A retired couple unexpectedly won an auction for a dilapidated four-bedroom house in Clontarf, Queensland, paying $675,000 — nearly $300,000 below its March valuation of around $1 million. The property, which requires significant renovation, was one of 145 auctions that week across South East Queensland where the preliminary clearance rate was only 22%. Selling agent Jesse James attributed the subdued market to rising interest rates and a mismatch between seller expectations and buyer capacity.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
A dog called Denis the Menace helped a run-down Clontarf home fetch $675,000 under the hammer after a retired couple with Denis in tow meandered past the auction and decided on the spot to have a crack.
asserted
couple → call → crack
Despite walking through the first open home and insisting they weren’t interested, even asking to be taken off the buyer list, the pair wound up registering to bid at 9 Thomas Street and outmuscling three others – paying almost $300,000 less than the home was valued at in March.
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home → walk → March
They plan to renovate the four-bedroom, two-bathroom home that’s “so run down you’d basically need to strip it back to the frame” and give it to their daughter.
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you → plan → daughter
It sits on a 594-square-metre block a stone’s throw from the water.
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It → sit → water
As the contract was signed, selling agent Jesse James, of Ray White Redland Bay, was quick to thank Denis.
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James → sign → Denis
But he was just as quick to admit the auction laid bare how tough market conditions have become.
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conditions → admit → ?
Over three weeks of open inspections just 13 groups came through.
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groups → come → inspections
On auction day, bidding kicked off at $200,000.
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bidding → kick → 200,000
“When we got to $500,000, all four registered bidders had been active and then they all stopped,” James said.
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James → get → 500,000
“But we kept it going with a vendor bid at $600,000.
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we → keep → 600,000
“I said, ‘Guys, it’s not selling for $600,000.’
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it → say → 600,000
And then we got an increase to $650,000 and took it back to the seller.
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we → get → seller
Despite the ho-hum inspection numbers, James said gleaning four registered bidders was a win.
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gleaning → say → bidders
James said the home was a deceased estate and “needed a fair bit of work”.
“In my opinion you’d have to strip it back to the frame ... you’d have to spend $250,000 on it.
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you → say → it
So I wasn’t surprised it didn’t go to a first home buyer.
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it → go → buyer
“Especially when you think about the interest rate rises.”
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you → think → rises
Last Tuesday, the Reserve Bank increased the cash rate to 4.6 per cent – the highest level since 2011.
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Bank → increase → 2011
James said the hike compounded already tough conditions but believed the biggest challenge remained bridging the chasm between vendor and buyer expectations.
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challenge → say → expectations
He expects stock levels to rise in the coming weeks as more homes languish in the listings.
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homes → expect → listings
“We’ll also see more distressed listings.
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We → see → listings
There are the poor people that entered the market in the last two years and this latest rise is going to hurt,” he said.
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he → be → years
The home was one of 145 scheduled auctions across South East Queensland over the past week.
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home → schedule → week
By Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 22 per cent from 102 reported results, with 12 homes withdrawn.
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homes → record → results
AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said sentiment remained negative with Brisbane’s “bleak” figures indicating the downturn was taking its toll.
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downturn → say → toll
“Brisbane to me looks like it’s overtaking Sydney on the downward trend,” he said.
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he → look → trend
“I’d actually say Brisbane is the most vulnerable capital city market right now, followed by Adelaide.”
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Brisbane → say → Adelaide
A new architecturally designed five-bedroom home in Windsor proved not all buyers were resting on their laurels.
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buyers → design → laurels
It collected $3.7 million under the hammer to a mum who lives 100 metres down the road.
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who → collect → road
The home sits on a 405-square-metre block at 137 Fifth Avenue and features a pool and a built-in-bar.
The mum of three – who had watched the home being built and long fallen in love before it hit the market – opened proceedings at $3 million.
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it → sit → million
It sparked a flurry of $100,000 rises between mainly two out of the three registered bidders.
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It → spark → bidders
Ray White auctioneer Phil Parker said the result proved top turn-key homes still commanded good results, but added buyer caution remained.
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caution → say → results
“I had eight auctions on Saturday, and I sold two prior and four under the hammer,” he said.
“
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he → have → hammer
I think the good agents are still getting deals done … but at the moment buyers are a little bit nervous.”
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buyers → think → moment
Selling agent Alistair Macmillan, of Ray White Wilston, said the sale price beat the record for a block that size in Windsor by $500,000.
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price → sell → 500,000
In Red Hill, a rare five-bedroom home on a 930-square-metre block at 11 Hawthorn Terrace sold for $2.96 million under the hammer to a couple living a few streets away.
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home → sell → couple
The home last sold in 2020 for $1.65 million and had been meticulously updated and maintained while featuring a pool, gazebo and a pizza oven.
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home → sell → pool
Four registered to bid and three were active after the auction opened at $2.5 million.
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auction → register → million
It quickly became a two-horse race between the buyer and a buyers’ advocate.
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It → become → buyer
Selling agent Max Hadgelias, of Ray White Paddingon, said the home was called on the market at $2.95 million with the eventual buyer throwing down another $10,000 to clinch the keys.
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buyer → say → keys
The Aporia
