The Gold Coast family selling five side-by-side blocks of land at the same time

Mum and dad investors and would-be property moguls Judith and Mark Gillie have decided to let go of the majority of their portfolio, five homes positioned side-by-side in the Gold Coast hinterland.

The Gillies began their campaign to own houses numbered 6 to 14 on Currumbin Creek Road nearly 20 years ago.  

“We decided about 18 years ago, when the property became available at number 12, which was big enough to house our family in,” Mrs Gillies said. “The one on the other side, we approached them and they were willing to sell.”

“My daughters, involved with Mark and I, all purchased the other three.”

The family once entertained the idea of developing the 2,705 square metres of land themselves. “We had a 10-year plan and that plan was to develop all those properties for ourselves,” Mrs Gillies said. “But now we’re at retirement age.”

The Gillies raised their five children in number 12, and joined its backyard to both number 10’s and number 14’s to accommodate their children’s growing families.

Bruce Sohier, of Armstrong Gold Coast, said the five houses in a line would work well for an extended family that wanted to live close to each other and still have properties left over to rent out. One property is currently used as an Airbnb, which he said offered steady income to the Gillies.

“It brings in quite good returns, the occupancy is quite high and it’s also an overflow for the family when they come to visit,” said Mr Sohier.

He said the opportunity had also caught the attention of several developers. “It’s unheard of,” Mr Sohier said. “It’s rare to get two side by side, on separate titles. But to get five in the one, developers go years and years trying to get that to happen.”

The Gillie family had mixed feelings about the five houses potentially being bulldozed by developers. “Yes we’d be sad to see it go, but also no, because we’d be proud,” Mrs Gillie said.  

“Our whole lives here, when we first started to pick up the properties, we thought wouldn’t this make an amazing build here.”

Mrs Gillie speculated that development could bring more restaurants and shops to the area, which she said would be welcomed by most locals.

The pair won’t be going far in their retirement though, they plan on sticking around to see what becomes of their 2,705 square metres.

“We’ve got a property across the road which is the only reason why we’ve entertained the idea,” Mrs Gillie said. “We don’t want to leave the area!”