Around 80 properties went under the hammer at Howard Smith Wharves in Brisbane Monday afternoon. Picture: Sophie Foster

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Over $80m worth of homes from Bribie Island to Ipswich to the Gold Coast have sold in a matter of hours at a mass auction as interest grows ahead of the Olympics.

Almost 140 properties were put up for sale via auction in two rolling auction events at the Rivershed at Howard Smith Wharf in Brisbane, watched by close to 3000 people online and hundreds more onsite.

It saw around $40.7m in homes sell during the afternoon at the Brisbane 100 Auction Experience, followed by more than $39.6m at the Ray White Collective’s annual ‘auction under the stars’ event in the same space through the evening.

Around 80 properties went under the hammer at Howard Smith Wharves in Brisbane Monday afternoon. Picture: Sophie Foster

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Over 110 properties from 19 agencies went under the hammer in the afternoon followed by 27 more in the evening, with the top sale being 109 Barton Rd, Hawthorne, that sold during the Collective event for $3.425m.

Ray White Bulimba’s Brandon Wortley, who took the property to auction with colleage Alex Donnan, said “the buyer was a local family coming from acreage who used a buyer’s agent”.

The home had over 70 inspections and multiple registrations.

“The house is unique for the area, it’s a new build and on a roughly 600sqm block which is a difficult size to find in Hawthorne so this representated a middle ground between those larger blocks available and smaller 400sqm blocks.”

A strong sale during the afternoon’s proceedings was 67 Macaulay Street, Coorparoo, which was hotly contested seeing bids come right down to the $500 level at one stage, before selling under the hammer for $1.9m.

3/36 McCord Street, Gordon Park, brought to market by Ray White Wilston Elite agent Holly Bowden, changed hands for $700,000, with a happy seller Rob (middle) now planning his retirement.

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Among happy sellers through the day was Rob (surname withheld) a builder who had owned 3/36 McCord Street, Gordon Park, as an investment property for two decades.

Ray White Wilston Elite agent Holly Bowden too the home to auction seeing it change hands for $700,000.

Rob urged aspiring investors not to hesitate when they were ready to buy. “Whenever you can, get in,” he said. “The rent helps to pay it off but also chip in a bit extra as well, and hold onto them. That’s the key.”

Jubilant buyers on the day included Michael and Rebecca who stuck it out during a quick bidding battle to land a property in Grange brought to auction by Ray White Alderley principal Andrew Cowen.

The couple have a two year old property on the same street and plan to build their dream home there for the growing family.

“We have a third baby on the way in December which is super exciting, there’s a lot of activity on the street so after the house is complete, we might sell it or we might rent it. Just see how it plays out,” Michael said.

Michael and Rebecca stuck it out during a quick bidding battle to land a property in Grange brought to auction by Ray White Alderley principal Andrew Cowen.

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Mr Croft said “it just shows you the way Brisbane has moved, the way it’s changed, and the sophistication of it, and particularly the marketplace.”

The crowd included owner occupiers looking for their new home, buyers agents for interstate investors and well as buyers advocates for those who have sought professional help to get in the market now.

“We’re seeing more buyer’s advocates coming in and placing bids on their (customer’s) behalf. That’s probably emerged because of the growth in auctions here in Queensland. As more properties go into auction, they need more expertise.”

But he said there were also many people who were now “bid fit” in SEQ too.

“We’ve had people here that have missed out three or four times before they’ve arrived here, and thankfully a few of them have actually secured property (Monday).”

Mr Croft said for some people it “becomes a sport”, learning how to win.

“I always say to them, just get bid fit, understand your market deeper and better, and it’ll pay off on the auction floor.”

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