The tiny enclave of hilltop properties making Teneriffe Brisbane's most elite suburb

When Cheryl Boland and her partner John Burns bought a house at Teneriffe in 1987, their friends were horrified.

“They warned us we’d be killed in our beds,” Ms Burns laughs. “They said it was an awful suburb … they were convinced it was a bad decision.”

Three decades on, the couple are selling their stunning home perched on the hilltop of Waverley Street — and having the last laugh — the suburb their friends described as “horrible” is now one of Brisbane’s most sought-after and affluent addresses.

According Domain’s suburb profile of Teneriffe, the median price for a three-bedroom house is $1,153,000; step up to a four-bedroom house and you’re looking at a median of $2,775,000.

It’s a rags-to-riches story on a scale Ms Boland could have never envisaged, despite the potential her and Mr Burns saw in the area 30 years ago.

“We liked it because it was industrial and because we were up on a hill,” she says. “I felt it would go ahead eventually because it was so close to the city but never — never — could I have imagined the money that would end up coming in to the area.”

Houses, rather than apartments, are few and far between in Teneriffe, which means that when they do come on the market, they’re fiercely fought over.

Recent sales include 48 Teneriffe Drive, which sold for more than $4 million; 16 Walker Avenue was hotly contested before selling for $2.95 million and 24 Walker Avenue, set on the same hill but on a single 764-square-metre block, sold for $2.1 million.

Ms Boland’s house is now the only house for sale on Teneriffe Hill, scheduled to auction on May 21, which puts it in a plum position.

Marketing agent Karla Lynch of Ray White New Farm describes the demand for land on Teneriffe Hill as “phenomenal”, noting it’s mainly driven by wealthy young professionals wanting to build their dream home close to the CBD.

“It may be one of Brisbane’s most expensive suburbs now but even still, when you compare the value with similar suburbs in Sydney and Melbourne, it’s still incredibly well priced, which buyers recognise,” she says.

And the proof is in the sales — only last month a house on Teneriffe Hill sold in 24 hours to a cash buyer, setting a new record for price paid per square metre of land; the three-level house set on 271 square metres went for $2,405,000.

McGrath New Farm agent Sherrie Storor brokered the deal and says she had 17 groups of buyers through on the first day and many more who missed out because they weren’t quick enough.

“Teneriffe continues to go from strength-to-strength because there’s so many people who want to live this village lifestyle; the bars, the cafes, the James Street shopping,” she says.