Historic Hamilton home "Cremorne" has sold at auction after more seven months on the market.
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The fully renovated home at 34 Mullens Street was bought in December 2015 by Fone Zone co-founder David McMahon and wife Tracey, who moved to Aspen, Colorado for work. The couple now spend nine months of the year in the United States.
The McMahons spent $6.62 million on the historic house, at a $650,000 loss.
"The owners are extremely happy," Place Estate agents director Sarah Hackett said. "It's a property that deserves love and care and needs a family to live in it and not sit vacant for nine months of the year.
"It's 2400 square metres of land, there's manicured gardens, rolling lawns and it didn't seem right to leave it empty."
At Thursday's auction, bidding started dangerously low at $3 million, but auctioneer Peter Burgin knocked the price up to $5 million quickly by only accepting $1 million and $500,000 bids from buyers.
The auction stalled at $5,925,000 and kicked off lengthy negotiations. After an increased bid to $5,975,000, Cremorne sold.
The buyers were a family with young children, moving into Brisbane from a rural area. The wife, an ex-journalist, cried when the hammer fell.
The couple declined an interview.
"They'd been looking for some time and felt very frustrated," Ms Hackett said. "They were looking for a modern home but after 12 months, they couldn't just warm to them."
"Cremorne" was built by a publican in 1905, and was owned by his family until it was sold in 1998. It was designed by influential Queensland architects Eaton and Bates and is the only surviving example of their work in the state.
The new renovation includes five bedrooms, five bathrooms, and other modern, trendy touches.
