Six houses sell for more than $1 million in bumper Brisbane auction weekend

Brisbane’s auction market posted another bumper weekend, with six properties selling for more than $1 million. A total of 81 properties went to auction at the weekend, with a healthy clearance rate of 64 per cent. 

The five-bedroom, three-bathroom house at 12 Cavell Terrace, Ashgrove, sold under the hammer in a busy auction. About 60 people gathered at the house to watch for just 15 minutes as a massive 11 registered bidders battled for the gorgeous home. 

Bidding opened at $1.2 million and the competition quickly came down to three bidders. The house was called on the market at $1.44 million, narrowing the field down to two bidders who bumped up the price in increments of $1000 to $5000. 

After several minutes of fierce competition, the hammer was dropped and the house was sold for $1,542,000. 

The property was marketed by selling agents Christine McKay & Toni Malaquin of Harcourts Solutions. Mrs McKay said there was immense interest in the property, with 98 people inspecting over the three-week campaign. Some visited the house five times. 

She said the majority of this interest came, unsurprisingly, from professionals and families with younger children. 

“We ran a very tight campaign over three weeks,” she said. “Very good advertising, beautiful photography. It’s a typical Ashgrovian, and they are a very popular home.” 

The vendors had lived in the house for several years. Their children have recently moved out, so they’re now downsizing to the country. Meanwhile, the buyers were a young family with children. 

Mrs McKay said the result demonstrated the importance of running a good campaign that ticked all the boxes. It also spoke to a Brisbane auction market that was brimming with buyers keen to walk away with a shiny new set of keys. 

“There’s huge numbers of buyers out right now, and very little stock,” she said.

Elsewhere, the five-bedroom, two-bathroom house on 607 square metres at 32 Dennis Street, Grange, sold for $1.32 million. While on the other side of the city, the five-bedroom, three-bathroom house set on a spacious 767-square-metre block at 28 Coneyhurst Street, Carindale, sold under the hammer for $1,215,000. 

Nearby, the classic Queenslander at 95 Belgrave Street, Morningside, was sold in a hotly contested auction for $1.03 million, marking the first time the property had been put to market in 42 years. 

About 40 people packed into the home to watch for 15 minutes as five registered bidders attempted to stake their claim on the two-bedroom, one-bathroom house set on a substantial 809-square-metre block. 

Bidding opened at $850,000, with two bidders very quickly moving to the front of the pack. As the price continued to rise, a third bidder got involved before the auction was paused briefly at $960,000. 

A few bids later, the house was called on the market at $995,000, and then quickly snatched up by the highest bidder for $1.03 million. 

Selling agent Samuel Battel, of Harcourts Property Centre, said the size of the block combined with its low to medium-density zoning meant the property appealed to a wide variety of buyers. 

“We had an investor there,” he said. “We had two renovator owner-occupiers who were going to do a bit of work straight away, probably live in it for 12 months then maybe think of selling it. We had a developer who ended up buying the property, and we had another owner occupier there that was very much looking for their long-term family home.” 

Mr Battel said properties of this block size were increasingly hard to find, so buyers saw it as a very rare opportunity. This was amplified by the property’s history, and that it hadn’t been to market in such a long time. 

“It’s a more and more scarce product,” he said. “Particularly that close to the CBD; the majority of them are being chopped up. Either in half, if possible, or having townhouses put around them.” 

The vendors had moved out of the house several years ago, but saying goodbye was still an emotional experience because the house had acted as a family home for many years.