A home with a secret bedroom in the backyard has sold at auction during a rush of demand for granny flats and dual-living homes.
The three-bedroom house at 11 Battersby St, Zillmere, has a second building with a private room and bathroom – built at the back of its property by its former owners.
Acting as an unofficial fourth bedroom, the room helped make the property Queensland’s second-most viewed home up for auction over the weekend.
The three-bedroom home at 11 Battersby St, Zillmere, had a secret fourth bedroom that attracted buyers looking for properties with a granny flat.
Place Ascot agent Jakob Morrison said the property was intended to be a granny flat, and helped attract around 80 per cent of interested buyers during the campaign.
“The vendors did some really great renovations to the place,” he said, which included a recently upgraded kitchen in the main property.
Five registered bidders were at the Saturday auction, but an opening bid of $1.1 million instantly priced two of the bidders out.
“The first person came in with their absolute best and final bid,” Mr Morrison said, leaving only three active bidders remaining.
Buyers attracted to the home’s location and versatility attended the weekend auction, where five registered bidders competed for the property. Picture: Annette Dew
An opening bid of $1.1 million priced out two of the registered bidders off the bat, thanks to bidders who hoped to snag the home with their highest and final offer. Picture: Annette Dew
Two bidders then went into separate negotiations for the property, making for a long auction that took place over the next hour of the day.
After about 45 minutes, a bidder who had first thought she was priced out of the home stepped up to negotiate, and managed to settle on an offer of $1.13m.
The home finally sold under the hammer to a woman from Bribie Island, looking to move south to work closer to the city.
The buyer of the house was a woman who lived north of Brisbane on Bribie Island, and managed to negotiate a final sale price of $1.13m. Picture: Annette Dew
Mr Morrison said the new owner and her partner were attracted to the second building on the property, though had yet to know how they were going to use it.
The sale comes at a high point for granny flat searches across Queensland, according to data from REA Group.
Online inquiries on granny flats have jumped by 50.1 per cent this time last year, having increased month after month since October 2025.
The sale comes during a time when dual-living residences are in high demand, with online searches for granny flats having steadily risen each month since October 2025.
Meanwhile, the Housing Industry Association (HIA) found builders expected they would make ten times more granny flats this year than they did just four years ago in 2022.
REA Group senior analyst Megan Lieu said there had been a spike in multigenerational living over the past few years, and it was likely influencing the rise in demand for dual residences.
“Granny flats [also] produce additional rental income, and there obviously has been three interest rate increases, and that has increased mortgage repayments,” she said. “So that’s something that can potentially offset those home ownership costs.”
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