Suburb record falls as hundreds turn out for marathon 45-minute auction

It was a busy week in the Brisbane auction market with 104 properties and an improved clearance rate of 42 per cent.

A thrilling auction in Grange saw 250 people watch eight registered bidders attempt to make their claim on a beautiful five-bedroom, three-bathroom property on 607 square metres.

Bidding for the newly built home opened at $1 million, climbed in $100,000 increments to $1.7 million before slowing to $50,000 and $25,000 jumps until the home was put on the market for $1.79 million.

The field narrowed to two participants, who bid in lots of $500. After a marathon 45-minute auction with more than 50 bids, the property was ultimately sold under the hammer for $1,820,500.

That marks the highest sale price for a property under 800 square metres in Grange. The previous record was $1,775,000.

All eight of the registered bidders were local families, exactly what agent Alistair Macmillan, of Ray White Wilston, was expecting.

“We were very much involved with the design process of the home,” he said. “We deliberately tried to build a property that was going to appeal to a broad market. The intention was to build a traditional-style home that appealed to a younger-type family.

“Our objective, even pre-build, was always to try and build a product that was going to put pressure on that record price, so we’re pretty chuffed to set a new record.”

Meanwhile, a two-storey house overlooking New Farm Park was sold for $2.27 million under the hammer. About 50 people watched as two registered bidders battled it out for about 25 minutes for the property.

Bidding opened at $1.8 million and jumped to $1.9 million. The price rose in lots of $50,000 to $2.25 million. At that point negotiations began, then the property was put on the market and sold for $2.27 million.

Agent Matt Phillips, of Image Property Aspley, said the location and layout of the home had been very popular with the 50 groups that had inspected it during the campaign.

“The master bedroom had a balcony overlooking New Farm Park, and there’s two other bedrooms with balconies overlooking [the park],” he said. “It’s only a one-way road through Hopetoun Way, so there’s not much traffic there.

“There was not many people who came through that didn’t like it. [We had] very positive feedback throughout the whole campaign.”

Phillips said the buyers had been eyeing the property keenly, and were thrilled with the result.

“They were really excited,” he said. “They were trying to secure the property the whole way along, so they were happy they could be successful on the day.”

On the other side of the city, a beautifully designed four-bedroom, two-bathroom home on 583 square metres was sold at auction. Three registered bidders fought it out in front of a crowd of 100 people to secure the property.

The opening bid was $1.3 million, followed by an auctioneer bid of $1.4 million. The price jumped to $1.5 million and then $1,625,000, at which point the auction paused.

After consulting with the agent, the third bidder raised their paddle for the first time at $1.8 million. After some negotiation the price was raised to $1,805,000, then the house was put on the market and sold at that price.

Agent Saeed Moghaddam, of Brisbane Real Estate, said the vendors were happy with the result.

“They bought this land three years ago, and started construction last year, and they were going to move into this property. But they got a job offer down in Sydney, and the offer was too good not to take,” he said.

“The situation gave [the buyer] the opportunity to move on in his life. In his mind, he was convinced that it was the best price he could get in this market.”

Moghaddam said the result shows that despite a struggling market, high-quality properties still did well.

“It still reflects that the Brisbane market is strong for good properties,” he said. “Either properties on the river or with great city views still hold their value even in this market.”