AUCTION BLOG: Grandad sells home he bought for $147K for a cool $1.32m

Homes are netting massive prices under the hammer as Brisbane's auctions go into overdrive today with one 89-year-old homeowner getting $1.32 million for the property he bought for $147,000.  

This property is going under the hammer at 8am.

We've been posting live auction results from across Brisbane as 70 properties go under the hammer.

The live blog has now finished, but scroll down to see how the day played out. 

First out of the blocks today was a replica Queenslander at 10 Lindsay Street, Hawthorne.

With 20 registered bidders and a killer opening bid of $1.252 million, momentum kicked in and the bids started flying thick and fast.

Owners, Arthur and Andrea Raptis, were hiding in the laundry while a crowd gathered to watch the action take place in the backyard of the home in the heart of one of Brisbane’s best suburbs.

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This property at 10 Lindsay St, Hawthorne, sold under the hammer for $400,000 above reserve.

Before long, the reserve had been surpassed, and when auctioneer Justin Nickerson yelled $1.6, Mrs Raptis uttered; ‘Oh my God’.

Then it was down to three bidders — a buyer’s agent bidding on someone’s behalf, a local couple and a young couple from Sydney.

The bidding reached $1.715 million and Mrs Raptis was holding back tears.“I don’t swear, but &*%$,” said said.

The couple could barely contain their excitement as the bids kept rising — $1.731, $1.735, $1.736, until it finally paused at $1.752 million.

Going once, going twice and it was gone — $400,000 above expectations.

The young couple from Sydney had won.

“Holy *&%$,” Mr Raptis said.“God bless interstate lockdowns.”

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The buyers, who wished to remain private, were originally from Queensland and were moving back to be closer to family.

Mr Raptis — of the Raptis Seafood family fame — said he was stoked with the result given he paid $1.16 million for the property in 2017 and only made minor improvements since.

“With the way the credit market’s been going — the availability of credit, how cheap it is, and low rates, it really is unprecedented,” he said. “This is a capital move for us. We were prepared to list this without having anything to buy into, but we managed to get our hands on another property. A double block we bought for less than market value only three blocks away.”

Marketing agent Tony O’Doherty of Belle Property Bulimba said it was the agency’s ninth auction already this financial year and each one had been stronger than the next.

“Presentation and process — get those two right and the result will happen,” Mr O’Doherty said.“This is a new market. We no longer know the values, so it's so important to follow the right process and allow the competition to set the new normal.“This is a southern market, right here in Brissie.”

Originally published as AUCTION BLOG: Grandad sells home he bought for $147K for a cool $1.32m