33 Surf Street, Mermaid Beach is going to auction
While millionaire neighbours bulldozed Mermaid Beach’s original weekenders for sprawling mansions, renovators Kurt and Jamee Parker chose a different path.
The couple restored a run-down and asbestos-riddled shack, blending its nostalgic charm with modern style and bucking the blue-chip suburb’s luxury rebuild trend.
PropTrack data ranks Mermaid Beach as the Gold Coast’s richest market, with house prices up 12.5 per cent over the past 12 months to a blistering median of $3.825 million.
The restored cottage is a nostalgic statement in the Gold Coast’s richest suburb
A fireplace adds a cosy touch
The Parkers paid $1.015m for a 1955-built lowset three-bedder on a 405sqm parcel in 2019. They transformed the dilapidated ex-rental, complete with graffiti walls, into a character-filled family home just 100m from the beach.
It was the fourth local project for builder Mr Parker and his wife, a marketing manager with an eye for interior design. The couple has two daughters, Sunny Peaches, 6, and Coco, 4, and is selling up in search of more space for the growing family.
“We’re sad to be leaving, but at the same time the area is changing at such a rapid pace sometimes we find it hard to keep up,” Ms Parker said.
Beautiful hardwood floors through the living zone
She said the suburb’s vibe had “definitely migrated”, noting newer developments had lifted its status and attracted “a new type of people”.
“It’s definitely not that original surfers running down the street to the beach,” Ms Parker said.
“The area has changed for all the good reasons. It is evolving and becoming a lot more gentrified.
“[But] as a young family we still want the kids to grow up riding bikes and climbing trees, and that is just not what Mermaid Beach is anymore.”
Their home at 33 Surf St is marketed by Ray White Malan + Co agents Daniel Donovan and Conner Malan, and goes to auction on November 14.
The cottage has three bedrooms, all with built-in wardrobes
Classic charm with a crisp modern edge
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Features include an open-plan kitchen, dining and living area with a fireplace, bifold windows and hardwood floors, along with an entertaining deck framed by festoon lighting, plus front and back yards with a veggie patch and fruit trees.
There’s also a lock-up garage and outdoor shower.
“It’s a charming little beach cottage, a real throwback,” Mr Donovan said.
“It could’ve been knocked down and rebuilt as a modern dream home, but Jamee and Kurt wanted to preserve the property for what it was, and this is the result.
“We are seeing this more and more in that pocket at Mermaid Beach — buyers snapping up these old shacks and restoring them to their former glory.”
Evenings spent here under the fairy-lit arbour
A new kitchen was added
English (US) · 