Local couple pay $1.4 million for water front home they plan to demolish

A LOCAL couple have shelled out more than $1 million for a water front property they plan to demolish.

Anthony Puljich and Katarina Puljich following their successful bid of $1,405,000 for a property at Admiralty Drive, Surfers ...

IT was a case of a $1.4 million bargain for Anthony and Katarina Puljich when they sealed the deal at the Ray White Surfers Paradise Main Event Auction yesterday.

The hefty price tag for the home in Admiralty Drive, which they plan to knock down before building their dream home, might have been beyond the reach of the average Gold Coaster.

But Mr and Mrs Puljich, who are expecting their first child in April, were well aware of what the estate would have cost them just five years ago - at the height of the boom.

Mr Puljich said the bidding was "nerve-racking" but he was thrilled to buy the property from receivers.

"It was pretty nerve-racking but the bonus is you get a quick indication of what the property is worth," he said.

"For good quality pieces the prices are fair and you're paying close to true value."

Mr Puljich's father Peter and two brothers Vlad and Adrian all live in Paradise Waters and he is excited about building a new home there.

"It gives us a lot of freedom to do what we like," he said.

"We get to start from scratch rather than fix up someone else's home."

They were just a few of the hundreds of people who packed the auditorium at the Gold Coast Turf Club yesterday for the auction, which is now in its 21st year and arguably Australia's biggest.

Last night the clearance rate was almost 50 per cent, with 52 out of 108 properties being sold, at a total value of $22 million.

Last year, $32.3 million sold on the night, last year which was a 70 per cent clearance rate.

However, a number sold this year for higher than the ­reserve price or the previous sale price.

Altogether, there were 372 registered bidders for 94 properties.

So fewer properties sold for more or something like that…..

The properties on the chopping block last night ranged from luxury homes at Sanctuary Cove to cheap units in ­Surfers Paradise.

Bidding got off to solid start on a Hope Island townhouse - with an opening offer of $300,000 on a property that eventually sold for $500,000.

The townhouse last sold for $239,000 in 1996.

A one-bedroom apartment at the Florida building at Surfers Paradise was snapped up for the bargain price of $178,000 after previously selling for $140,000 in 1985.

Ray White Surfers Paradise boss Andrew Bell said several of the properties that went under the hammer commanded prices above the reserve.

Last year RWSP achieved a clearance rate of about 70 per cent but Mr Bell said those figures would not be repeated this year because fewer mortgagee properties were being sold.

"This is a good platform being built for 2014," he said.