Revealed: Qld’s most viewed properties online for 2023

A lush 20,000sq m equestrian city estate, a mountain hideaway with its own helipad, and a tiny cottage in the hinterland were the hottest homes listed for sale this year. SEE THE LIST

Sotheby's International Realty's Tyson Clarke

A lush 20,000sq m equestrian city stunner, a mountain hideaway with its own helipad, and a tiny cottage in a hinterland castle estate were the hottest homes listed for sale this year.

Stonebrook in Brisbane blitzed every property for sale across Queensland in 2023, with over 140,000 views of the $18m listing, according to realestate.com.au data compiled by PropTrack, with its closest rival being Stonelea, a $17.5m mountainside escape in the Noosa Hinterland and the Gold Coast led by a tiny cottage within an estate with a castle.

This as hidden paradises continued to draw the strongest interest from homebuyers and those looking for dream home inspiration despite the pandemic having ended – something prestige agent Tyson Clarke, who marketed Stonebrook via Queensland Sotheby’s International Realty Brisbane, said was becoming increasingly popular.

“Since Covid-19, there’s been a push for more space, more privacy, with these luxury resort style homes. You could be a million miles away, but you’re only 20 minutes out of the city.”

Mr Clarke said the architect, owner and everyone involved in Stonebrook – located at 598 London Road, Chandler – “wanted it to feel like they were coming home to their own private resort every day”.

“That’s exactly what it’s like when you open the gates, it feels like you leave the rest of the world behind you and you enter into your own luxurious piece of paradise.”

Stonebrook at Chandler in Brisbane

Mr Clarke said the overall confidence in the high end market across South East Queensland was ramping up, especially in the $10m-plus range.

“When you’ve got that much money to spend, you can get an absolutely amazing property in Brisbane for a fraction of what it might cost in any of the other capital cities around the country. I think a lot of those people (high end buyers) are realising Brisbane is actually a fantastic base for them going forward.”

Among the indulgences of Stonebrook was a 1559sq m main house with its luxury kitchen’s Gaggenau and Sub Zero appliances, a bar inspired by the iconic Raffles hotel in Singapore and resort-style activities including a private golf driving range, state-of-the-art cinema, billiards room, wine cellar, saltwater pool, entertainment terrace and pavilion, gym, Finnish sauna, custom circular firepit, basketball half court, full dressage arena and even a self-contained guest wing that sleeps nine people.

In the $2m to $750,000 price range, half the top 10 most popular properties were located in the Greater Brisbane region, led by 38 Hunter Street, Wooloowin, which had 37,000 views, with the cheapest most viewed home in that range being $899,000 at 100 Facer Road, Burpengary in Moreton Bay North which had 31,000 views.

Stonelea at Cooroy Mountain on the Sunshine Coast

Only one home close to the Brisbane CBD made the cut for the most viewed homes priced under $750,000 – the $660,000 5 Corella Street, Rocklea in the city’s south which had 38,000 views. The hottest home in that price range came out of Logan-Beaudesert, priced at $494,700 at 19 Billabong Drive, Crestmead, which had 50,000 views.

Queensland’s overall second highest views though was the luxurious Stonelea at 430 Cooroy Mountain Road in Cooroy Mountain, Sunshine Coast which racked up over 77,000 views by the start of December.

Real estate agent Graham Smith of Queensland Sotheby’s International Realty Noosa Heads said the 6.5ha property was just a 20 minute drive from popular Hastings Street in Noosa but was totally private and secure with its own helipad and special building for cars with its own washing bays.

“With the internet and connectivity that people have these days, you don’t need to be in a built up area,” Mr Smith said.

“The hinterland in Byron Bay is probably more popular than the heart of Byron Bay itself, and it's the same trend coming through to the Sunshine Coast and Noosa – especially this time of year when it’s so busy with traffic and people everywhere.

The castle in Main Western Rd, Tamborine Mountain

“You want to come down occasionally and have a dip in the ocean or coffee and escape to the hinterland only 20 minutes away. That’s the attraction.”

“I’ve been in this industry for over 20 years now. Five years ago it was hard to get people in this Noosa hinterland area to travel west of the highway. Now the Bruce Highway is no longer a mental block at all, that is not an issue at all anymore.”

The most popular listing across the Gold Coast region was 274 Main Western Road in Tamborine Mountain – a surprisingly quaint one bedroom cottage within a short term accommodation estate that has its own castle.

Kara Christensen of Kollosche Broadbeach described the fully self-contained cottage as a “lucrative lifestyle opportunity” with the listing viewed over 61,000 times on realestate.com.au. The property is located opposite Witches Falls, just 100m from the national park and 40 minutes by car from Gold Coast beaches.

Originally published as Revealed: Qld’s most viewed properties online for 2023