Empty city land block sells just short of $1.8 million at auction

An empty and overgrown block of land in Camp Hill has sold for $1.78 million dollars, beating the Brisbane suburb’s median house price at a weekend auction.

The 607 sqm land at 22 Hobart Ave was once home to an old house that had not been sold since 1972. When the house was sold in 2023 for $1.315 million, owners Brooke and Mark decided to knock it down and build their dream home.

But as their plans changed, the land was left unused for nearly two years, and the couple decided to hand it to a new owner.

22 Hobart Ave, Camp Hill

Place Bulimba agent Jack Wilson said he had met close to a dozen people during open ‘land’ meetings for the property, where he chatted to people checking out the block.

“We were pretty confident that the land was going to sell, purely because the opportunity for land like this in Camp Hill is super rare,” he said. “By 8am that morning we had no registered bidders … right on the cusp of 10am, we had five.”

The vendors had received several offers before the auction in the low $1.7 million range, so bidding began at $1.7 million that Saturday morning.

This was in line with the sellers’ expectations: the land had an elevated city view, and a subdivided tennis court nearby had also sold in the $1.7 million range.

The house at the property was knocked down in 2023, and its owners had not been able to build on it since then.

The land had offers of around $1.7 million before auctions even began: a similar price to other blocks of land in the area.

Bidding was tight between the five registered bidders, moving up from $1.72 million to $1.75 million.

After a short break after $1.775 million – well over the expected reserve – an extra $5,000 was enough to seal the deal for one interested buyer, with the land going for $1.78 million.

This was $2,000 more expensive than the median house price of the suburb, at $1.76 million.

“It’s a frightening price,” Mr Wilson said. “The sellers were over the moon.”

With land so close to the city a rare opportunity, the block sold for $1.78 million: above the suburb’s median house price.

While Mr Wilson met four of the five registered bidders during the campaign, he hadn’t met the winning buyer until the day of the auction.

The land has now gone to a family looking to build on the propery as owner-occupiers, eager to make their forever home.

Mr Wilson said if someone did decide to sell a new build on this land, Brisbane’s spiking property prices would net them an incredible profit.

“If you’re putting $1m into a build, you’re going to get a fantastic return on it,” he said.

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