House error cost Jackie Trad $314k

Former deputy premier Jackie Trad has missed out on a huge payday after the forced sale of her controversial investment property.

Sophie Foster

@SophieFoster

2 min read

December 19, 2021 - 12:00AM

News Corp Australia Network

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Rampaging demand for property in the inner Brisbane suburb of Woolloongabba has pushed the market value of the character-listed home Jackie Trad once owned from $695,000 in March 2019 to an estimated $1.09m value today, according to PropTrack figures

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Jackie Trad resigned from her position as treasurer after controversy over the house purchase

Woolloongabba was last month named by Members Equity Bank and Ethos Urban the nation’s top suburb to invest in.

Ms Trad’s former property at 48 Abingdon St had to be sold after it was revealed she had failed to list it on her registry of interests as a member of Parliament.

Her husband had bought the property through their family company VBT Investments but it was sold just six months later after Trad was forced to admit she had not updated her registry of interests in time.

The purchase was particularly controversial because it was located near the Cross River Rail Project, of which Ms Trad had ministerial responsibility.

The property has a large backyard, perfect for future growth.

A remorseful Ms Trad sold the property for the same price she purchased it, but not before she was forced to resign as deputy premier.

“I fully accept responsibility for my actions in belatedly updating my register of interests and have apologised both to this House, and the people we represent, as have many others before me,” Ms Trad told parliament at the time.

Conservative estimates by PRD, calculated off Sydney Olympics and the rises that came after Expo 88 and the G20 meeting in Brisbane, put the impact on the city’s property values of such mega events at 14.3 per cent by 2032.

The fixtures and fittings of the home were dated at the time of the purchase.

In the case of Ms Trad’s controversial property, that would mean a further $155,000-plus gain off its current $1.09m market value, but given how the Brisbane market has performed this year, that figure could more than likely be surpassed by 2032.

PRD chief economist Dr Diaswati Mardiasmo said Woolloongabba had special circumstances around it that meant house values would surge including its coveted inner city location, government infrastructure plans and the Olympics.

“Stand-alone houses in Woolloongabba do not come on sale very often and in terms of future growth, the supply coming to Woolloongabba is not stand-alone houses as well.”

Queensland worker’s cottages in the inner city fetch around the million-dollar mark at present.

“Woolloongabba being so close to the city you don’t really get a lot of subdivision lots where home buyers can build their homes. If you’re lucky you get townhouses, but it’s mostly units and apartments,” Dr Mardiasmo said.

She said the data showed that there were “absolutely no stand-alone houses planned for development between 2021 and 2023 in the 4102 postcode (Woolloongabba and surrounds)”.

“Stand-alone houses are a rare commodity in Woolloongabba, so on the off chance that somebody decided to sell their house for whatever reason, it attracts a lot of attention and demand,” she said.

Inner city houses are coveted because of their rarity with most development going in to the 5km ring around the CBD linked to apartments and units.

While the median house price for the Brisbane City Council local government area was $838,000 in September, Woolloongabba was now sitting at $1.03m, up from $951,000 when the Olympic price surge predictions were first made mid-year.

According to PRD calculations of the post-Sydney Olympics effect on property prices, Woolloongabba can expect a 13.4 per cent rise in prices between 2032 and 2033 – the first year after the Olympics, 38.5 per cent two years after, and 66.4 per cent three years after.