Three-bedroom Queenslander on corner block tops city’s auction results

The home of a beloved Morningside local has sold for $2.14 million, beating its reserve and topping Brisbane’s weekend auction results.

The three-bedroom Queenslander, set on a sprawling 1110-square-metre corner block spanning two titles at 103 Victoria Street, sparked a fierce bidding war among six punters – all investors and developers – before a local investor claimed the keys.

Selling agent Pat Ivey, of Harcourts Property Centre, said the auction was always set to be a cracker given the block’s size and location, but last week’s interest-rate drop intensified the frenzy.

The Morningside property was a deceased estate, owned by a beloved local community member.Credit: Domain

“That rate decrease has impacted the market already,” he said. “Buyers were bidding with a bit more confidence knowing that their borrowing capacity had increased.”

Bidding opened at $1.95 million and rose quickly to $2.1 million – meeting the reserve. It was then called on the market and became a three-way contest.

Ivey said the Brisbane buyer planned to shift the Queenslander over to one title and build on the other.

“Blocks like this are as rare as hen’s teeth … so we knew it would go gangbusters on the day. But to get a result that was over reserve always feels great.”

Ivey said the auction was emotional for the community, which gathered to honour the late owner’s legacy.

“She had been there 50-odd years … all the neighbours were there because everyone knew her. She brought the whole community together,” Ivey said.

The home was one of 131 auctions scheduled in Brisbane in the past week.

The Morningside property has high ceilings and character elements.Credit: Domain

By Saturday evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 36 per cent from 83 reported results, while 17 auctions were withdrawn.

Meanwhile, at 50 Emperor Street in Annerley, a dramatic auction showdown saw a Sydney investor bidding by phone go head-to-head with a Hong Kong buyer placing bids via WhatsApp midflight.

The rapid-fire contest drove the sale price to $1.485 million, meeting the reserve for the tightly held block of three units, with the Sydney buyer securing the keys.

Selling agent Simon Au of Ray White Sunnybank said bidding opened at $1 million and rose to $1.45 within a minute.

“It was very fast and strong. I was texting the Hong Kong buyer so fast in Chinese and he was probably sitting on the plane sipping wine,” Au said.

“Then I had the Sydney buyer bidding on the phone and local buyers on the ground … it was incredibly intense.”

Five investors competed for the property, but the Sydney and Hong Kong buyers quickly emerged as the frontrunners.

The block of units sits six minutes from the CBD and features a larger three-bedroom unit on the upper level and two one-bedroom units below.

It had remained in the same family for 30 years, and was once the home of the vendor’s grandfather.

Au said the inner-city market was increasingly drawing strong interest from international and interstate buyers.

“They see Brisbane as a growing market with solid returns. Before they focused on Sydney and Melbourne, but now the spotlight is here,” he said.

In Slacks Creek, the old real estate adage of buying the worst house in the best street paid off, with a rundown three-bedroom home selling for $635,000.

A local investor who first laid eyes on the property just an hour before the auction snagged the keys.

The property at 14 Binganah Street was described as barely liveable and in dire need of renovation, sitting on a 607-square-metre block in one of the suburb’s top pockets.

It drew seven registered bidders, with four actively competing and two phoning in, including one from interstate.

Selling agent Narnea Dowell, of RE/MAX Revolution, said the auction kicked off with the local phone bidder who threw down $450,000, setting off a flurry of 40 bids that came so thick and fast the team struggled to write them down.

“Incredibly, I only spoke to the winner for the first time on Friday night. He called, and I just told him to turn up with his ID, and he did,” Dowell said.

“He had only set his sights on Logan recently as he saw the potential and value for money there. Now he plans to get stuck into the home and renovate it and then rent it out.”

AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver said while the recent interest-rate drop had started to support the market, Brisbane’s clearance rates remained far softer than Sydney and Melbourne.

He said the figures reflected a slower response to the cut and the lingering impact of soaring property price growth over the past couple of years.

“The interest rate drop is providing support, but it was anticipated,” Oliver said.

“It may take a while for the impact of it to be felt … and it may well be that investors react quicker to that and jump in a bit earlier.”

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.