‘This is it’: Brisbane couple land a bargain in Chapel Hill

Chris Mackenzie and his partner Robyn Paterson weren’t prepared to walk away from 8 Eaglie Street without the keys in hand. “We made a decision a few weeks after this came on the market we weren’t going to look at anything else,” Mr Mackenzie said.

Ms Paterson described how they felt first walking up the secluded property in Chapel Hill. “We had looked a few houses, we had put in other offers and unfortunately we weren’t successful on those,” she said. “Both of us walked up the stairs, looked at the house and went, ‘phew, well, this is it’.”

The house featured high ceilings and unpainted dark wood panelling, giving the home its own unique and distinctly-1970s look.

The pair faced an uphill battle to secure the property with three other active bidders giving them a hard time during the auction. Bidding started at $600,000 and kicked up in low increments from the get go. All bidders were looking for a bargain and stuck to bids of $5000 and below.

The couple secured the property for $678,000 and they were already planning their first renovation by the time the hammer fell. “We’ve been looking at it since the start of the campaign and we’ve drawn up a lot of ideas of what we’d like to do with it in the longer term,” Mr Mackenzie said.

The kitchen will likely be the first thing they update, and Mr Mackenzie said they were playing with the idea of adding a pool and extending the already spacious deck.

“The style suits us and in terms of decorating, you can go so many different ways with it,” Ms Paterson said.

McGrath Paddington agent Reuben Packer-Hill, who marketed the property, said there was plenty of interest in 8 Eaglie Street.

“The strong numbers that are coming through are a real reflection that is a shortage of stock,” he said.

There’s not very much available [in Chapel Hill] for executive couples, or just couples in general who want something a bit different.”