One of Queensland’s only castles has sold at auction for an eye-watering $8m over the weekend, with Brisbane’s housing market reporting results ahead of the rest of the nation.
Set on a huge 9.9 acre property, the four-storey home at 54 Gardiner Rd, Waterford was built by vendor Brian Rumble and his son Daniel, who decided to downsize after decades in the estate.
It is one of only five ‘castle’ homes that can be found across the entire state.
54 Gardiner Rd, Waterford, is one of five ‘castle’ homes in Queensland, built by its vendor and lived in for decades.
With six bedrooms and two-bathrooms, Ray White Rochedale agent Syed Ali said the property had been a tricky one to sell over the years.
“The sellers are over the moon,” he said. “They had tried to sell three times in the past with other agencies, and this is the first time they have achieved a price they were happy with.”
The home’s $8m sale came after a war of offers between six registered bidders, four of them active on the day.
“The buyer was a developer,” Mr Ali said. “They have said they will try their best to keep the castle intact.”
Dozens gathered to see who would score the unique home, with four active bidders bringing the final sale up to $8m.
The weekend proved to be the cap of a successful auction week for Brisbane.
Ray White Group chief economist Nerida Conisbee said Brisbane had keeping ahead of the national market, which saw clearance rates lower than usual.
“Brisbane remains a standout, with attendance levels still higher than a year ago and significantly above other capitals,” she said. “This aligns with its strong price growth and highlights the depth of demand in that market.”
8 Ivy St, Indooroopilly, was one of a series of successful sales across Brisbane’s home market over the week, going under the hammer for $2,850,500.
Other successful sales included a tense 90-minute auction at 8 Ivy St, Indooroopilly, which went down to the wire with 11 back-to-back offers increasing at just $500.
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 8 Ivy St, Indooroopilly, saw five registered bidders seeking the character home, with an opening bid already coming in at $2.5 million.
Place Ascot agent Drew Davies said the auction had soon narrowed down to two families looking to make the house their home.
“There were natural pauses, but the momentum held,” he said. “It stayed between two the committed buyers, and that’s where you get your outcome.”
Units such as 2/158 Stafford Rd, Gordon Park, scored seven registered bidders: keeping the on-site bidding war both literally and figuratively tight.
Brisbane’s auction results stayed high ahead of the Easter weekend, though national clearance rates fell to 63.3 per cent.
After close to 40 bids, the house sold under the hammer for a total of $2,850,500.
Meanwhile, seven registered bidders turned up for a unit sale at 2/158 Stafford Road, Gordon Park: packing the property’s small backyard space, with some buyers competing over the phone.
The home ended up selling under the hammer for $760,000, going to a single woman bidding remotely from a work trip in Sydney.
Finally, a whopping 16 registered bidders fought for the unit at 11/50 Alexandra Pde, Maroochydore.
Six bidders were actively going head to head for the home with a wide view of the beach, before eventually going to its new owners for $1.395m.
11/50 Alexandra Pde, Maroochydore, scored some of the most bidders over the weekend. 16 registered bidders sought the coastal home, which sold for $1.395m.
With Brisbane keeping up its sales pace, Ms Conisbee said conditions such as rising fuel and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East could be contributing to national buyer hesitancy.
“[Nationally], clearance rates eased slightly to 63.3 per cent, suggesting that while demand remains present, it is not strengthening at the same pace as listings,” she said.
“Attendance fell again to 2.2 attendees per property, continuing the steady decline seen over recent weeks and sitting well below 3.0 at the same time last year. This points to a more cautious buyer environment, with fewer people actively inspecting properties.”
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