Riverside home in Brisbane's Corinda passes in at $3.2 million

Ten years of dreaming culminated in the near-perfect renovation of Lee-Anne Barnhill’s family home.

She had raised her kids in an ordinary brick home on the banks of the Brisbane River for nearly a decade. But about 18 months ago, she decided to turn the family home into a 1960s-inspired modernist masterpiece.

“I’ve always loved modernism,” Ms Barnhill said. “If you look back at the old architects designing in the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s, they were so ahead of their time and I think if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”

While designing homes was once just a hobby, Ms Barnhill now buys and renovates properties for a living.

“I’ve been doing this for quite a while, I’m particular about doing my own floor plans,” she said. “I give it to an architect to draw it up because I can’t use CAD [the 3D design software] and just to make sure I haven’t missed anything.”

When she and her husband decided to let go of their old family home, she set out to design what she hoped would set the Brisbane prestige market on fire.

“I ended up designing it for what I thought the market would want,” Ms Barnhill said. She didn’t need six bedrooms, but included as many as possible to attract high-end buyers. A recent spike in demand for dual-living prompted the installation of plumbing and wiring in the lower floor of the three-level home that would allow a kitchenette to be installed with ease.

Place Estate Agents director Sarah Hackett marketed the property and she said there was huge interest in the home. At least 200 groups of prospective buyers went through the property during the auction campaign.

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When the house went to auction on Saturday, dozens of neighbours, property buffs, and prospective buyers turned up to watch the sale.

Bidding came down to just two buyers, one present and another on the phone. The phone bidder kicked things off with a bid of $2.8 million.

Auctioneer Mark Frater worked hard to coax a few more bids from both buyers, but the house eventually passed in a $3.2 million, with the phone bidder in front.

The other buyer, who declined to provide his name, was a local developer who built prestige homes. He said 227 Dewar Terrace was one of the nicest homes he’d seen.

Mr Frater said he while the auction went well, there were more interested parties waiting in the wings, as was the case with most Brisbane prestige properties.

“It’s been a great auction, would have loved to have sold it under the hammer but sometimes it’s a case of just getting it to that post-auction stage,” he said. “We know the level of interest is perhaps just a little bit more than where we’re at with the bidding.

“It’s not just about selling it at any price.”