July 20, 2026 — 10:57amA gargantuan Brisbane estate believed to be the last major residential landholding within 15 minutes of the city has sold under the hammer for $7.8 million.Owned by a couple for almost 40 years, the “unicorn” Holland Park West trophy sits on a 7204-square-metre hilltop block at 33-35 Castle Hill Street and features a six-bedroom house with a pool and tennis court alongside sweeping city views.Its vendors have pledged most of the proceeds to conservation projects and wildlife charities.Buyer interest stretched as far as Norway and ranged from Gen Z tech entrepreneurs to baby boomers. Ten bidders registered for the Saturday in-room auction, with four ultimately competing for the keys.A local developer, who lives a kilometre from the estate, outbid them all.In front of a packed crowd, bidding opened at $5 million, sparking a race to $7 million among the even split of owner-occupiers and developers.At $7.5 million it paused. Another $300,000 later, the gavel fell.The Holland Park West trophy property features a pool and tennis court alongside sweeping city views.Ray White BulimbaSelling agent Brandon Wortley, of Ray White Bulimba, said the auction capped a six-month campaign for a landmark property that was more than rare – it was close to extinct.“As part of our usual preparation we tried to find comparable sales to show the owner. But after expanding the search to 34 Brisbane suburbs, we gave up,” he said.“It’s a unicorn. You don’t get to sell these kinds of properties every day … but what really shocked me was the age brackets of the buyers. We had tech entrepreneurs in their early 20s and then people in their 70s.”Buyer interest stretched as far as Norway and ranged from Gen Z tech entrepreneurs to baby boomers.Ray White BulimbaWortley said the estate offered some buyers a prime spot for a single trophy home, while others saw a rare subdivision opportunity under town planning regulations that could allow up to 14 lots. The buyer is yet to decide how he’ll develop the parcel.As for the vendors, Wortley said their decision to donate the majority of the sale proceeds was simple.“Their logic was if you’re an animal you can’t fight for yourself. You need someone else to do it for you,” he said.“Every conversation was always about whatever was best for the charity.“At the end they were pretty emotional. But I think they felt pride at knowing where the money is going.”The estate was one of 150 scheduled auctions across south-east Queensland. By Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 28 per cent from 107 reported results, with 20 homes withdrawn.In Boronia Heights, a local landowner splashed $1.855 million to nab the acreage property next door following a “TV-worthy” auction.Built in 1990 and held by the original owner ever since, the four-bedroom home at 217-237 Middle Road sits on a 10,800-square-metre block.The campaign drew nine preauction offers under $1.5 million in the first two weeks, with buyers spanning land bankers and families seeking a patch of acreage just 30 minutes from the city.A Sydney-based buyer’s agent representing a local couple opened the auction with a $1.4 million phone bid.At $1.77 million it was called on the market.“At that point we told the sellers there was a chance it would end there,” said selling agent Jonah Burrell, of Ray White Holland Park.“But instead we ended up with three of the buyers battling it out back and forth in small amounts.“I’ve done a lot of auctions before and most of the time they’re not what people think. But this was the kind of auction people imagine it should be. It could have been on TV.”Burrell said when the gavel fell, the long-time owner shed a tear.“He loved that home. I actually sold another of his properties, which was 2.7 hectares, in December last year for $1.1 million. And I sold it to the same neighbour [who bought this one],” he said.In Stones Corner, an owner-occupier paid $1.14 million to end a year-long home hunt, winning the keys to a two-bedroom, two-bathroom top-floor unit in a post-auction deal.Built in 2017 and held by the same owner ever since, the 169-square-metre home at 804/9 Zillah Street sits on the eighth-floor and features a Vergola roof and wraparound terrace.Its size and location attracted a mix of upsizers and downsizers, with four registered buyers attending the auction and two actively competing for the keys.“But it’s really a unique property,” said selling agent Zach Jansen, of Position Property Services. “I would hazard a guess that you wouldn’t be putting that type of unit on the top floor any more.Jansen said Stones Corner had risen in the buyer ranks over the past 18 months off the back of its relative affordability and easy city access.“It’s starting to get that crowd drifting from West End, Highgate Hill and even Newstead,” he said.AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said while this week’s clearance rate was an improvement on recent weeks, the latest CoreLogic property data showed Brisbane prices had dipped.“I think weak listings have helped the clearance rate but the evidence is that prices are dropping,” he said.“And that’s prompting vendors to pull back and see if they can wait.“But I also think the fact that listings have held back means we aren’t seeing signs of distressed selling.”Property listingsFrom our partners