Not even a lick of paint: Investors made $1.3 million on this untouched, postwar home

An elevated but dated home in one of Wynnum’s most prized pockets clinched the suburb’s fifth-highest sale ever on Saturday, fetching $2.825 million under the hammer in a long and “bizarre” auction.

The five-bedroom, three-bathroom home at 36 Crown Street, set on a 673 square metre block with water views, a spa and a heated saltwater pool, drew five registered bidders.

Four duelled it out, with most parties, including the vendor, dialling in remotely. The eventual buyer – a local – paid just over the $2.8 million reserve to claim the keys. He was the only active bidder to attend in person.

Co-selling agent Gaby McEwan of McGrath said it was a fantastic result in a pocket where properties still represented outstanding value compared with the city’s inner ring.

“The house itself wasn’t a new home, and it was quite dated … but Wynnum is just performing so incredibly well and that’s because of the lifestyle it offers,” she said.

“It used to be that buyers would call us up asking us to find them a place for just over a million, but now you’re lucky to find a knockdown for $1.2 million.”

Despite the strong result, McEwan said the auction was a drawn-out battle, with one bidder on the phone from New Zealand, another on the line from the Northern Territory and the vendors also dialling in from interstate.

“It was one of the most bizarre and difficult auctions I’ve had since COVID,” she said.

“The buyer who got it emerged a week before the auction. I told him if he was smart, he’d open bidding and take the bull by the horns and control the floor. And that’s exactly what he did.

“He opened at $2.2 million and that knocked out one bidder right away. But it took a lot of negotiation, and it went on for about an hour.”

The home was one of 200 scheduled auctions in Brisbane in the past week. By Saturday evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 42 per cent from 122 reported results, while 22 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.

On Thursday evening, Ray White Collective held a unit-only auction event in New Farm, drawing 36 registered bidders across five properties. Three sold under the hammer with two selling in post-auction negotiations.

A two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit at 2/22 Arthur Street in Fortitude Valley collected the top sale price of $1.215 million – smashing the reserve by more than $200,000. The apartment last sold in October 2020 for $775,000.

2/22 Arthur Street in Fortitude Valley.Credit: Ray White

Selling agent Frances Charisma said the price was a record for the building and signalled the strength of the roaring unit market.

“I’m still in shock. The reserve was $950,000 … our highest offer pre-auction was $940,000,” Charisma said.

“This just shows you there’s a lot more demand.”

A local man upsizing from a nearby apartment muscled out three other active bidders to secure the home.

In Camp Hill, a couple made a motza on a postwar cottage that fetched $2.275 million under the hammer on Saturday. They bought it six years ago as an investment property for $975,000.

Auctioneer Peter Burgin, of Place Estate Agents, said the auction of 35 Newman Avenue was the ultimate example of the prosperity available in Brisbane.

“I was the auctioneer for this one six years ago and I remember having a bit of an arm wrestle with the vendors to get them to pay it,” he said.

“Now six years later it’s sold for $1.3 million more. We expected that on a bad day it might get in the high $1 million range and on a good day in the early $2 millions.

“I think the vendors were a bit shell-shocked. They didn’t touch the home at all, and they had a tenant in there the whole time.”

The property featured city views and a 577 square metre block. Selling agent Denis Najzar, of Place, said bidding started at $1.85 million with four active bidders battling it out until it sold to a local family for a price just beyond the reserve.

In Kedron, a custom-built five-bedroom home on an 868 square metre block at 29 Wood Street collected the city’s top auction result for the weekend, selling for $3.17 million, just above the reserve.

Ray White’s Nick Kouparitsas handed the keys to a retired couple from Bridgeman Downs who wanted to be close to their grandchildren. He said the home last sold three years ago for $2.4 million.

Bidding started at $2 million, with four buyers offering steady increments until it was called on the market at $2.975 million – in line with the reserve. It then climbed in $10,000 increments until the final sale price.

Matthew Tiller, LJ Hooker head of research and economics, said the recent results showed Brisbane’s market remained incredibly active, with buyer demand far outstripping supply.

“Across our Brisbane network the auction clearance rates have been elevated at around the 70 per cent mark and we have seen a lot of buyers turning up to auctions and a fair bit of buyer inquiry,” he said.

“It’s coming from interstate as well. There are just so many growth drivers.”

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