Half-built house sees jaw-dropping makeover after three-month renovation

A half-built home won at auction has hit the market within three months of the winning bidder getting the keys in an amazing turnaround.

A builder has renovated an unfinished Mount Gravatt house just three months after setting foot in it, and he’s now taking the brand new home to auction.

The home at 115 Dunbar St, Mount Gravatt East, last sold in April for $1.37m, after the home’s builder, Porter Davis, collapsed in 2023.

The suburb’s median property price is $1.5 million, meaning even the half-done home was going for more than a typical house in the area.

The house at 115 Dunbar Street, Mount Gravatt East, when it was last sold …

… Before builder Vladimir Cosic took on the project, helping it realise its true potential.

New builder and investor Vladimir Cosic said he saw the home as a new and interesting challenge, and wanted the chance to tackle a unique renovation project.

“I thought a half-finished house is not something that most people would go and buy,” he said. “It is definitely a challenge, because you don’t know what you’re walking into, or what someone else has done before.”

From June to September, Mr Cosic got to work finishing the house his way: remaking the back balcony, fixing the flooring and enclosing the house, while understanding the floor plan was set in stone.

The building had been left unfinished due to its old builders going under ...

... The new team picked up where they left off: completing construction, adding furnishings, fencing and a driveway, and tidying up the place.

The final five-bedroom, three-bathroom home was finished in the same time Mr Cosic said his team would do a typical renovation, ready for homeowners to move in and modify to their liking.

“The house is set up for a pool, so hopefully the new owners can decide to put a pool in,” he said. “We left it to new buyers to personalise [the house] … to give someone the opportunity to do those final little touches and make it their home.”

Some areas, like the unfinished balcony, did need to be redone …

… Making the home ready for new home buyers to move right in without a fuss.

Ray White Mt Gravatt agent Andrew Boman said while many investors were interested in the home last sale, this auction had seen a larger audience of families eager to move in to a new place.

“I’m actually really impressed, and I think that’s been reflected by buyer feedback,” he said.

“There seems to be an appetite to want to buy a finished product, rather than starting a build yourself.”

The home will be auctioned off on Wednesday at 6pm, both at Ray White Mr Gravatt’s auction room and online.

The build was treated like a big renovation, understanding that the core structure of the house could not be changed.

Mr Cosic and his team focused on using the pre-existing space to the best of their ability, with new flooring and a fresh look to the interior of their own design.

Originally published as Half-built house sees jaw-dropping makeover after three-month renovation