Historic 1860s Brisbane home sells for $2.8m

One of inner Brisbane’s historic homes has sold to eager buyers vowing to restore it to its former glory. SEE INSIDE

449 Gregory Terrace, Spring Hill originally went to auction but was passed in due to not meeting the reserve.

One of Spring Hill’s most historic homes has sold to a couple determined to restore it to its former glory.

The six-bedroom, two-bathroom heritage home called ‘Grangehill’ at 449 Gregory Terrace, Spring Hill, sold for $2.8m in a deal secured by Knight Frank and Ray White.

‘Grangehill’ was built for prominent politician Alexander Raff, ‘Grangehill’ has gone through many lifetimes and historical changes over the past 160-plus years,
The wrapround veranda gives stunning views of the Brisbane CBD and The Old Museum.

Exterior of 449 Gregory Terrace, Spring Hill

The home was purchased by buyers Caroline and Grant Fraser, who said owning a piece of Brisbane history doesn’t come around very often.

“We are so honoured to have purchased the beautiful ‘Grangehill’ home,” Ms Fraser said.

“Over the next few years, we plan to bring this property back to its former glory along with paying respect to its history.”

Property agent Pat Goldsworthy from Ray White New Farm said the campaign for the property went really well, with quite a bit of interest from interstate buyers and rural Queensland.

449 Gregory Terrace, Spring Hill is just 2.5km from the CBD and moments from Fortitude Valley, James Street and Howard Smith Wharves.

“The property’s heritage attracted many buyers,” Mr Goldsworthy said.

“We had one buyer who wanted to reimagine the home with a similar concept to the Spicers Balfour Hotel in New Farm.

“We originally went to auction, but it took a little bit longer to identify the right buyer to invest the funds to bring the property back to its former glory.”

Mr Goldsworthy said the Brisbane property market was strong, with good results evident around the city.

“Blue chip properties in good suburbs are transacting at great levels,” he said.

Heritage home's like 449 Gregory Terrace, Spring Hill are rare commodities to the Brisbane property market.

“I think in terms of buyer’s capacity, it has decreased with the interest rate rises; it’s all relative. Everyone has shuffled down a little bit.

“In saying that, the market is still solid with good depth.

“When you look at how price appropriate we are in Brisbane compared to Sydney and Melbourne and you look at the major Brisbane infrastructure projects, there is a lot of interest around.”

449 Gregory Terrace, Spring Hill was held by the distinguished Raff family until 1949, the house was subsequently purchased by the Discalced Carmelite Fathers. Their presence is still evident today through the 'Cloister' glass panel above the foyer walkway.

Partner of investment sales at Knight Frank Christian Sandstrom said he had a long association with the Stoyle family, the home’s current owners.

“The Stoyle family owned the home for a couple of decades and the Spring Hill hotel on Leichhardt Street, Spring Hill.” Mr Sandstrom said.

“We typically don’t sell residential property, but I teamed up with Ray White, a leading market specialist in the Newstead/New Farm area, and we ran a five-week campaign.

Mr Sandstrom said they did run an auction campaign but didn’t quite reach reserve on the day.

“We weren’t able to quite reach the reserve price on auction day, but in weeks after the auction, we were able to negotiate and achieve the owner’s expectations,” he said.

“As an agent, it’s always very pleasing to see the new owners do the work to understand the home’s history and undertake the research needed to restore it.”

Originally published as Historic 1860s Brisbane home sells for $2.8m