Young couple scream as they score Norman Park unit that sat empty for 25 years

A 1970s time capsule unit that sat empty for 25 years has sold to a first home buyer for $995,000 following a fierce five-minute auction that ended in screams.

The two-bedroom home at 10/84 Norman Crescent, Norman Park, offered young buyers a rare foothold in a blue-chip inner-city suburb where house prices climbed 22.8 per cent last year to a $1.75 million median. Unit sales are so scarce, there’s no recent price data.

The rare listing drew eight registered bidders and dozens of spectators, with five competing for the keys.

“The feedback on this was incredible. Everyone was so excited because they felt this home might finally be within their price range,” Place Bulimba’s Paula Pearce said.

“And it has an amazing view. The property is renovated enough to be liveable, but still needs a new kitchen and maybe a bathroom update, which kept the price down.”

As the crowd of largely first home buyers and their families piled into the 126-square-metre unit, the sun set and Pearce turned off the lights.

“I wanted everyone to see the view of the Story Bridge,” she said.

“When I turned them back on the crowd went ‘oooh’ – like when you turn the lights on at the end of a movie.”

Bidding started at $650,000, followed by rapid $50,000 and $10,000 rises.

“It was so quick and the buyers went strong until $950,000. Then it slowed a little and was called on the market at $970,000,” Pearce said.

“At $975,000 it came down to three and when I called it at $995,000 the buyer was screaming.

“Her and her partner are in their 20s and it’s their first home. She told me she had always loved the complex.”

The auction took five minutes.

Pearce said first home buyers in their mid-to-late 20s – often with their parents in tow – dominated inspection numbers. The remaining 10 per cent were investors and downsizers.

Pearce said the result showed continued buyer appetite in the city’s inner east, and added that the recent RBA decision to keep the cash rate unchanged had eased market wobbles.

It was one of 135 scheduled auctions across South East Queensland. By Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 20 per cent from 87 reported results, with 18 homes withdrawn.

In Wooloowin, a Gold Coast couple paid $2,005,000 for a renovated character home at 15 Wride Street before a packed crowd on Saturday.

Three out of 10 registered bidders vied for the keys after bidding opened at $1.77 million.

The trio exchanged $20,000 and $10,000 bids until $1.95 million, when it was called on the market. A few $1000 bids later, it sold.

The three-bedroom, two-bathroom house was built in 1923 and sits on a 486-square-metre block. It last sold in 2016 for $695,000 to a couple who restored it to its former glory.

Selling agent Andy Flanagan, of Ray White Ascot, said young professionals or families looking to upgrade dominated inspections.

“They loved the open-plan layout. The owners did an exceptional job renovating it,” Flanagan said.

“They poured their blood, sweat and tears into it so this was a great result for them.

“The buyers were stoked to get it … this result tells me the fundamentals for Brisbane are still there.”

In Nundah, a four-bedroom, one-bathroom house that changed hands 16 months ago for $1.53 million resold under the hammer to an investor for $1.931 million on Saturday.

In need of a renovation, 16 Carew Street sits on a 698-square-metre block close to Kedron Brook.

Selling agent Ross Armstrong, of Place Newmarket, said the home attracted buyers looking to raise and renovate it. Others planned to hold and rent it out or move straight in.

“It’s that sort of house you could live in as is or flip it as is and it’s in a great street,” he said.

“But actually, the person who bought it will rent it out initially.”

In front of a crowd of about 80, the underbidder – who fell into the full renovation camp – opened bidding at $1.4 million. At $1.9 million it paused and was called on the market.

“I was roughly hoping for that price, and I knew it was good real estate but still in this market it can be hard to get even one bidder,” Armstrong said.

LJ Hooker head of research Matt Tiller said while Brisbane’s clearance rate remained low, stock was moving with a rise in listings tipped over the coming weeks.

“The RBA deciding to hold rates last week is the most important thing. I think that gives the market a bit more certainty.

“There are also tentative developments in the Middle East, and the possibility there may be some kind of conclusion there. And this will help confidence.

Tiller said Brisbane remained better placed than Sydney and Melbourne with interstate migration, a stronger economic backdrop and limited new housing supply keeping demand ahead of supply.