Hendra: Where homeowners make money on houses, not horses

They sold within one week of each other.

First came 84 Woodville Street, Hendra, a spectacular landmark Queenslander, which sold under the hammer for $3.5 million. Four streets away and only one week later, 61 Goodwood Street, an architect-designed masterpiece, sold for $3.15 million.

It was a stunning start to 2017 by any accounts but it came as no surprise to Ray White Ascot agent Leigh Kortlang, a Hendra local herself.

Ms Kortlang says the suburb once shunned by Brisbane residents as working class has become a prestige address in its own right.

“When I moved in here years ago people said to me ‘what are you thinking?’ – but they can see now what I saw all those years ago,” Ms Kortlang says.

“There is a lot of money in Hendra now and that’s not just because of the ripple effect from Ascot – the people who live here genuinely love the area and the lifestyle it provides.”

While Hendra may be known for Doomben Racecourse, it’s also renowned for its pretty Queenslander houses, quiet roads and wide, tree-lined streets, making it popular with families.

It’s also home to a number of Brisbane’s favourite sports stars, such as former Australian fast bowler Andy Bichel, Broncos captain Darius Boyd, Queensland Reds player Karmichael Hunt and retired Brisbane Lions player Simon Black.

“You should see the cricket matches that unfold in the streets around here – they’re legendary,” Ms Kortlang says.

Ms Kortlang is currently marketing 33 Goodwood Street, a four-bedroom family home set on 1012 square metres of land, which has been in the same family for more than 30 years.

“The couple who own it bought it as newlyweds and they went on to raise their children there,” Ms Kortlang says. “It’s very typical of this area – houses here are tightly held.”

And the shortage of stock is what keeps Hendra’s growth at modest levels, says Loretta Douris, agent at Place Ascot. Despite a streak of multimillion-dollar sales earlier this year, the suburb’s median house price has increased by only 1.4 per cent over the past year.

“It’s difficult to get the sales volumes because there’s rarely much for sale there at any one time,” Ms Douris says.

“Anything that lists, sells. We now have three buyers for every one buyer we used to have a couple of years ago.”