Upsizers shell out $6m for prestige estate in mountain’s foothills

November 2, 2026 — 12:05pm

A prestige estate with private access to Mount Coot-tha’s hiking and biking trails has smashed Kenmore Hills’ house price record after a family of six splashed $6.2 million at auction.

Before a crowd of about 200, two bidders battled for 240 Tinarra Crescent – ending a 30-year tenure for the owners while obliterating the suburb’s 2022 record by $1.5 million.

The six-bedroom, four-bathroom “French Provincial” home occupies a 10,000-square-metre parcel on Mount Coot-tha’s foothills and features private botanical retreats, herringbone floors, a billiards room, tennis court and heated pool.

More than 100 groups inspected the rare property, but only two registered. Bidding opened at $5.5 million and rose in $250,000 increments – stalling at $6 million.

After a brief negotiation, it sold to a pair of local upsizers, one of whom owns a “significant” global company.

“This is their dream home, and this is where they see their [four] children growing up,” said selling agent Christine Rudolph of Ray White Collective.

The estate was one of 225 scheduled auctions across south-east Queensland over the past week. By Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 19 per cent from 144 reported results, with 14 homes withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold when calculating clearance rates.

In Coorparoo, a rare luxury home in the suburb’s “golden hospital triangle” sold for $5.76 million at an auction that “felt like going back in time” after seven bidders registered for the keys.

The architecturally designed five-bedroom, five-bathroom home sits on a 723-square-metre block at 11 Sirius Street and boasts 788 square metres of living space.

It features a gym, pool, spa and external helical staircase connecting every level – alongside a $45,000 custom walnut dining table included in the sale.

Selling agent Sarah Hackett, of Place New Farm, said at least 250 groups inspected the home, and 11 came back for a second or third look, against an average of four.

“This auction was like going back in time in the market – it just felt good,” she said.

While seven bidders registered, Hackett said a strong opening bid knocked most out of the water before a crowd of about 100.

“This poor guy yelled out $4 million [at the start] and at the same time someone else [the underbidder] yelled out $5 million … so it became a two-horse race,” she said.

“It was pretty heated after that.”

At $5.6 million, bidding paused and the underbidder pulled out before final negotiations pushed the price to $5.76 million. A local family – who weren’t present and used a buyers’ agent - clinched the deal.

“The home’s bang in the middle of the three [major] hospitals so we had surgeons register … but then all the private schools are close by [too],” Hackett said.

“We even had nearby people in surrounding streets who had just gotten renovation quotes for their home and instead of it being $2 million it was $4 million … so they wanted to buy instead.”

While the home’s solid concrete construction and 4.2-metre ceilings made it a rare buy, Hackett said the kid-centric design was the clincher for most.

“There was a basketball court and a room with bunk beds,” she said. “It was a kid’s heaven. I think the new thing [a while back] was wellness – you had to have it. But now family [features] are the x factor.

At the other end of the market, a first home buyer paid $495,000 for a “fixer upper” in Booval that’s coated in graffiti, has a dilapidated deck and is flood-affected.

Just “four or five” buyers inspected the property, with none registering for the Friday auction. The first home buyer was the sole auction attendee – which led to her pre-auction offer being accepted.

The three-bedroom home – at 11 Janet Street – was Domain’s cheapest recorded auction result for Greater Brisbane.

“She [the buyer] knew there was a lot to do but she liked the configuration and the fact that it was a high-set home. But there’s not much more to like beyond that,” said selling agent Chevy Sukkar of Ray White Ipswich.

He said the sale was a prime example of how hard the market’s entry level was being hit, with prices plummeting by up to a third.

“You have to take a pen and cross out [property price] numbers by 25 per cent [right now] then there’s your guide,” he said.

PRD chief economist Dr Diaswati Mardiasmo said the results showed how fragmented Brisbane’s market had become, with one-of-a-kind prestige properties still immune from wider economic conditions while the lower end continued to feel the pain.

“It’s almost chalk and cheese [between the entry level and prestige ends of the market],” she said.

“Anyone around that $1 million buying mark is very conscious of economic conditions and they are making sure they are getting the most bang for their buck.”

Mardiasmo put the chance of another hike at this week’s Reserve Bank meeting at about 65 per cent, but said plummeting business sentiment, low household savings and Christmas meant a hold was possible.

“The timing of this RBA meet is quite awkward because we only have two more meetings this year in November and December,” she said. “And they won’t want a headline like ‘the RBA killed Christmas’.”

Sarah Webb is a freelance journalist.

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