A million dollars more: Inner Brisbane house blitzes 2023 price in auction marathon

A Brisbane character home has sold for more than $1 million above its 2023 price, fetching $2.85 million after a marathon 90-minute auction that defied growing fears of a market slowdown.

Amid projections of further rate hikes and global turmoil, the three-bedroom property at 8 Ivy Street, Indooroopilly, sailed past its reserve.

Set on a 655-square-metre block, the character home features high ceilings, timber floors, leadlight windows and river views and was pitched as a prime renovation or extension opportunity in a tightly held street where several homes have topped $4 million and one eclipsed $7 million.

Five registered bidders turned up for the auction but just the two families made a play for the keys after the auctioneer opened bidding at $2.5 million.

Bids then moved in $50,000 increments before stalling, eventually descending into a rapid-fire exchange of $500 bids in the final moments.

Co-selling agent Drew Davies, of Place Ascot, said the drawn-out contest showed premium homes in blue-chip locations were still commanding fierce competition.

“The vendors were extremely happy and it’s great when there’s that activity at an auction and you get this level of competition,” he said.

“And looking back, it was a great example of getting every dollar out. Both of those buyers said to me numerous times, ‘this is it’. They even tried to hand me the bidder card while saying, ‘nope, I’m out’.

“But I think it’s easy to get caught up in the bidding when you’re only at $500 increments.”

The successful bidder, a local father, said the purchase was driven by a promise to his teenage daughter, who fell in love with the location.

Davies said buyers were becoming increasingly guarded, with many holding their cards close to their chest.

The Indooroopilly home was one of 244 auctions scheduled auctions across South East Queensland. By Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 42 per cent from 140 reported results, with 14 homes withdrawn.

Across the state, the top reported sale was an $8 million castle in Waterford – one of just five in Queensland – snapped up by a developer before a large crowd. At the other end of the market, a one-bedroom unit at 811/111 Melbourne Street in South Brisbane sold for $722,500.

Elsewhere, in a tightly held pocket of Mount Gravatt East, a brick three-storey home sold for the first time since the 1990s for $2.08 million – also marking the first time a home in the Carindale Park estate has cracked the $2 million mark.

Set on an 863-square-metre block at 15 Styphelia Street, the five-bedroom home drew 11 registered bidders, with four active before two battled it out from $1.9 million.

The eventual buyers, a young couple planning to move in, edged out a rival family eyeing subdivision potential.

“It’s a pretty tightly held pocket here and homes probably only come up every couple of years if you’re lucky,” said Grant Boman, of Ray White Mount Gravatt.

“But the vendors were so happy to sell it. They were overwhelmed and there was a lot of emotion around leaving their family home, but they are certainly happy with the outcome.

“They’re downsizing to the Gold Coast.”

Boman said while buyer volumes had eased, a lack of stock was underpinning prices.

“When I started here I sold houses for under $200,000. And a few years ago, you could buy a good postwar home for under $600,000. But now they are selling for $1.4 million,” he said.

“To have almost $1 million in growth since pre-COVID is significant.”

In Holland Park, a century-old Queenslander at 18 Gibson Street sold for $1.74 million, ending a 37-year ownership and marking just the third time the home has changed hands.

The two-bedroom property, set on a 607-square-metre block with a sunroom, patio and high ceilings, attracted four registered bidders, with two vying for the keys.

Bidding opened at $1.6 million and rose in $30,000, $20,000 and $10,000 increments before being negotiated up to $1.74 million.

Selling agent Sophie Teys, of Place Bulimba, said it was a strong result for a home that was technically only two bedrooms.

“I think a lot of people were hoping it would go for less but it had four usable rooms and the previous owners had three kids living there, but the rooms were under the legal height,” she said.

“It presented so well, however, and the furniture kept the charm of it, as did the original paint. It still had a pale blue room and a purple room which everyone loved.”

Teys said the sale marked an emotional turning point for the vendors, who had been considering selling for nearly a decade and would now move interstate to be closer to family.

She added that they were initially concerned about listing given the current market instability and a growing price gap between buyers and seller expectations.

AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said the weekend’s clearance rate pointed to a market losing momentum, warning Brisbane’s resilience might not last.

“The money markets are factoring in another three rate hikes and then we have the ongoing war and the longer it drags on, the more it weighs on buyer confidence as people worry about rising fuel bills as opposed to upgrading a home,” he said.

“And if we get three more hikes we’ll have higher rates than 2023 and that will cause a lot of stress.

“The price gains are holding up in Brisbane but it’s living on borrowed time.”