Buyer’s unique strategy secures $3m-plus auction win

An unusual bidding strategy ultimately shut down hot competition for Sunday House — a head-turning new build in Miami which sold under the hammer for $3.122m.

The contemporary multi-level home on Chainey Ave drew six registered bidders and a large crowd of locals, as the sale took house prices in the Gold Coast pocket to a new high.

Owner-builder Carl Flynn, of Flynn Projex, bought the 410 sqm site for $1.4m in April 2022 and engaged Ink Haus Architecture Studio to design a sleek four-bedroom, three-bedroom home with outstanding integration between indoor and outdoor living.

It was Mr Flynn’s first major personal build, and his “most rewarding project to date”.

Harcourts Coastal auctioneer Rob Forde took the helm, fielding an opening bid of $2.3m.

Agent Ed Cherry, who marketed the property with Sean Lewis, said four bidders were active until the price hit $3m, when a woman who had not yet raised her paddle made her first bid.

“There was a big cheer from the crowd when it tipped up over that $3m mark — that price surpassed the milestone for this pocket on the western side of the highway in Miami — and then it just kept pushing from there,” Mr Cherry said.

“The buyer didn’t start bidding till $3m then she came and knocked it out of the park and ended up winning it.”

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He said the buyer had grown up on the Coast before moving interstate.

“I was showing her a few houses in Burleigh Heads and she saw value in the craftsmanship and uniqueness of this home.”

Mr Flynn spent six months perfecting a design incorporating tiered entertaining and living zones over three levels including a rooftop terrace and covered al fresco garden room with built-in seating and a barbecue kitchen.

Clever use of curves, nooks and custom cabinetry maximise liveability over the narrow block, with a palette of muted neutrals against natural textures adding to the home’s relaxed yet sophisticated ambience.

Full-length glass sliding doors allow effortless connection between the ground-floor living and dining area, and the adjacent 7.5m long tiled pool and decking with built-in bench seating and outdoor fireplace.

Upstairs are three bedrooms and two bathrooms, including the master with a private balcony, walk-in robe with makeup station and laundry chute, and a stunning ensuite with dual rain showers and a skylight over the bathtub.

There’s also a media room on this level, while the fourth bedroom or home office is back downstairs.

Other property features include high Blackbutt timber ceilings, silver limestone kitchen benchtops, mezzanine level storage and full home automation.

Mr Flynn said he was “super stoked with the result”, and grateful to have lived in the home with partner Jess Jarzynski for the last few months since its completion.

“I’ve been living here in Miami for 5 or 6 years and I stumbled across the block and thought it was time to do one for myself rather than always building for clients,” he said.

“It was a little further back from the beach but it was all I could afford at the time and everything fell into place.

“I thought I would dedicate more time and effort to working with my architect, bouncing ideas back and forth.

“Everyone says let’s bring the outdoors in, but we have opened up the whole side of the house to the pool rather than placed it right down in the backyard like people normally do, and it works so well for entertaining,” Mr Flynn said.

Mr Cherry said the suburb was undergoing significant gentrification, with Chainey Ave in particular a hub of building activity as younger families moved in.

PropTrack data shows house prices in Miami were up 4.1 per cent over the past 12 months, to a median of $1.45m

Growth for four-bedroom houses was twice as strong, with 1403 buyers interested per property listed, but only 15 available in the past month.

The typical price for a four-bedroom house was up 8.5 per cent to $1.65m.