Tears of joy: Brisbane architect and builder snag Ascot land to build dream home

Brooke Dunlop cried when the hammer fell at 128 Oriel Road, Ascot. The mum of two (soon to be three) had just successfully warded off her competition to buy the vacant block of land with husband Todd.

It will now be up to Mrs Dunlop, an architect, to design the perfect home for her growing family alongside her construction project manager husband. 

“Well, I’m going to try,” she said, through tears of joy.

The pair faced fierce competition for the 439-square metre block, from one other bidder.

Bidding started at $500,000, and both Mr Dunlop and the under bidder played aggressively, which auctioneer Phil Parker noted to the crowd. Mr Dunlop responded, “It’s for our kids”.

When bidding slowed, Mr Parker remarked, “I can’t offer you another [vacant block], all the other ones come with houses!”

The final sale price was $755,000, which Mr Dunlop said was more than he expected to pay. “Because we’re in the industry, the back end is where we can save a bit of money,” he said. “So we can afford to pay a little bit more for land.”

Buying land so close to the city is becoming rare and Ray White Ascot agent Marianne White said it was rarer still to find a vacant block in a blue-chip suburb.

“Try and find a post-war home that you can remove on a block like that for what this [sold for],” she said. “It’s a square block so it’s very unusual.”

The sale had come up after a local family abandoned long-held plans to build an estate on the property.

“That land has been part of a family estate for 20 years and they’re wishing to finalise now,” Ms White said. “The intention was that they were going to do something with it but that didn’t eventuate.”

She said there was a clear opportunity for the buyer to build a luxury home. “It would be a grand residence that would be built here, perhaps one level, perhaps two levels,” said Ms White.

Later in the morning at 142 Temple Street, Coorparoo, Brisbane Bullets player Adam Gibson and fiancée Montana Morais bought their second home at their first auction.

Ms Morais said it was a stressful 15 minutes. “Oh my god, I’m shaking,” she said.

Mr Gibson agreed: “It was a bit nerve-racking there for a bit.”

Of the five registered bidders, the couple were one of two active parties. Competition was stiff, with the under bidders placing aggressive bids as the property passed the $600,000 mark.

Mr Gibson stuck to smaller bids and eventually beat out the other couple at $632,500.

Ms Morais was happy with the win but thought the house would have been a bit cheaper. “I think we spent way more than we thought we would have coming here today,” she said.

Mr Gibson said there was long-term value in the home. “I can definitely see some potential to do some work on the house and make it potentially more valuable down the track.”

Ray White South Brisbane agent Will Bertelsen said the striking blue two-bedroom cottage was a great buy. “It’s a very cute house,” he said.

“It’s got a charming street presence, it’s in a really sought after pocket of Coorparoo, as well right near the corner of Norman Park.”

The cottage came with ready-made plans to renovate, and a ready-made example of what could happen next door. “The current owners did get some plans drawn up to lift, extend and do up underneath,” Mr Bertelsen said. “Next door is an example of what you can do with it, 100 years ago they would have been identical before its renovations.”

Mr Gibson said the couple’s plans for a family were far off into the future — for now, he was just happy to find a new place to live.

“We’ve been going to open houses and stuff for a while now and they seem to be snapped up in Brisbane so quick,” he said. “You know we look at one and they’re under offer or a few days later they’re under offer, so yeah we’ve finally got one.”