West End fixer-upper needing new roof sells for $2.36 million in nail-biting auction

In a nail-biting battle of the bids, a local family outmuscled a Tasmanian rival to snatch up an old West End duplex in need of a new roof for $2.365 million on Saturday.

The five-bedroom fixer-upper at 29 Harriet Street attracted five bidders and ended in a thrilling exchange of rapid-fire bids that pushed the sale past the $2.28 million reserve.

Once two separate apartments, the duplex pulled a crowd of onlookers alongside six registered punters – all drawn in by its dual-living potential, 759-square-metre block, and position within the Brisbane State High School catchment.

Bidding kicked off at $1.6 million, with four hopefuls pushing up the price until the home reached the reserve. It was then that the Tasmanian buyer, who’d registered online mere minutes before, dove in headfirst with a blitz of $1000 bids. Determined not to lose the keys, the local family countered with strong $5000 and $10,000 increments to end their six-month house hunt.

“The ultimate buyers put in a good fight and the owners were rapt,” said selling agent Luke Croft of Ray White.

“In this market, anything that typically doesn’t need much work is popular. And that makes this one unique … but it looked worse on the outside. While it needed a new roof and gutters the inside presented well.”

Inside the West End duplex, which the buyers intend to renovate.Credit: Domain

Croft said the family planned to renovate their new home while the vendor, who has owned the property since 2011, will downsize. He added that both West End and Highgate Hill had collected eye-watering property price growth over the past two years, with international buyer numbers on the rise.

The home was one of 200 scheduled auctions in Brisbane over the past week. By Saturday evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 33 per cent from 124 reported results, while 15 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.

Ray White’s chief economist Nerida Conisbee said their figures showed Brisbane’s auction market was hotter than ever.

“Our clearance rate is 64 per cent, which is about 2.5 per cent up from this time last year. We’re seeing increases in stock too, yet things are clearing,” she said.

Conisbee added the Queensland capital was also attracting some of the nation’s strongest rates of interstate and international buyers.

“We’re not seeing a lot of international buyers in Australia at the moment, but topping the list is the Gold Coast, and Brisbane is coming in second,” Conisbee said.

“Interstate buyers in Brisbane are making up almost 10 per cent of the market, and international buyers are making up 2.4 per cent, which is high from a national perspective. In Melbourne, international buyers are only 1.1 per cent.”

A couple of hundred kilometres south, the $4.3 million Burleigh Heads retreat of Bec and Lleyton Hewitt failed to get a bid at a jam-packed onsite auction on Sunday.

The rarely used but polished four-bedroom, three-bathroom home at 13 Deodar Drive was snapped up by the power couple for $4,305,000 in 2021. Queensland Sotheby’s International Realty marketed the home, with PR spokesperson Lynn Malone saying the property was passed in with three parties, including one from Sydney, now in negotiations. She said interested buyers would have until Wednesday to submit their final offers.

“We bought it to a head and while several people who were representing buyers were swarming everyone was being coy,” she said.

Up at Alexandra Headland, a neighbour splashed $2.8 million on a four-bedroom beachside retreat after a long and drawn-out auction. The property at 31 George Street remained unchanged since it last sold seven years ago for $1.535 million.

Selling agent Vicki Stewart of McGrath described the auction as “fantastic,” though slow to start, with bids opening at $2 million and jumping in $100,000 to $500,000 increments before narrowing to $5000 raises. Three bidders duelled it out until it sold.

“The first bidder was the one that bought it. They had been eyeing it off and came through the home straight away,” Stewart said.

In Wavell Heights, a local builder snapped up an original 1940s home at 37 Zeehan Street for $1.552 million, marking the first time the property has changed hands since its original land purchase for just 50 pounds.

Selling agent Matthew Jabs, of Place Estate Agents, said while the property hadn’t seen much pre-auction traffic, nine registered bidders turned out in front of a crowd of about 70.

Bidding opened at $1.1 million, quickly hitting the $1.46 million reserve with five buyers in the race. The final stage saw three bidders – including a family moving up from Sydney and another builder – fight it out.

“It’s a prime block in one of the best streets with city views. These properties don’t come up often, and everyone was really happy,” Jabs said.

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