The hit animation series Bluey is pure gold to millions of children, but rampaging real world property demand shows the Brisbane blue heelers are also sitting on a fortune in their house on the hill.
If the heritage Queenslander that Bluey calls home hit the market today, it would be worth upwards of $4m, according to agents from the Paddington-Red Hill area where the Brisbane show is set.
Space Property managing director Nick Penklis said “Bluey’s House is what Paddington/Red Hill is best known for – Queenslanders that connect with the soul of Brisbane’s history. There is so much love and admiration for this timeless style of home means they are always in very high demand.”
“If Bluey’s home came to the market today, given its traditional features, timeless architecture with some modern comforts, hilltop location on a generous block and wonderful views to the city, $4m-plus.”
The man behind the runaway television success, series creator Joe Brumm said the home of dad Bandit, mum Chilli, and daughters Bluey and Bingo was “a bit magical” but the property choice was fitting.
“The Queenslander/Reno’s workers cottage just seemed the way to go for a show set in Brisbane,” he said.
Bluey’s home is a heritage Queenslander with wraparound verandas on top of a hill in the high demand Red Hill/Paddington area in Brisbane’s inner west. It has 15 to 20 rooms under roof and a large shady backyard.
He said the poinciana tree and the backyard was his favourite part of the property.
“When creating the family, I didn’t want to be specific about house values etc,” he said. “The house is expansive and a bit magical as that’s how kids see their own house. Plus we need a lot of rooms for cartoons.”
“The house has an ever shifting floor plan which has frustrated some fans who are trying to lock it down, but it makes the storyboarders life easier if we can take liberties with what room opens onto where.”
Mr Brumm said he “lived in Queenslanders in my sharehouse days but not at the moment”.
Ray White Paddington agent Judi O’Dea, who helped Bluey producer Charlie Aspinwall find a new home, said character homes she’d sold recently were in the mid-$3m mark.
““But I see Bluey’s home easily eclipsing those prices – especially when you factor in how iconic this home is and its international exposure.”
Demand for such properties had skyrocketed since COVID, she said. “It’s now become rare for these types of homes to even hit the market, more and more transactions are happening off-market, particularly with interstate buyers who just want a character home and are happy to purchase sight unseen … I know I couldn’t think of anywhere else I’d rather live.”
The elevation, location and charm of Bluey’s house means it sits well above the mid-range house price in Paddington ($1.1m) though the suburb remains in Queensland’s elite million-dollar median house price club.
Realestate.com.au has seen high demand for listings there, which get around 1730 visits per property – well above the Queensland average (716 visits per property).
If latest predictions by industry analysts CoreLogic prove correct, Bluey’s home is set to see more increase in value in coming months. The firm’s research head Tim Lawless told the sector that if current trends continue, the national home value index will be surge past pre-COVID levels early next year.
Mr Penklis said it was very exciting to see Brisbane suburbs exposed to an international audience through the animated series, especially liveable ones like Paddington and Red Hill.
“It has returned back to kids playing in streets like they used to,” he said.
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