Best mate’s huge return on nextdoor knock down

Reluctant sale nets owner a whopping return on investment

FORGET mate’s rates — a Mermaid Beach vendor has made a sizeable return on the home he built next to his friend’s after the pair snapped up side-by-side knockdown sites. The four-bedroom, three-bathroom house at 34 Sunbrite Ave sold under the hammer for $4.275m. It was the most expensive sale across the Gold Coast and northern NSW reported to realestate.com.au last week.

The property was marketed by Daniel Donovan and Conner Malan, of Ray White, with Apollo Auction’s Justin Nickerson fielding bids from four active bidders. Six had registered to bid at the Saturday auction.

Mr Malan described the near-new build as, “the quintessential Mermaid Beach home”, with its bright and breezy good looks and quality inclusions attracting 142 inspections and four pre-auction offers during the campaign.

The vendor and his friend had negotiated an off-market deal totalling $2.725m to purchase the double block in October 2020 comprising the 405sq m lot which went under the hammer as well as the neighbouring site of the same size.

The lifelong mates, who were originally from South Africa, demolished an existing small block of flats on each of the sites, and built two designer homes.

Mr Malan said the pair, both boutique developers, had planned to live next door to one another but the owner of no.34 made the reluctant decision to sell and move to a more accessible home due to a medical issue.

“The intention was never to build to sell but he became unwell during the build and can’t use the stairs in the home,” Mr Malan said.

Dubbed The Sunbrite House, the doublestorey property located just 180m from the beach was designed by Habitat Studios and oozed street appeal with its all-white exterior accented with natural stone.

Inside, the neutral palette is extended with timber finishes for a fresh coastal feel.

There’s also a travertine entertaining terrace with built-in barbecue kitchen leading to a mosaic-tiled heated magnesium pool.

PropTrack data shows home values in the suburb were up 24 per cent over the past 12 months. A total of 32 properties were sold from 89 scheduled to go under the hammer across the Gold Coast and northern NSW last week.

34 Sunbrite Ave, Mermaid Beach.