A former prize home that has been virtually vacant since it was raffled off is set to go to auction – with the proceeds to go to an amazing cause.
The Buderim home is set to go under the hammer this weekend but it’s the backstory of the property that has captured attention.
Originally built in late 2021, the home was in 2023 acquired by Surf Life Saving Australia as a prize home for a lottery that was open to people across the country at $25 a ticket.
The lucky winners, when it was drawn in September last year, were the Raeina family, humble churchgoers from Sydney with strong ties to their local Cook Islands community.
The devout family is dedicated to Bible teaching and door-to-door ministry – far from the life of luxury the Buderim home represents.
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Since their win, the family has stayed in the home only for a week, preferring to rent modestly in Sydney while deciding how best to use their windfall.
Now they have decided to put the home at 278 Mooloolaba Road on the market, with the sale to go towards building a home for their extended family back in the Cook Islands.
“The owner explained to me that when they won, they were overwhelmed and had no idea what they were going to do with this amazing prize,” said selling agent Glenn McIntosh, from McGrath Buderim.
“He said they had conducted numerous prayer sessions within the congregation and personally prayed to God, thanked him for his blessings.”
Mr McIntosh said a chance meeting with a ‘family friend’ – the only other person who had stayed in the home, for a week, since it was raffled – led to him being appointed to sell the property.
“I passed on my business card and suggested that if the owners were keen to sell at any stage they could contact me,” he said.
“I met the actual owner out the front one day. He was up here for a week with his family to enjoy the luxury of the home because it was something they had never experienced before.
“It turns out the first person I met out the front of the home was the pastor of their church.”
In a tragic twist, Mr Raeina’s wife’s mother passed away recently and the sale was paused so they could return to the islands for cultural mourning ceremonies.
Mr McIntosh – who is a volunteer lifesaver at Alexandra Headland Surf Life Saving Club – said that when the home sold to Surf Life Saving Australia it went in the high $1 millions.
“Whatever they get for the property now is going to be nothing but a massive bonus,” he said.
“It merely owes them $25 for the ticket they purchased in the lottery.”
The architecturally designed home is on an elevated 782sqm block with ocean views and was constructed by Murphy Homes. It has four bedrooms including a master suite with walk-in robe and ensuite, separate media room and saltwater pool.
No.278 Mooloolaba Road, Buderim, goes to auction on May 24 at 1pm.
