Late car magnate’s riverfront penthouse sells for $5.825 million

The sprawling penthouse of the late Queensland businesswoman Betty Byrne Henderson has sold under the hammer for $5.825 million after a “tug-of-war” auction between two local bidders.

Perched on the top floor of the Arcadia building at 601/57B Newstead Terrace, the three-bedroom home has uninterrupted views from the Brisbane River to Hamilton Hill, a wraparound veranda and a spa-inspired en suite featuring a double sauna shower.

Henderson, who passed away in February last year, aged 93, built the car the empire Byrne Ford – which at its peak had a staff of 140.

She had purchased the riverfront penthouse off the plan in 1999.

While interest stretched as far as South-East Asia, just two local buyers registered, with the underbidder opening at $5 million.

“After that it was a two-horse race – the auctioneer didn’t have to participate,” said selling agent Sarah Hackett, of Place New Farm.

“It only slowed down after $5.7 million … and then it was a bit of a tug-of-war that took 30 minutes. “It then paused at $5.825 and was called on the market and sold.

“It’s always so emotional to sell a family home … but it’s nice to hand the keys of a legendary person to a lovely person.”

Hackett said the buyer, who is moving from two kilometres away, planned to modernise what would become their “forever home”.

The auction came just days after Domain data revealed Brisbane house prices had plunged $66,000 in three months – the steepest quarterly fall on record. But Hackett said rare properties were still achieving solid results.

“This was a once-in-a-27-year buy … everyone who saw it fell in love with it,” she said.

“But there are definitely different markets at play right now.

“For wealthy people, it’s probably an easier market to buy into.

“For others it’s tough - and you’ve got to feel for them buying in at the current interest rates.”

Hackett said the market had undergone a 7-to-10 per cent price correction in a few months, but given the growth trajectory of last year it was hardly a surprise.

“I walked out of the end of 2025 feeling wrecked and thinking, ‘How can we sustain this growth?’ ”
she said.

“But we are going to see some interesting times ahead.”

The penthouse was one of 200 scheduled auctions across south-east Queensland over the past week.

By Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 20 per cent from 126 reported results, with 16 homes withdrawn.

In Daisy Hill, a Taiwanese buyer splashed $2.3 million via WhatsApp on a rare estate in the region’s “elite” pocket – outmuscling three local live bidders for the keys.

The fully renovated five-bedroom home at 481 Springwood Road sits on a 1181-square-metre block with a three-car lock-up garage, pool, sauna and views to Mount Tamborine.

It had been in the same family for 25 years.

Five bidders registered while four actively bid after the auction opened on a vendor bid of $1.8 million.

The price jumped straight to $2 million and climbed in $100,000 and then $50,000 rises before being called on the market at $2.25 million.

A final rise from the overseas buyers brought the hammer down.

“The hardest part was making sure the other buyers could recognise the real bidding … and that the internet connection was good,” said secondary selling agent Joel Butler, of Ray White Springwood.

He said it was a bitter defeat for the underbidders.

“They really wanted it. The kids had already picked out their rooms,” he said.

Butler described the area as the “New Farm” of Logan, with high-profile locals such as Treasurer Jim Chalmers living just down the road.

“It’s called the banana pocket because it’s shaped like a banana and all the pollies live there,” he said. Despite the allure, Butler said the market remained tough.

“If rates go up again, we’re pretty cooked,” he said.

In Camp Hill, two local families bidding by phone duelled for a new five-bedroom home at 130 Stanley Road – leading to a $2.7 million sale.

The home sits on a 607-square-metre block and has 339-square-metres under roof, four bathrooms and a pool.

Bidding opened at $2.4 million and rose steadily, in shrinking increments, to $2.62 million before pausing.

“The sellers were upstairs and I think I went up and down about six times so I really got my steps in … but in the end there was a bit of give from both sides and we settled on $2.7 million,” said Shane Hicks, of Place Camp Hill.

The winning buyers will upgrade from Norman Park.

Hicks said more stock than usual was hitting the market ahead of Christmas and he expected the Brisbane market to “stabilise and go into a holding pattern”.

LJ Hooker chief economist Matthew Tiller said Brisbane’s price falls and soft clearance rates were inevitable after its steep run of growth.

“It had a very good run compared to all the other capitals leading up to this month … it was inevitable the strength would catch up with it and we would see a slowdown .. but in saying that, we are still seeing inquiry,” he said.

“But it’s that uncertainty and the higher interest rates alongside the cost-of-living pressures that’s impacting the market and seeing people sitting on the sidelines.”

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