Energex engineer’s whirlwind week ends with $2.1m property auction win

A crumbling 1940s cottage turned million-dollar “Hamplander” (or Hamptons-esque Queenslander) with a luxe dog wash fetched $2.125 million at auction on Saturday after four families went head-to-head in a bidding war.

Bought as an “unliveable” shack by two first home buyers in their 20s for $675,000 in 2021, the four-bedroom home at 41 Cosker Street, Annerley, underwent a multi-year glow-up, emerging as a designer showpiece with a plunge pool.

It was one of dozens to sell under the hammer at the weekend as Brisbane’s property market roared back to life following ex-tropical cyclone Alfred’s fury.

Bidding opened at $1.8 million and shot to $1.9 million before climbing in $50,000 jumps to $2.105 million. A final $20,000 bid from a Tarragindi buyer – an engineer with Energex – sealed the deal, landing just shy of the reserve.

Selling agent Pat Ivey, of Harcourts Prestige, said the buyer almost missed the auction.

“He’d had a hell of a week with Alfred … but he made it. He loved the workmanship that went into the home, and he could see the quality,” Ivey said.

The sale of 41 Cosker Street marked the end of a first-home journey that burned through weekends, holidays and a blown reno budget.Credit: Domain / Harcourts Prestige

“The underbidder was a family, too, and the house was just chockers. It was raining, and we couldn’t have fit another soul in there.”

For owners Lydia and Brendan Greste, the sale marked the end of a mammoth first-home journey that burned through weekends, holidays and a blown reno budget.

But the drawn-out gamble paid off, with house medians in Annerley jumping from $782,500 to $1.29 million in the past four years.

The home was one of 192 auctions scheduled in Brisbane over the past week.

Bought by two first home buyers in their 20s in 2021, the four-bedroom home in Annerley underwent a multi-year glow-up.Credit: Domain / Harcourts Prestige

By Saturday evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 37 per cent from 100 reported results, while 17 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance.

Over in Chelmer, a postponed auction from the previous Saturday proved to be a windfall – luring two extra bidders to a cherished four-bedroom house at 154 Victoria Avenue.

Dubbed the “cutest house in the best street”, the home had been in the same family for 72 years and smashed its reserve, selling for $1,917,500. Seven active bidders went head-to-head in a fierce contest, with dozens of neighbours watching the spectacle unfold.

Selling agent Lachlan Humble, of Ray White, said a local buyer nabbed the keys with the help of a buyer’s agent – ending a year-long house hunt.

With a reserve of about $1.7 million, bidding opened at $1.1 million and catapulted straight to $1.5 million and then $1.69 million. From there, Humble described the auction as more of a duel between the underbidder and the buyer.

“I have known the vendors for the best part of 25 years as I live over the back fence. I think it was a bit bittersweet for them as the actual owner had passed away a few years ago. So many neighbours were there just to witness the passing of the baton.”

Humble said while Cyclone Alfred forced them to push the auction back a week, it was more of a help than a hindrance. “We were able to have two more open homes and we picked up two extra bidders,” he said.

Over at Indooroopilly, a spacious four-bedroom unit with stunning indoor and outdoor spaces fetched $1.22 million following a battle between two bidders.

The home, at 7/36-40 Underhill Avenue, overlooks Keating Park and sits in a boutique complex of 11 residences. It last sold in 2009, with the emotional vendors shedding a tear and popping champagne with the new buyers.

Selling agent Toby Disher, of Doug Disher Real Estate, said while there was strong buyer interest in the lead-up to the auction, only two bidders raised their hand on the day, with the buyer – a single woman – outmuscling a downsizer.

Bidding started at $900,000 and went straight to $1 million, rising in $50,000 increments until $1.2 million. Following a pause to get instructions from the vendor, Disher said they managed to get another $20,000, falling short of the primary reserve price.

“The building residents were so relieved it sold to an owner-occupier and won’t be turned into an Airbnb,” Disher said.

AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said the city’s still soft clearance rates indicated Brisbane’s market was continuing to slow off the back of affordability strains.

“A mid-30s clearance rate tells us Brisbane’s market is still coming off the boil from last year, when it was seeing much stronger house price growth,” Oliver said.

“Growth through March so far has been slower than it was a year ago and … and if you had that clearance rate in Melbourne that would indicate collapsing market.

“But with Brisbane being less of an auction city it instead indicates it’s indeed subdued.”

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