Footy great Darren Lockyer sells Brisbane home for $6m-plus

NRL great and TV commentator Darren Lockyer has landed a massive $6m-plus payday in a secret, offmarket deal.

NRL great and TV commentator Darren Lockyer has sold his huge Brisbane home to a local buyer for close to $6.5m.

Located in Paddington, the home was built by the Lockyer family around 2015 and sits on a massive 1628sq m block in the heart if the coveted Rosalie Village precinct.

Darren Lockyer, at his Paul Owen-designed home in Rosalie, Brisbane, which he has just sold. Photo: Lyndon Mechielsen.

Wakely Properties director Ben Wakely said he ran a pre-market campaign that attracted 15 parties two weeks before a “young family looking for their forever home” made an offer the Lockyers could not refuse.

“The buyer and seller are both very happy,” Mr Wakely said. “I knew through my own process of looking for a similar property that there’s not many around and there are a number of people looking for homes that are completed and on larger blocks.

“Even though (the home’s) got a bit more age on it, it would cost a lot more to replace it.”

Darren Lockyer has sold his home in Brisbane’s Rosalie. Photograph: Toby Scott.

Mr Wakely said Agars Street was highly sought-after, having sold a vacant block at 11 Agars Street last year for a Paddington record of $2.95m.

He said the Lockyers planned to reinvest the money from the sale of the property into the commercial buildings they own in Rosalie Village.

The property in Rosale was designed by Paul Owens. Photograph: Toby Scott.

The buyer saw the property on social media courtesy of a ‘coming soon’ post by Sam Wakely, co-founder and director of Wakely Properties.

“Come for this exclusive award-winning five bedroom retreat sprawling over 1628sq m, tucked discreetly in the heart of Rosalie and stay for the fluid indoor-outdoor spaces,” the post said.

“This masterpiece was meticulously crafted with every detail thoughtfully considered by both the owners and the architect”.

Darren Lockyer in his days playing for the Brisbane Broncos. Picture: NRL Photos.

In 2018, Lockyer told News Corp the Paul Owen-designed residence was built by the couple three years earlier.

“It’s a one-level, five-bedroom house, with a contemporary, Tuscan feel to it,’’ he said at the time.

“The location is great for our kids. It’s also close to cafes, restaurants and parks.”

Inside the huge property that Darren Lockyer has just sold. Photo: Toby Scott.

Records show Lockyer and his wife, Loren, paid $1.125m for the property in 2012.

The house encompasses new and old design features, along with a number of open courtyards.

The NRL Hall of Fame inductee, who captained the Brisbane Broncos, Queensland Maroons and the Australian Kangaroos during his stellar career, has four children.

A post by Owen Architecture summed up the design of the residence.

The five-bedroom retreat sits on a huge 1628 sqm block and features a number of fluid, indoor/outdoor spaces. Picture: Instagram @sam_wakelyproperties

“There is beauty in the simplest things — fresh grass underneath your feet, morning sunlight through windows, cooking a meal together,” an extract from est magazine says on the firm’s website.

“In their design for the Lockyer family, architects Paul Owen and Michael Lineburg of Owen Architecture drew inspiration from simple materials, landscapes and routines to create a beautiful yet functional family home.”

The modern, light-filled kitchen in the Lockyers’ house. Picture: Instagram @sam_wakelyproperties

The design brief was to utilise the landscape as much as possible, embracing outdoor living and green spaces.

“A house that was easy to live in,” Loren said at the time.

The brief said that the design followed “the external terrain across one level with open spaces to bring the interior and exterior together, most strikingly in the central living area”.

It noted that an entire wall was opened to meet the greenery outside.

Features include painted concrete, brick and tile finishes, glass, marble and brass.

“Even though it’s an amazing house, it’s a simple house – simple lines, simple materials, not pretentious,” Loren told the magazine.

“It’s a practical house and functions perfectly for us, and I’m sure as the children get older it will continue to support our lives perfectly.’

Originally published as Footy great Darren Lockyer sells Brisbane home for $6m-plus