Bjelke-Petersen family’s ‘Gilmore Girls’ home sold for $4.5m after 134 years

The run-down home of New Farm’s local ‘Gilmore Girls’, with connections for a former Queensland premier, has been sold for more than $4.5 million without a single cent spent on its renovation.

The four-bedroom, one-bathroom home at 3 Mark St had been owned for 134 years by the Gilmour family, locally given a nickname after the popular television show.

When resident Margaret Gilmour passed away at 101 years old last year, the 810 sqm property went to her sister Florence’s family.

3 Mark St, New Farm, was owned by the ‘Gilmore Girls’ of the suburb, and sold for the first time in its century-long history.

Resident Margaret Gilmour’s sister Florence was married to former premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, whose family inherited the home.

Florence Gilmour had been married to controversial former premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, with their descendants choosing to part ways with the home.

The family decided to sell the house for the first time in its history, having been largely untouched since its construction more than a century ago.

Place New Farm agent Heath Williams said the auction attracted a crowd of around 80 people, with 13 bidders registering to take a chance on the property.

“We actually had about 5 people already pre-registered, so it just got a whole lot busier,” he said. “We didn’t know how many people were going to register at the end of the day, but 13 was certainly a lot.”

The run-down home has barely been touched up since its construction, but sits on a prime 810 sqm property near the city.

The home was enough to attract a crowd of around 80 people, with 13 registered bidders looking to buy it.

The bidding began at $3 million, already $200,000 more than the median house price of $2.8 million.

After a “fast-paced” series of bids, five active bidders were gradually whittled down to two after an offer of $4.3 million.

“The last two bidders basically fought it out,” Mr Williams said. “The bidder who ended up winning was making bigger, bolder bids to knock the other out.”

The auction ended with the winning bidder taking big swings to outprice the underbidder, finally selling for $4.575 million.

The home will go to a family returning to Australia from the UK, who plan to do a complete renovation.

After close to 30 bids overall, the home finally sold for the huge sum of $4.575 million.

The home will be going to an expat family returning from the UK, looking to renovate the home and make it their own.

Mr Williams said the Bjelke-Petersen family was happy with the outcome of the auction.

“There is nothing from this home that doesn’t need to be touched – it’s a lot of work for a big renovation, so it’s a pretty high price compared to another renovated home,” he said. “They were really happy with the price, and it’s gone to a buyer who’s going to make it into a family home … [instead of being] split up and redeveloped.”

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