Qld’s 20 biggest home sales of 2024 revealed

Nearly $150m was spent on just five homes in Queensland in 2024 in a year that saw the state’s record sale price smashed and a new benchmark set for the River City.

It was a boom year for the top end of town, despite a housing and cost-of-living crisis gripping the rest of the market, with cashed-up billionaires, entrepreneurs, and fund managers among the biggest buyers of property this year.

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Place Estate Agents managing director Sarah Hackett said she had a lot of buyers on her books searching for Brisbane properties above $5m and as high as $20m-plus.

“We recently had a billionaire fly in on a Gulfstream private jet to look at a property,” she said.

“You just go; ‘Who are you? I cannot believe this’. He bought a business and wants a base here. I heard him talking about how he was excited about the Olympics.”

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Mrs Hackett said “timing is everything” for “really wealthy” buyers, with the Christmas period often giving them breathing space to look at properties.

“I have a Sydney family coming this weekend with a budget between $6m and $8m,” she said. “People are definitely relocating to Brisbane.”

Brisbane recorded 86 sales over $5m in 2024, according to independent property valuer, Herron Todd White (HTW).

HTW national director, group risk and compliance, Kevin Brogan said Brisbane’s prestige residential market continued to show strong activity and price growth driven by a lack of supply in sought-after locations.

“There is evidence of more off-market transaction activity as buyers seek to entice owners to sell in locations where there is no stock on the market,” Mr Brogan said.

“High prices are also being achieved for recently completed or renovated prestige properties as buyers recognise — and pay to avoid — the cost and delay uncertainty involved in undertaking their own construction projects.”

QUEENSLAND’S BIGGEST HOME SALES OF 2024

No. 1: 57 Jefferson Lane and 1/1A Fourth Ave, Palm Beach, $40m

The couple behind Brisbane-based cult fashion label Dissh, Lucy Henry-Hicks and her partner Mitchell Lau, blew away the competition when they dropped $40m on a beachfront property in Palm Beach — a new Queensland residential sale price record.

The amalgamated purchase, which spans 1525 sq m over three titles, was sold by former Sydney Swans AFL player and property investor Tony Smith, who owns FINNS Beach Club in Bali.

Ms Henry-Hicks, who is estimated to be worth $137m thanks to the success of her fashion label, plans to demolish the 1960s beach shack, villa, and timber pole house on the site to make way for two new beach homes.

No. 2: 43 Witta Circle, Noosa Heads, $30m

On the Sunshine Coast, there was a record canal front sale on Noosa Sound with 43 Witta Circle selling for $30m in May.

The three-storey home comes with its own private beach and jetty, and signalled a very big payday for sellers, richlister couple Richard and Mary Delaney.

The property was sold by Tiffany Wilson and Nic Hunter of Tom Offermann Real Estate, with the buyer disclosed as Stoneriver Properties 1 Pty Ltd on recent property records.

No. 3: 41-45 Hedges Avenue, Mermaid Beach, $28m

Billionaire Clive Palmer made headlines again this year when he sunk tens of millions into Queensland’s richest stretch of beachfront real estate.

The mining magnate spent $28m on a 1214 sqm corner property with 30m of beach frontage at 41-45 Hedges Avenue in Mermaid Beach via Amir Mian of Amir Prestige.

Mr Palmer also bought a vacant beachfront block at 141 Hedges Ave for $26m, which didn’t make the list because there is no home on the site.

No. 4: 13-15 Albatross Avenue, Mermaid Beach, $25m

Mystery surrounds the buyer of this four-level, six-bedroom, absolute beachfront property on 1623 sqm. Sellers Harry Kakavas and Michael Kollosche of Kollosche remain tight-lipped, but sources say it was bought by a “billionaire in property”.

The home was built for Peter Drake, founder of failed funds manager LM, in the build-up to the GFC. Eleven years ago it was bought for $7.35m at a mortgagee auction by former lawyer, Brendan Behan.

No. 5: 32 Sutherland Ave, Ascot, $23m

Brisbane’s home price record was broken in 2024 with the sale of a heritage-listed home in the affluent suburb of Ascot for $23m through Damon Warat of Ray White Ascot and Jordan Navybox of Cohen Handler Queensland.

The property at 32 Sutherland Ave had been renovated by construction boss Brett Walker of BWC Group, who paid $10m for it in 2021.

Brisbane expat Ben Cleary, a director of multi-billion dollar fund manager, Tribeca Investment Partners, is understood to be the buyer. Mr Cleary also owns a penthouse in Cutters Landing, New Farm, that he bought for $10m in 2022 with his wife, Jane.

No. 6: 10 Noosa Pde, Noosa Heads, $22.5m

This six-bedroom, six-bathroom trophy home designed by Stephen Kidd on coveted Noosa Parade fetched $22.5m in October through Nic Hunter and Tom Offermann of Tom Offermann Real Estate.

Records show the property was purchased by LBEB Pty Ltd. It had been owned by Denise Campbell, who paid $2.85m for the site in 2011.

No. 7: 40 Noosa Pde, Noosa Heads, $20.5m

A UK-based expat put a stop to the riverfront auction of this Noosa Sound home by making a massive $20.5m bid after they saw sale signs going up while out on the water.

Agents had been setting up for the auction when all activity ground to a halt thanks to the whopping offer 10 times the previous sale price for the property.

Property records name the property’s owner at the time, Peter Ingham, as having paid $2m for the home 25 years ago, before knocking it down and building a designer home.

Tom Offermann Real Estate property sales agent Nic Hunter handled the sale, with the buyer revealed as Robert Gregor, a managing partner of Basalt Infrastructure Partners in London. He’ll use it as a holiday home.

No. 8: 46 Gordon St, Hawthorne, $20.25m

A riverfront property at 46 Gordon Street, Hawthorne went under contract in October for $20.25m through Sarah Hackett of Place Estate Agents.

Developer, Todd Brown and his wife, Arabella, of Belmonde Property Group, previously owned the property, which sold to a Brisbane family.

The six-bedroom home on a 2985 sq m block has 32m of river frontage, a 20m private jetty, a riverside pool and bar, tennis court, and gym, to name just a few of the features.

No. 9: 187-189 Jefferson Lane, Palm Beach, $20.2m

A pair of original beachfront shacks yielded an astonishing 20-fold profit for a family who had held the land for more than 30 years.

The cashed-up buyer of the 817 sqm parcel at Palm Beach was a local family with an unprecedented offer that trumped several developers.

Marketing agent Nick Williams, of Williams Real Estate Indooroopilly, said the buyer intended to build a showstopper family home after flipping another property at Main Beach.

Records show the Brisbane-based owners, Rhiannon Wihardjo and Linda Fan, paid $1,072,500 for the two lots with combined 20m beach frontage at 187-189 Jefferson Lane in 1993.

No. 10: 7354-7356 Marine Drive East, Sanctuary Cove, $19.7m

Business tycoon Tony Quinn sold his luxury five-bedroom, 11-bathroom Gold Coast home for $19.7m earlier this year, smashing the record for Sanctuary Cove.

Matt Gates of Ray White Sanctuary Cove handled the $19.7m sale and said a buyer from within Sanctuary Cove bought the property.

Mr Quinn, known for his successes with VIP Petfoods and Darrell Lea chocolates, is a racing driver who owns motor-racing circuits in New Zealand and Queensland Raceway near Ipswich. He paid $17.7m for the property in 2021.

No. 11: 89 Welsby Street, New Farm, $18m

In Brisbane’s affluent New Farm, Katherine and Robert Howden, who founded Express Freight Management, bought 89 Welsby Street from Vita Group and Fone Zone founder Maxine Horne for $18m in June.

Formerly dubbed Australia’s wealthiest female executive, the Queensland entrepreneur, who was an investor in Channel 10’s ‘Shark Tank’ this year, paid $10.5m for the property in 2016.

The sale was negotiated by Place Estate Agents’ managing director Sarah Hackett.

No. 12: 66 Noosa Pde, Noosa Heads, $17m

This waterfront property on 611 sqm on popular Noosa Parade quietly transacted offmarket by the Melbourne-based, Zagame restaurant family in March.

Public records show the property’s current owner is Antoinette Zagame. Her late husband, Victor Zagame, founded the Zagame’s hotels and hospitality empire.

No. 13: 65 Albatross Avenue, Mermaid Beach, $16.95m

Clive Palmer’s Gold Coast shopping spree in 2024 included an 810sqm property at 65 Albatross Ave, formerly owned by V8 Supercars legend, Paul Weel.

Mr Weel, who raced in the Supercars Championship for 10 years with a podium finish at the 2003 Clipsal 500, paid $15.85m for the four-bedroom home in 2022.

No. 14: 3 Allambi Rise, Noosa Heads, $16.9m

This decades-old cottage with sea views, originally built in the 1960s, recently went for $16.9m.

It was one of two Tom Offermann Real Estate-listed properties sold at auctions on the same day, for a combined $30m — showing the appeal is still strong for Noosa beachfront properties.

The property had been owned for the past 50 years by a Melbourne family, trading under Hemingway Holdings Pty Ltd.

No. 15: 75-81 Stanhill Drive, Chevron Island, $15m

This three-bedroom house on more than 2000 sqm of waterfront land was sold by Michael Kollosche via auction on behalf of Tony Bawden, one of the founders of housing company Villa World. The buyer remains undisclosed.

No. 16: 21 Killara Ave, Hamilton, $15m

The sale of financial services industry veteran Craig Offenhauser and his wife Lorelle’s 120-year-old Hamilton estate set a new record for the suburb in 2024.

Records show the property sold to Chrystal Derrington, whose husband Josh is a director of Alvia Asset Partners — a Brisbane-based investment company managing $500m for 50 of Australia’s wealthiest families while running a hedge fund on the side.

No. 17: 2/1-7 Bayview Road, Noosa Heads, $15m

Bidding started at $10m when this property went to auction in November, before selling to a mystery buyer, who plans to use it as a “home away from home”, according to marketing agent Chris Miller of Tom Offermann Real Estate.

It was built by Deborah and Glen Watson, whose previous luxury homes in the area have sold for as much as $13.5m.

No. 18: 46-48 Royal Albert Cres, Sovereign Islands, $14.25m

This jaw-dropping Gold Coast mega mansion with a custom casino, home cinema and aquarium, made its previous owners $3m in three years.

Vendors Paul and Kim England, who own national company Spas Direct, bought ‘Baltimore’ off-market for $11m in November, 2021.

Records show the buyers are Abalitu Anbessie and George Evans.

No. 19: ‘Sorano House’ penthouse, Kangaroo Point, $14m

This yet-to-be-built, two-level sky home in inner Brisbane sold for $14m off-the-plan earlier this year — an eyewatering record internal square metre rate of $45,000.

The penthouse in ‘Sorano House’, by Sydney-based developer, Trezetto Developments, in Kangaroo Point was snapped up by an undisclosed local family.

No. 20: 37 The Beacons Rd, Airlie Beach, $13.3m

A waterfront villa with access to a private beach came close to beating the sale price record for the Whitsundays when it fetched $13.3m in 2024.

Villa De La Mer at Airlie Beach was owned by a local developer, Arp Corporation, who used local contractors to build the residence in 2012.

It was purchased by a farming family from rural NSW, who it is understood will use it as a holiday home.