Extreme renos: Buyers like Stacey and Jay White (pictured bottom L and R) are bypassing cosmetic flips and taking sledgehammers to history
Queensland house-hunters are bypassing cosmetic flips and taking sledgehammers to history, gambling millions on abandoned properties in the wildest frontier of the state’s property boom.
As competition for entry-level homes soars and the construction crisis deepens, these derelict buildings are sparking intense bidding wars among buyers desperate to get a foothold in the market – even if it means owning a disaster zone.
For first-time buyers Jay and Stacey White, this meant purchasing a gutted, mould-infested shell, given over to squatters as it lay empty for a decade, just to secure their piece of the Great Australian Dream.
“We paid the same amount that we were willing to spend for something way smaller but that was ready to live in,” Ms White said.
Handover on an abandoned property can be a sight for sore eyes
The entry-level scramble for the worst houses on the market was best highlighted by a vandalised ex-rental property in Crestmead that rewrote Australian auction records.
Stripped bare and thrown to a no-reserve auction with a $1 starting bid, the unliveable shell at 19 Billabong Dr drew a staggering 161 registered bidders before selling for $494,700.
Back in Brisbane’s blue-chip ring, a battle erupted for a creepy Federation-era estate at 31 Perrott St, Paddington, which sold to a local family for $3.1m.
31 Perrott Street, Paddington was untouched for more than 30 years
Untouched for more than 30 years and rumoured to have been a former war hospital, the last owners left in such a rush the dining table was still set.
Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) CEO Antonia Mercorella said the state’s housing crisis had forced buyers to compete for properties that would traditionally not have attracted demand.
“Queensland is experiencing strong housing demand at the same time as a listings drought and limited new and affordable stock is coming to market,” Ms Mercorella said.
“This is putting extreme pressure on the established (and aged) housing market, and is why we’re increasingly seeing demand for a range of run-down, dilapidated properties or at the more extreme end, even gutted shells with no doors or floors.”
REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella
The extreme reno trend was laid bare in new data from Place Advisory, revealing $1.03b had already been spent on upgrades across Greater Brisbane this financial year.
North Brisbane emerged as the city’s top renovation battleground. Chermside led with a renovation spend of $41.4m, followed by Clayfield ($30m) and Sandgate ($25.9m).
“Taking on a property requiring extensive renovations to make it liveable again is not for the faint-hearted, but there are developers and builders or buyers with access to tradies who are attracted to these kinds of opportunities where you can add enormous value,” Ms Mercorella said.
She warned custom works could cost just as much as building new, adding “paying a premium is a risk in a market such as this where tradies and materials are in short supply”.
Master Builders Australia has sounded the alarm, with latest data showing building a new house is already 47 per cent more expensive than prior to the pandemic.
That pressure was compounded this month by another Reserve Bank interest rate hike and escalating global supply chain disruptions, turning the new-build market into a financial minefield.
19 Billabong Dr, Crestmead…not for the faint-hearted
MBA chief executive Denita Wawn said a fresh fuel crisis and global instability were driving up the cost of crucial materials, hitting builders with surcharges on everything from transport to concrete.
“These cost pressures, on top of higher interest rates, will further delay the supply of new homes,” Ms Wawn said.
Surveying firm Turner & Townsend recently ranked Brisbane as the most expensive city in Australia to build in, while construction costs were projected to rise as much as 10 per cent annually by 2028 as average build times blow out to a year, according to the Australian Construction Market Conditions Report by WT.
Chief Executive of Master Builders Australia Denita Wawn
While taking on a derelict site carries big risks, the payoff can be spectacular.
In the Lockyer Valley, a Mediterranean-inspired hilltop estate dubbed ‘San Salvador’ sat overgrown for years amid wild rumours about its past.
Built by an Italian stonemason who buried European statues in the sprawling gardens, it was recently painstakingly restored by a dedicated couple who spent seven years just clearing enough debris to make the front door usable.
Owners Clint and Sarah Kanther listed the 8.71ha property at 161 Green Valley Rd, Minden, for sale in March via Place Ascot.
“My wife fell in love with it straight away,” Mr Kanther said. “It looked like this incredible old mansion, but it was trashed. It needed a huge amount of work.”
But the city’s ultimate Cinderella story belongs to Lamb House at Kangaroo Point.
Steve and Jane Wilson sold their Highgate Hill home of 40 years after renovating Lamb House
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Once a decaying eyesore that broke the hearts of heritage advocates, the 1902 Federation-era mansion was bought by racing and corporate identities Steve and Jane Wilson for $12.75m in 2021, ending a drawn-out dispute between Brisbane City Council and former owner Joy Lamb.
Stripped of decades of grime, graffiti, and historical artefacts amid piled-high rubbish, the couple poured more than $15m and three years into restoring the property to its original glory.
The grand estate, now known by its original name ‘Home’, stands as the aspirational peak of Queensland’s ghost house obsession, and proof that the ultimate real estate gamble can result in a city-defining prestige property.
A decaying eyesore that broke the hearts of heritage advocates
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