A home that was burned down in a 2016 fire has been rebuilt by its owners, selling at a stunning price for its suburb.

The home at 25A Warmington St, Paddington, was one of two neighbouring houses that went up in flames in early September of that year, reportedly due to a faulty fridge in the neighbour’s property.

The owners had just completed renovations on their house – and had to start from scratch once again after the fire.

25A Warmington St, Paddington

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Since then, the place was turned into a contemporary home with five bedrooms and three bathrooms: a new build only lived in by the family who remade it, less than six years old.

Two registered bidders competed back and forth to claim the home for themselves, with a starting bid of $2.7 million.

Going up by offers of $50,000 between both parties, it took another $200,000 for one bidder to drop out.

Ray White Paddington agent Judi O’Dea said the top bidders entered a long discussion with the old owners, both of them keen to make a deal that morning.

“That was definitely a slow negotiation,” she said.

After some haggling back and forth, the house went on the market and sold for $3,017,777 – well above the suburb’s median house price of $1.9055m.

The home caught fire at around 6am on September 4, 2016. The vendors of 25A Warmington St had just finished a renovation, and decided to start from scratch the next time. Picture: Ric Frearson

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Vendor Michael MacKay said he saw the home go alight before his eyes when he was interviewed at the time of the fire.

“If they had water between our house and [the other house] within five minutes of arriving, I don’t think our house would have gone up,” he said.

Ms O’Dea described the home’s rebuild as “a real ordeal” for the vendors, but said they were “very happy” with how the sale went.

Known for its character homes and workers cottages, the new home was remade to have a unique modern look within the suburb.

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The winning bidders were a family of St Lucia with one child, who had been looking for a home since March 2024.

“The house is really suited their needs, because it was really almost a brand-new home, which is hard to get in Paddington,” she said.

The family plan to raise their child there. Ms O’Dea said the couple was especially keen for the home because of its placement in the catchment area for Milton State School and Kelvin Grove State College.

St Joseph’s Primary School and Brisbane Grammar School & Brisbane Girls Grammar school are also close by, giving the family plenty of choices for where their child grows up.