Renowned shoemaker’s Spanish Mission home sold in blowout auction

The auction for a shoe salesman’s heritage home attracted a crowd of around 200 people, ending with one of the suburb’s best sales.

Renowned shoemaker William Mathers’ heritage home has sold at auction on Saturday, after a competitive bidding war in front of around 200 onlookers.

The Spanish Mission home in Holland Park attracted seven registered bidders, each of them eager to buy the hilltop home overlooking Brisbane City.

122 Abbotsleigh St, Holland Park

The home’s hilltop view of the city helped make Mathers House renowned upon its construction, and attracted a large group of families who wanted to make that view their own.

William Mathers began Mathers Shoes in 1923, which remained in the family until it was sold by his granddaughter Tracy in 2016.

The home at 122 Abbotsleigh St was built in 1937 with a two-storey masonry structure, featuring five bedrooms and three bathrooms on a 1,650 sqm block.

Named Mathers House, the home has had its interior renovated since its last sale in 2011, when it sold for $2.65 million.

Place New Farm agents Sarah Hackett and Lauren Marmotta listed the home for sale, gathering an online crowd of 150 people in addition to the in-person onlookers.

Starting at $5 million, three active bidders went head-to-head in what Ms Marmotta described as “a very fast-paced auction”, with some bids rising by $100,000 or even $200,000 at a time.

It took a final raise of $75,000 to price the underbidders out of the home’s price range, and the house sold at auction for a total of $5 million.

A 1991 picture of business coach Tracey Mathers and her father Sir Robert, standing by a painting of grandfather William. Picture: David/Clark

The crowd stretched from one end of the home to the other as the house was auctioned off for $5 million.

The result is one of the highest sales recorded in the suburb on realestate.com.au.

“The final registered bidder was very strong throughout the auction,” Ms Marmotta said.

Ms Hackett said each bidder was looking to make the prestigious home their new residence for both themselves and their children.

“All of the bidders were families,” she said, and added while the crowd was large at the auction, “There was no one crowded in”.

“That’s the beauty of this home: it’s an entertainer, it can hold a crowd,” she said.

Ms Hackett said the old owners and new owners were both families looking to change their lifestyles. “It was a family handing into another family,” she said.

Originally published as Renowned shoemaker’s Spanish Mission home sold in blowout auction