Brisbane Man Pays $4.9 Million for Home Opposite His Childhood House
A Brisbane buyer paid $4.9 million for a 1920s Queenslander in Newmarket that stood across the road from his childhood home, outbidding three others. Domain recorded a 23 per cent preliminary clearance rate across South East Queensland auctions over the past week.
A Brisbane man splashes $4.9 million on a 1920s Queenslander in Newmarket, buying the house that stood across the road from his childhood home after outbidding three other locals at auction.
The home at 11 Watson Street sits high on Windsor Hill. It has six bedrooms, a wine cellar, a teenagers' wing and 1124 square metres of land with sweeping city views.
Bidding stalled at $4.6 million
About 60 people watched the auction. Bidding opened at $4 million, and the four locals traded $100,000 rises until $4.6 million, where it stalled.
About 30 minutes of negotiations later, the buyer walked away with the keys to the house he played in for endless hours as a child.
It nearly did not happen. Ray White Wilston selling agent Alistair Macmillan said the buyer texted him on the morning of the auction to say he had changed his mind.
"I told him, 'you'll kick yourself if you're not there – so just come and see what happens'," Macmillan said.
The renovated home has had only a handful of owners in a century. It last sold in 2009 for $2.6 million, and the current owners are downsizing.
A tough market with strong high-end demand
Macmillan said the result "could have been stronger if they sold six months earlier", though the vendors still made good growth. He called the current market ruthless but said the high end was benefiting from sky-high construction costs.
"People are getting quotes [to build or renovate] and nearly falling off their chairs," he said.
The Queenslander was one of 168 scheduled auctions across South East Queensland over the past week. By Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 23 per cent from 114 reported results, with 20 homes withdrawn.
Other results
In Sunnybank, an investor paid $1.6 million for a two-storey 1970s home at 17 Dema Street, $300,000 over reserve. The family had owned it for almost five decades. Bidding opened at $850,000.
"Everyone just laughed … but after that we jumped straight to $1.2 million," said selling agent Miranda Cheang, of Ray White Sunnybank. She said the location and the 859-square-metre block drove the result.
The owner is 98 and in hospital. Her 72-year-old daughter attended the auction, and the sale will help pay for a nursing home.
In Kangaroo Point, an owner-occupier outbid an investor to buy a three-bedroom house for $1.4 million under the hammer. The home sits on a 244-square-metre block two kilometres from the city.
Selling agent Karen Pierce, of Ray White City Living, said about 20 groups inspected it after a slow start to the campaign. She said the home would have achieved a different price in May, but good homes were still drawing strong interest.
