Story summary
A young family purchased a $1.5 million home in Upper Mount Gravatt, Queensland, during an auction on Saturday. The property, located at 43 Granby Street and built nine years ago, sits on a 453-square-metre block near Algester State School. It features five bedrooms, dual living spaces, five bathrooms, and an EV charging station, covering a total of 421 square metres under roof. The unique selling point was the presence of koalas in nearby trees during the auction, with two sleeping koalas and another mother koala carrying her baby up a tree creating a "Nat Geo" moment that attracted four bidders.
The current owner, overcome with emotion at parting ways with the nature-filled sanctuary, burst into tears when the property sold. Ricky Tan of Torres Property, the lead selling agent, noted that the family's connection to Hong Kong made this home particularly appealing as it offered dual living spaces for their extended stay requirements.
Written for “Home Purchase” on 2026-10-04,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
A couple of “chonky” koalas snoozing in a gum tree upstaged an auctioneer at an Upper Mount Gravatt on Saturday, with all eyes - including the four bidders – instead glued to the furry housemates.
asserted
eyes → snooze → housemates
As bidding kicked off at $1.1 million for the five-bedroom home at 43 Granby Street, the tree-hugging pair remained fast asleep on the bough of a tree just 10 metres from the home.
asserted
pair → kick → home
Another mum added to the rare ‘Nat Geo’ show when she leapt up a neighbouring tree with her bub on her back.
asserted
she → add → back
Despite the welcome distractions, a young family managed to nab the keys for $1.5 million, sparking the vendor to burst into tears at the realisation she’d be farewelling her nature-filled sanctuary and precious housemates.
asserted
she → manage → sanctuary
“It was emotional for them … during the auction the wife was crying and when I called it on the market I had to rush to the bathroom to get her tissues,” lead selling agent Ricky Tan of Torres Property said.
asserted
Tan → cry → Property
“You talk about every house being unique – but this one really was special.
asserted
one → talk → ?
And I do think those koalas really solidified the deal for buyers.”
asserted
koalas → think → buyers
“For the buyer, her family are all in Hong Kong and this house has dual living, so it means they don’t just have a place to stay when they visit, but they don’t have to go to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary either.
asserted
they → have → Sanctuary
“It was also the first time she was seeing the (home’s resident) koalas in real life.
asserted
she → see → life
But for the neighbours watching, they were used to it.
asserted
they → watch → it
“They were like ‘oh yeah that’s Carly the koala.’”
asserted
that → ’ → ?
Perched on a 969-square-metre block that backs onto Mount Gravatt Reserve, the mid-century home features hardwood floors, a sprawling patio and its own private walking trail into the bush.
asserted
home → perch → bush
It was purchased by the vendors in 2022 for $1.17 million.
asserted
It → purchase → million
While four bidders registered, three actively competed for the keys in front of a small crowd.
“It was the first time I’ve called an auction and haven’t had all eyes on me,” auctioneer Amir Shamsi said.
asserted
Shamsi → register → me
“I think with this property the home itself the fact it’s a big lot that backs onto the reserve with those beautiful trees and koalas made it popular.”
asserted
it → think → trees
Shamsi said while the market remained subdued, more genuine buyers had emerged over the past few weeks.
asserted
buyers → say → weeks
“When the market is shifting like this we see more buyers trying to get into better suburbs that they maybe couldn’t afford to get into before,” he said.
asserted
he → shift → that
The Upper Mount Gravatt home was one of 177 scheduled auctions across South East Queensland over the past week.
asserted
home → schedule → week
By Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 29 per cent from 127 reported results, with 13 homes withdrawn.
asserted
homes → record → results
Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold when calculating clearance rates.
asserted
auctions → withdraw → rates
In Algester, a five-bedroom brick home sold for $1.49 million in just five minutes to a multi-generational family before a crowd of about 50.
asserted
home → sell → 50
Built nine years ago on a 453-square-metre block close to Algester State School, the sprawling two-level home – at 40 Woodland Street - boasts 421 square metres under roof while featuring five bathrooms and an EV charging station.
asserted
home → build → bathrooms
Bidding opened at $1.1 million and rose in rapid $100,000 and then $50,000 increments, selling under the hammer minutes later.
“
asserted
Bidding → open → hammer
The buyers bought three generations with them … there were the grandparents, parents and kids,” selling agent Jason Song of Ray White Rochedale said.
asserted
Song → buy → Rochedale
“They just loved the configuration.
asserted
They → love → configuration
And they were pretty happy to get this one as they saw it as a good time to upgrade.”
asserted
they → get → time
Song said while homes such as Woodland Street still commanded strong interest, the market remained rattled – particularly ahead of a near-guaranteed interest rate rise.
asserted
market → say → rise
In Ascot, an “eclectic” 1920s home with decorative, soaring ceilings and exposed beams sold for $2.8 million at 38 Alexandra Road during an in-room auction with one active bidder.
asserted
home → soar → bidder
The four-bedroom home sits on a 721-square-metre block and blends century-old character features with a modern architectural extension.
asserted
home → sit → extension
It last changed hands in 2015 for $1.8 million.
asserted
It → change → million
Selling agent Damon Warat, of Ray White Ascot, said the home received prior offers and attracted a handful of genuine buyer groups.
asserted
home → sell → groups
“On the day we had two registered but one just didn’t compete,” he said.
asserted
he → have → day
“So we just negotiated with the one, but we were still able to create some great competition.
asserted
we → negotiate → competition
“It’s a lovely home … and it’s ready to move into with quite an eclectic style.”
asserted
it → ’ → style
Warat said a local family won the keys.
asserted
family → say → keys
He added that a lack of stock had helped fuel demand in Ascot amid wider slowdowns.
asserted
lack → add → slowdowns
“Ascot is a market that people strive to get into and it’s also got a heap of redevelopment going on along Racecourse Road - perhaps more than anywhere else in Brisbane,” he said.
asserted
he → strive → Brisbane
AMP chief economist Dr Shane Oliver said Brisbane’s clearance rate – while slightly elevated from recent weeks – still indicated a depressed market.
asserted
rate → say → market
“Relief, I think, is a fair way off … and I think the latest rate hike talks have probably intensified things for the market.
asserted
talks → think → market
“The RBA has all but confirmed we’ll see another rise … and now the debate has moved on to whether we see another one.
asserted
we → confirm → one
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
