A brand new five-bedroom home at Zeehan Street in Wavell Heights is heading to auction, and the story behind it is one that is becoming increasingly familiar across Brisbane’s middle ring suburbs. Where a former home once stood, a knockdown rebuild has produced an architecturally designed residence that signals just how rapidly the suburb is changing.
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Crafted by Domrafi Property and designed in collaboration with architect Daniel Zullo of DZ Architects, the property at 33 Zeehan Street features sculptural curves, layered timber and stone finishes, and a curved in-ground pool overlooking a large backyard. It’s scheduled for auction on 14 March.
David Colley, founder of Domrafi Property, spent 15 years running a bathroom and tiling business before deciding to back himself as a developer. He says the shift was deliberate. He wanted to build for himself rather than for clients, and has since completed five knockdown rebuild projects focused on Brisbane’s northern suburbs, including Wavell Heights and Nundah, where large blocks and established neighbourhoods continue to draw families.
He says the pace of change across Wavell Heights over the past five years has been striking, with older weatherboard homes increasingly replaced by architect designed residences, and that development has been good for the growth of the suburb.
But Mr Colley is candid about the pressures facing developers in the current market. Finding suitable sites has become increasingly competitive, and Wavell Heights has become an expensive market for knockdown properties. He says a knockdown rebuild project in the suburb now averages just over $3 million in total cost, with suitable knockdown properties commanding prices in the high one millions. His advice to anyone considering a similar project is to run the numbers early and run them carefully.
That caution is echoed by RSM Australia national real estate lead and taxation lawyer Adam Crowley, who says he is fielding a growing number of enquiries from everyday homeowners and first time developers across Brisbane. He says the profile of people entering the knockdown rebuild space has broadened well beyond the construction industry, with doctors, surgeons and other professionals increasingly exploring whether to renovate, rebuild or subdivide their existing block.
Mr Crowley warns that the tax implications of building and selling can catch people off guard. GST obligations, capital gains tax and the limits of the main residence exemption are areas where assumptions regularly prove costly. He points specifically to duplex projects where one dwelling is sold without ever having been a primary residence, noting that in those cases no main residence exemption applies at all. His advice is consistent: get proper structuring advice before breaking ground, because untangling the consequences afterwards is far harder.
Place Ascot agent Drew Davies, who is marketing the Zeehan Street property and has observed the broader trend across Brisbane’s middle ring, says the new generation of knockdown rebuilds is less about size and more about quality. He says boutique family backed projects are increasingly competing directly with traditional developers on craftsmanship and architectural ambition, bringing a level of finish to suburban streetscapes that many would not have expected to see in these neighbourhoods.
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For Wavell Heights, the change is already visible from the street. The question for homeowners sitting on a sizeable block is whether the opportunity to be part of that transformation still stacks up — and according to those closest to the market, it can, provided the groundwork is done properly.
Published 16-March-2026
