Shock price govt housing assistance home sold for
A home originally built for government-assisted housing has sold for millions on the open market.
The government housing home where I used to party has sold for $2.25m and I’m a little shook.
Back in 2009, sometime in March, I was sitting on the deck of my sister’s government housing property in at 168 Hawthorne Rd, Hawthorne, celebrating my nephew’s third birthday.
We talked a big game of “if this house was mine” and “if I had the time and money, what I’d do to this place”.
More than 15 years on and it looks like someone more than talked about it.
Earlier this year I stumbled upon the home for sale on realestate.com.au – but the only thing I recognised was the address.
In 2009, the balustrades were painted white, the hand rails heritage green and paper streamers were wrapped around the beams supporting a corrugated iron roof.
Family and friends were spread out on second-hand couches and mismatched chairs, snacking on cubed cheese, pickled onions and kabana, while my nephew blew out a candle on a homemade cake.
The house itself was an ‘interesting’ design with the front wall forming part of the front fence.
The kitchen was old, the front porch needed repairing and the paint was flaking in most rooms.
But it had high ceilings, timber floors, VJ walls and a private backyard.
It was also in a beautiful community close to the river, the city and just down the road from eateries, boutiques, a cinema, good schools and a ferry terminal.
Property records show 168 Hawthorne Rd was built around 1940.
My sister was given the chance to buy the home, but wasn’t in the financial position take advantage of the offer, much to her regret.
The house was sold by the State of Queensland in 2012 for $470,000 and changed hands again in 2020 for $730,000.
Sometime after that, the property experienced an epic glow up.
The house has been lifted, the new ground floor is double the size of the original and where there was once a wall-fence there is now a beautiful facade.
The home was marketed by Charmaine McDonald and Sarah Hackett, of Place New Farm, as a coastal-inspired Queenslander with dual-living option.
The house now has a double garage, a white picket fence, and french doors on the upper level opening to a balcony.
Original floorboards feature upstairs and the character is now of the charming rather than rundown variety.
Out the back, the once-sloped block has a pool, landscaped yard and granny flat.
On the ground floor there is a main bedroom with walk-in robe and ensuite, and an open plan kitchen, living and dining area, with combined butler’s pantry and laundry off the kitchen.
The area flows out to a deck with outdoor kitchen, which overlooks the pool.
Upstairs, there are four more bedrooms, two bathrooms, a study nook and a living area.
Across the pool, the ‘studio’ has a bathroom, kitchenette and living/sleeping space.
I sent my sister the link to the listing and she was as blown away as me.
“I’ll take it back now,” she joked.
“I would’ve bought it in a heartbeat back then – if only I had the cash.
“I can’t believe there’s a pool where my deck used to be.
“I’ve got so many photos of parties we had out there.”
One treasured pic is with a good friend she lost to cancer – they had big grins on their faces and drinks in their hands.
Others featured my two oldest nephews – now young men – and a ‘slightly’ younger version of myself.
Now it looks like new memories will overlay the old, with the home selling for $2.25m.
I wonder if they’ll still be serving cheese and kabana at their parties?
Originally published as Shock price govt housing assistance home sold for