Case study: Why this turnkey home attracted 6 registered bidders and sold above reserve

When Dylan Leone and his partner, Jaco started building their dream family home, they never thought they would sell it eight months later for $3.63 million.

But a definite buyer demand in the market for 'turnkey properties' and a change in circumstances made their reason for selling 54 Union Street, Clayfield an easy decision.

After purchasing the property in 2019, Dylan and Jaco were excited to start their renovation journey after living in the original home for just under two years.

"The original home was probably the worst on the street! We loved it, but it needed a lot of work and care to bring it back to life," Dylan said.

"We were initially going to renovate the home, but we spent a lot of time weighing up the best long-term option. When we compared the quotes that we received to renovate the home with the quotes to rebuild a brand-new home, the cost to rebuild wasn't that much higher, so we pivoted to rebuilding!"

Original features of the home, pre-rebuild

"We were lucky in the fact that the original home was post-war and there weren't many redeeming features of the home. We loved the area and the block itself; it just had so much potential, and that was what originally attracted us to the home."

"Ultimately, we felt that we were creating more value by rebuilding. It allowed us to build the home exactly as we wanted it, instead of having to tailor what we wanted around the existing home - it gave us a blank canvas to work with."

Alongside wanting to create an end product that he was 100% happy with, Dylan saw first-hand the buyer demand for new, finished homes.

"Working in the industry, I am aware that there is a demand for new homes in the Brisbane market, versus homes that need work. This demand has become apparent due to what's been happening in the building industry with the increasing cost of materials and builders being harder to source due to COVID."

"We got really lucky, our build process was incredibly smooth and we were fortunate to be introduced to our builders whom a very close friend of ours had used previously. Our builders were able to source materials in time and the only build delays we had were due to weather."

54 Union Street, construction earlier this year 

"We spoke to a lot of friends, family and clients who were renovating or rebuilding that did not have the same positive experience that we had, so we were very fortunate."

The original home was knocked down in January 2022, construction commenced in February and the stunning, Californian-inspired farmhouse was completed in mid-October, 2022.

"We always planned to move into the home once the project was complete, but in the meantime, we welcomed our beautiful little girl into the world. Everything worked together at the right time for us, we had our new little family and knowing that there was demand in the market for a new home made the decision to sell that much easier."

Dylan and Jaco sold 54 Union Street via Auction and received a lot of enquiries leading up to auction day.

"There was a lot of interest and we had really good numbers coming through at the inspections. We found that the most serious enquiries came from people who were going through a similar experience that we had just gone through. A lot of people were weighing up their options of whether to renovate or rebuild and they understood the value of a finished product."

As well as pre-auction interest, Selling Agent for 54 Union Street, Aaron Woolard said that the home had a lot of attention on Auction day.

"The Auction brought a lot of genuine interest, not just from the buyer pool, but also from locals...Auctions are a great way for people to gauge how the market is progressing," Aaron said.

"It is such a stand-out home, many of the interested parties were eager to move into a completed home in the lead-up to Christmas. There has been a softening in the 'renovator market' because people are finding it difficult to start projects at the moment."

"The Auction was fantastic, we had six registered bidders and the home sold to a beautiful family that are relocating from Melbourne."

"If you're thinking about selling your home, there is demand for turnkey homes. This doesn't mean that the home has to be brand-new, but a neatly presented home will give you a better chance of achieving a premium."

"If you're a buyer, get ready to jump because, in this market, there is somebody probably waiting on the sidelines with a home that is right for you and your needs."

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