Young couple scream as they score Norman Park unit that sat empty for 25 years
A time capsule unit from the 1970s that sat vacant for 25 years sold to a first home buyer for $995,000 after a fierce five-minute auction that ended in screams.
10/84 The two-bedroom house at Norman Crescent, Norman Park, has offered young buyers a rare foothold in the city’s best suburb, where house prices rose 22.8 per cent last year to an average of $1.75 million. Unit sales are so low that there is no current price data.
Eight registered bidders and dozens of spectators participated in the rare listing; five competed for the keys.
“The feedback on this has been incredible. Everyone was so excited because they felt like this house could finally be in their price range,” said Paula Pearce of Place Bulimba.
“And it has a spectacular view. The property has been renovated enough to make it livable, but it still needs a new kitchen and perhaps a bathroom refurbishment, which has kept the price down.”
The sun set and Pearce turned off the lights as the crowd, mostly first home buyers and their families, filed into the 126sq m unit.
“I wanted everyone to see the view of the Story Bridge,” he said.
“When I turned them away, the crowd went ‘oooh’ – like when you turn the lights on at the end of a movie.”
Bids started at $650,000, followed by rapid increases of $50,000 and $10,000.
“It was very fast and buyers came out strong up to $950,000. Then it slowed down a little bit and was called in the market at $970,000,” Pearce said.
“It fell from $975,000 to three, and when I said $995,000, the buyer was screaming.
“He and his partner are in their 20s and this is their first home. He told me he’s always loved this complex.”
The auction lasted five minutes.
First home buyers in their mid-to-late 20s – often accompanied by their parents – dominate inspection numbers, Pearce said. The remaining 10 percent consisted of investors and downsizers.
Pearce said the result showed continued buyer appetite in the city’s inner east, adding that the RBA’s recent decision to leave the cash rate unchanged had eased market volatility.
This was one of 135 planned auctions in South East Queensland. As of Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 20 percent, with 18 homes withdrawn from 87 results reported.
A Gold Coast couple in Wooloowin paid $2,005,000 for a refurbished character home at 15 Wride Street in front of a packed crowd on Saturday.
Following the $1.77 million auction, three of the 10 registered bidders competed for the keys.
The trio placed bids of $20,000 and $10,000 for up to $1.95 million when the market was called. Sold after several $1000 bids.
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom house was built in 1923 and is located on a 486 square meter block. It was last sold in 2016 for $695,000 to a couple who restored it to its former glory.
Sales agent Andy Flanagan, of Ray White Ascot, said young professionals or families were looking to develop dominant controls.
“They loved the open-plan layout. The owners did a phenomenal job renovating it,” Flanagan said.
“They put their blood, sweat and tears into this, it was a great outcome for them.
“Buyers were excited to get it… this result shows me that the fundamentals of Brisbane are still there.”
A four-bedroom, one-bathroom house in Nundah, which changed hands 16 months ago for $1.53 million, sold to an investor for $1.931 million on Saturday.
16 Carew Street, which is in need of refurbishment, is located on a 698 square meter block near the Kedron Stream.
Selling agent Ross Armstrong, of Place Newmarket, said the house was attracting buyers who wanted to expand and renovate it. Others planned to keep it and rent it or move outright.
“This is the kind of house you can live in as is or change as is, and it’s on a great street,” he said.
“But the person who actually buys it will be renting it initially.”
In front of a crowd of about 80 people, the low bidder, who had entered the full renovation camp, opened his bid at $1.4 million. It stalled at $1.9 million and was called to market.
“I was hoping for roughly that price, and I knew it was a good property, but it could still be difficult to find even a single bidder in this market,” Armstrong said.
LJ Hooker head of research Matt Tiller said Brisbane’s liquidation rate remained low but stocks were moving along with the increase in listings expected in the coming weeks.
“The big thing is that the RBA decided to keep rates steady last week. I think that gives the market a bit more certainty.”
“There are also temporary developments in the Middle East, there is a possibility of reaching a conclusion from there, which will help confidence.”
Tiller said Brisbane remained in a better position than Sydney and Melbourne as interstate migration, a stronger economic environment and limited new housing supply kept demand ahead of supply.
