a 100-year-old house.”
Some of Brisbane’s most beautiful historical homes are currently up for sale.