More than $140 million was sold in just two auction events in Queensland this weekend, kicking off the year’s property auctions with a record-breaking bang.
Ray White Bell Group’s Sunday’s The Event 2026 saw $105 million worth of homes sold at 101 Gold Coast auctions, with an average of $1.04 million per sale.
A third of the homes offered ultimately sold before bidding had even begun, with a presale total of $64 million.
More than $140 million worth of homes were sold during two Ray White auction events on January 26 and 27, including $105 million at The Event 2026. Photo: Celeste Humphrey
This broke records for the 32-year-old event: for the total value of homes sold before auction day, and the total value overall.
Andrew Bell, co-owner of Ray White Bell Group, said this was a clearance rate of 84 per cent, and was expected to rise to 94 per cent on Tuesday.
“There were periods of very aggressive bidding,” he said. “You get the feeling that people now have experience with auctions, but that wasn’t the case years ago.
“People see the value of real estate increasing, they want to be part of it and get involved.”
![Andrew Bell at The Event 2026 presented by Ray White Bell Group at RACV Royal Pines. Photo, Celeste Humphrey.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1280 720"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Andrew Bell, co-owner of Ray White Bell Group, said he found buyers had more experience with auctions than ever before. Photo: Celeste Humphrey
Some buyers struggled with housing displacement and debt when purchasing a property, with one buyer from Southport living in her car. Photo: Celeste Humphrey
Some buyers are feeling the pressure of the tight housing market more than ever.
One woman, who had sold her home before seeing a sudden lease cancellation, was living in her car at the time of the event.
“It’s super competitive,” she said. “Demand is driving prices up beyond all reason.”
When she arrived that day, she found a house for sale in Southport, which she managed to buy at auction for $630,000.
“My temporary shelter was gone,” she said. “It’s holiday time so there’s no vacancy anywhere on the Gold Coast, so I was sleeping in my car… I’m fighting back tears at the moment.”
The top sale of the event was for the luxury home at 5719 Anchorage Tce, Sanctuary Cove.
The house was one of the third of properties sold before the day and cost $13 million.
“I think a lot of people have accepted that they’re going to have debt,” Bell said. “But that’s better than living in uncertainty, rental properties, unsure whether landlords are going to sell their properties. Owning a roof over your head is a wonderful thing.”
The average house price for the Gold Coast is $1.4 million: the second most expensive place to buy in Australia, after Sydney.
Top sales for the event were a whopping $13 million, which was ultimately sold before the day itself.
5719 Anchorage Tce, Sanctuary Cove, is a luxury home with 40 m of water frontage on a 2,000 m² lot.
The most registered bidders for the event were for 1/14-16 Bright Ave, Labrador, with 12 registered on the day.
Five of the bidders actively placed bids on the house, which sold for $820,000.
An anonymous buyer was keen to snap up the five-bedroom, five-bathroom home, inspired by Palm Springs architecture, before it went to auction.
On the day itself, the two-bedroom unit at 1/14-16 Bright Ave, Labrador set a record for the most bidders at the event.
Twelve registered bidders, five of which were active, went head-to-head for the house and the unit sold under the hammer for $820,000.
The Alfresco Auctions event, organized by Ray White Main Beach and RWC Pacific Group, saw a total of 187 registered bidders.
The highest sale was a $12.1 million purchase of an entire Officeworks building, which had an estimated net income of approximately $783,830 per year.
Meanwhile, Ray White Main Beach and RWC Pacific Group hosted their Alfresco Auction event on Saturday, where the total number of properties sold was valued at $37,419,000.
15 of the 18 properties for sale found new buyers on the day, with the highest sale being an entire Officeworks building.
5/48 Browns Plains Rd, Browns Plains, has a rolling lease with the delivery giant and has an estimated net income of approximately $783,830 per year.
Ultimately, the building was sold for a total of $12.1 million.
40 Dawn Pde, Miami, was a house sold by a mortgagee exercising power of sale.
The dilapidated house was advertised for its land potential and had as many as 28 registered bidders before it was sold at auction for $1.6 million.
The event also saw the most registered bidders across both weekend events, as 28 buyers registered for 40 Dawn Pde, Miami.
The dilapidated house was sold by the old owner’s mortgage holder, using his power of sale – where a lender can sell a borrower’s house to help repay the debt he owes.
Despite the condition of the house, the land size, location and sales guarantee meant that the bidding ended in a final sale price of $1.6 million.
In total, the event attracted more than 400 visitors and 187 registered bidders.
In 2025, Ray White’s total sales value in Australia was $82 billion.
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