Cottage built by grandparents in Brisbane’s priciest suburb sells for eye-watering price

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In Brisbane’s priciest suburb, a century-old cottage has sold for hundreds of thousands above reserve after a brutal 43-bid duel between two families.

Despite a modest renovation more than a decade ago and a compact 425-square-metre parcel, 16 Lechmere Street, New Farm, sold under the hammer for $3,043,000 – smashing the street record.

It was the first time the house had changed hands.

Seven registered bidders turned up for a shot at the rare set of keys. Bidding opened at $2 million and leapt in $100,000 increments to $2.5 million, before a volley of $50,000 and $10,000 bids pushed it on the market at $2,775,000 – which was around the reserve.

From there two local families traded bids in an epic stand-off until the underbidder offered one final $1000 increment, only to have it quickly countered.

“The buyers tallied with a $10,000 rise and the underbidders threw up their hands up in defeat and said, ‘yep, it’s yours’,” said selling agent Aaron Woolard, of Place New Farm.

The house at 16 Lechmere Street, New Farm, sold under the hammer for $3,043,000 – smashing the street record.

“The buyers had been looking for a house to turn into a beautiful home for the past couple of years and they weren’t letting it go.”

For the vendors – two brothers – it ends a remarkable property story that began when their grandparents built the home in 1926.

“One of the brothers will actually use some of the money to help his son get into the market,” Woolard said.

“But I’m sure it was a bittersweet sale. The brothers inherited the home after their parents passed and told me their mum moved in when she was two and she lived there right until she passed away in the ’90s.”

The house had been built in the 1920s by the grandparents of the sellers.

Woolard said the home was in good condition – though even he was surprised by the final result.

“We always knew it would be a popular house because more than 100 people viewed … but we had no idea how much people would fight for it,” he said.

New Farm remains Brisbane’s most expensive suburb, with the median house price at $3.3 million after rising 17.9 per cent in the past year and 101.2 per cent over five years, according to Domain’s latest House Price Report.

The cottage was among 170 scheduled auctions across South East Queensland. By Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 48 per cent from 112 reported results, with 17 homes withdrawn.

In Zillmere – where the median house price is $930,000 – another dated three-bedroom cottage delivered an eyebrow-raising result, selling for $1.12 million under the hammer.

The deceased estate, at 65 Coxen Street, hadn’t changed hands since 1974. It was listed as a charity auction after its owner – a passionate animal lover – bequeathed 50 per cent of the proceeds to the RSPCA and 50 per cent to the Cancer Council.

Fourteen bidders registered the night before, with another 14 turning up on the day.

An underbidder opened at $600,000, triggering rapid $100,000 rises to $1 million, with barely half the field raising a paddle. The home was called on the market at $1,050,000, leaving just four buyers standing.

From there, bids tightened to $5000 increments before the hammer fell just 13 minutes after the auction started.

A developer from South Australia outmuscled a field of first home buyers and investors.

“We were honestly surprised at how many people turned up. It was a mixed bag of buyers who wanted to flip, investors and first-home buyers, and I think people thought it was going to be cheap,” said selling agent Angela Duncan, of Ray White Nundah.

“But the market is crazy … it feels like COVID. Prices are going up each month.”

In Greenslopes, an architecturally designed four-bedroom home with a mineral magnesium pool and seven-metre voids sold for $2.36 million to a local family – setting a street record.

On a 417 square-metre-block at 84 Ridge Street, the vendor – a builder – transformed the original 1930s Queenslander into a three-level statement home during COVID, crafting it as his forever residence.

But after welcoming two sons, he decided to move to acreage.

“It was absolutely gut-wrenching for them but at the same time they were happy with the result and that it went to a local couple,” said selling agent Brad Jakins, of Torres Property.

“We had three registered bidders and the ultimate buyers kicked off bidding at $1.8 million and there was some back and forth before we paused at $2.3 million. From there, it was a bit of negotiation until it sold.”

AMP chief economist Dr Shane Oliver said Brisbane’s market remained strong, with February house prices rising 1.6 per cent as Sydney flatlined.

The uptick follows new Domain figures showing Brisbane entry-level unit prices surpassed Sydney’s in a historic first – rising to $660,000.

“I think ultimately this is going to be a problem … Brisbane is becoming less and less affordable and now that you have entry-level unit prices above Sydney, it’s almost ridiculous,” Oliver said.

“It’s unsustainable and while Brisbane has benefited from interstate migration, the longer we see prices move, the more likely that is going to reverse.”