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A Virginia Ave mansion owned by pharmacy chain founder Don Gardiner and his wife Colleen for 30 years is on the market
Brisbane richlisters are spending up to $7m to secure a home on the city’s most exclusive street, as fresh data reveals the top 10 addresses attracting the wealthiest buyers.
An analysis from Ray White Group shows Brisbane’s richest streets are concentrated in the inner-city suburbs, led by Macquarie St in Teneriffe.
According to PropTrack, the median price for a property in Teneriffe is currently $4.105m — a 10 per cent jump from last year — but the median price for a property on Macquarie St is a cool $6.5m.
This year’s biggest sales have been even higher, with a stylish three-level house with a pool on Macquarie St located next to one of the iconic Woolstore buildings sold for a whopping $7m.
35 Macquarie St, Teneriffe sold for $7m in April 2024
Next was Virginia Ave, Hawthorne, at $4.905m, then Quay St, Bulimba ($4.825m) and Teneriffe Dr, Teneriffe ($4.775m).
Four other inner-city streets were among the top ten — Laidlaw Pde, East Brisbane; Aaron Ave, Hawthorne; View St, Paddington; and Hillside Cres and Parkside Ct in Hamilton.
Ivy St in leafy Indooroopilly was the only street outside of that well-heeled precinct to make the cut with a $4.69m buy-in.
Macquarie St homeowners Simon and Rose Palmer’s top floor apartment is perched above the city’s best street.
The Palmers are taking their renovated three-bedroom unit in the Ansonia Woolstore building at 304/64 Macquarie Street, Teneriffe to auction on Thursday.
Simon and Rose Palmer in their Woolstore apartment, Teneriffe. Picture: Liam Kidston
Features including polished hardwood floors, original timber beams and exposed brickwork, as well as a sleek designer kitchen.
Marketing agent Dimitri Cassidy, of Ray White New Farm, said the riverside area was highly sought after by young professionals and families.
“Everyone knows how iconic the Teneriffe woolstores are, but not everyone gets the chance to know what it’s like to live in one,” Mr Cassidy said.
He said Teneriffe offered a mix of heritage character with a chic village atmosphere favoured by the 30-something fashion set, with local cafes and bars as well as the Gasworks Plaza and James St precinct.
The Palmers’ woolstore apartment goes to auction on Thursday. Picture: Liam Kidston
Just over the river on Virginia Ave, the highest recorded sale was $15m in 2021 for a glamorous 1980s-built mansion owned by doctor and board game designer Peter Hawes. The sprawling property with a tennis court, pontoon and spectacular river views sold to ophthalmic surgeon Graham Hay-Smith and his wife Peggy Ekeledo-Smith.
Both sales came in under the Brisbane record of $23m, set in November with the off-market sale of a historic Ascot home once owned by Ray White Group chairman Brian White. It was on Sutherland Ave – which was missing from the top ten streets list.
Place Estate Agents managing director Sarah Hackett said surging prices reflected the scarcity of blue-chip riverfront properties, which were limited in number and tightly held.
Riverfront is the common factor among Brisbane’s top streets
“The obvious parallel between these streets is the riverfront,” Ms Hackett said.
“The block sizes are much larger on Virginia Ave and offer fabulous city views, while on Macquarie St you wake up with the easterly morning sign to impeccable views down the river.”
She expected price growth to continue into 2025, with the area still offering exceptional value compared to Sydney’s waterfront.
“If you look at supply and demand, just 0.28 per cent of the total sales between 2023 and 2024 were riverfront. There’s only so many of these homes and riverfront real estate is arguably the city’s strongest growing commodity right now,” Ms Hackett said.
She said multiple $10m-plus offers had been received for her current Virginia Ave listing, a mansion owned by pharmacy chain founder Don Gardiner and his wife Colleen for 30 years.
Place Estate Agents managing director Sarah Hackett
At the opposite end of the scale, the floor was set in Golf Links Rd, Rocklea, where the typical house price of $350,000 was well below the citywide median of $868,000.
Four streets in Fitzgibbon had buy-ins under $500,00 – Wollemi Lne, Cocoparra Pl, Cygnet St, and Beagle St, along with Elmes St In Rocklea, while the median price in Wedgetail and Crater Sts, Inala, was just over.
But the rising cost of living is putting upward pressure on these once-affordable areas, as buyers priced out of surrounding suburbs compete for entry-level priced properties.
A two-bedroom townhouse on Golf Links Rd, Rocklea just sold for $450,000, with house prices in the suburb up 31.1 per cent in the past 12 months to $681,1441.
8 Wollemi Lane, Fitzgibbon sold for $425,000 in June 2024
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Marketing agent Nick Kruger, of Your Haven Realty, said local prices had soared since 2023, with the Golf Links Rd property particularly sought after for its recent renovation utilising flood-resilient materials.
“The jump in prices in the last 12 months has been unbelievable,” Mr Kruger said, adding he sold a townhouse recently for $100,000 more than the neighbouring property, which changed hands the previous year.
“It’s rarely investors buying now because they are not looking to pay the money that owner-occupiers are. Most of the people who were interested in these townhouses were first or second-home buyers, or downsizers.”
22 Quay St, Bulimba sold for $10.4m in October 2023
BRISBANE’S RICHEST STREETS (median house price)
1. Macquarie St, Teneriffe $6,525,000
2. Virginia Ave, Hawthorne $4,905,000
3. Quay St, Bulimba $4,825,000
4. Teneriffe Dr, Teneriffe $4,775,000
5. Ivy St, Indooroopilly $4,690,000
6. Laidlaw Pde, East Brisbane $4,550,000
7. Aaron Ave, Hawthorne $4,400,000
8. View St, Paddington $4,250,000
9. Parkside Cct, Hamilton $4,000,000
10. Hillside Cr, Hamilton $3,930,000
4-49 Golf Links Rd, Rocklea sold for $450,000
BRISBANE’S CHEAPEST STREETS
1. Golf Links Rd, Rocklea $350,000
2. Wollemi Lane, Fitzgibbon $445,000
3. Cocoparra Pl, Fitzgibbon $450,000
4. Cygnet St, Fitzgibbon $490,000
5. Elmes Rd, Rocklea $493,500
6. Rosella St, Inala $495,000
7. Monterey St, Wacol $495,000
8. Beagle St, Fitzgibbon $495,000
9. Wedgetail St, Inala $500,000
10. Crater St, Inala $522,500
* Source: Ray White Group