Towers record falls as ‘bank of mum and dad’ helps buyer win auction
A former two-bedroom flat in a former tower on the Brisbane River has broken a construction record and sold for $1.44 million as the city’s housing market continues to defy a wider market slowdown.
The nearly 40-year-old flat at 59/24 Dunmore Terrace in Auchenflower last sold for $600,000 a decade ago, but on Saturday it smashed the Coronation Towers record – just eight weeks after it was last broken.
The 159-square-foot unit, occupied by a young man with the help of his parents, has panoramic river views from its 11th-floor location and features a large balcony and two bathrooms; all within a resort-style complex with a sauna, tennis court and pool.
After a $1.1 million bid started the auction, four bidders battled for the keys in front of a live crowd.
Strong early momentum pushed the price to $1.35 million before bidding stalled, sparking rapid negotiation and the seller’s offer of $1.4 million. This tactic led to another wave of small increases until the home was put on the market and sold.
“This was a roller-coaster of an auction… there were three owners and one investor bidding. But it was one family that won it,” said selling agent Andrew Degn of Place West.
“The son signed the contract, so it was definitely a case of being backed by ‘mom and dad’s bank,’ which is what we see in a lot of our auctions now.”
Degn, who first sold the house to sellers in 2013, said they were excited about the outcome, adding that buyers’ appetite for the units was still hot.
“People make decisions based on price and what they see. And they realize that if they don’t find a place now, it’s going to cost them another $10,000 next week,” he said.
The Auchenflower unit was one of 184 planned auctions in South East Queensland. As of Saturday evening, Domain had recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 34 percent from 123 reported results, with 24 homes withdrawn.
Upriver at Ascot, a post-war cottage sold for $2.5 million to a local family who planned to bulldoze the house and replace it with a duplex.
The four-bedroom, three-bathroom house at 35 Charlton Street is on a 607sq m block and has been occupied by the same family for over 20 years; That’s a gain of almost 330 percent from the 2002 purchase price of $570,000.
Sales agent Oliver Jonker from Coronis Ascot said the result exceeded expectations.
“Considering this is now entry level at Ascot, it was a good price,” he said.
“But you can flip that house and spend $3 million on construction and still not use much capital there.
“People are still willing to pay a premium and there is confidence in the market.”
A five-bedroom brick and tiled house in Macgregor broke the street record for almost $350,000 when a young family secured it by paying $2.131 million.
The two-storey house, located on an 818 square meter block at 528 Main Street, had belonged to the same family for about 20 years.
Three registered bidders participated in the auction, with two competing against each other after an opening bid of $1.5 million. The price quickly jumped to $1.8 million, followed by smaller increases up to $2 million, and then the pair dueled with even tighter increases until the hammer fell.
Selling agent Peter Florentzos of LJ Hooker Property Partners said it was a closely fought battle among locals.
“For both of them, this house was all about location. There are only three traffic lights going into town from that street, and once you get on the highway and there’s no traffic, you can be there in 10 minutes,” he said.
Florentzos said the strong result was due to a lack of inventory, but overall market confidence had softened.
“Real estate agents are probably going to have to start working to make ends meet now; the market is definitely down a bit,” he said.
AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said the liquidation rate at the weekend had weakened buyer sentiment, with years of strong gains and declining affordability weighing on the market.
“On some price points, Brisbane is less competitive than Sydney at the moment… so there’s the affordability issue in the background, then three rate hikes and warnings of more to come, and then the impact of the war,” he said.
“We have also seen a loss of momentum in price growth in Brisbane.”
Oliver added that the unit market continues to buck the trend, with unit price increases of over 6 percent collected last quarter.
“We’re moving to an environment where units are in better shape than homes.”
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