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A GOLD Coast real estate agent is giving away 50 “smashed avo breakfasts” to celebrate her 50th sale in one apartment building.

Lucy Cole Prestige Properties’ Rima Stafford has sold 50 apartments for more than $38 million in Broadbeach tower The Wave. The latest is under contract for $1 million-plus.

Gold Coast real estate agent, Rima Stafford, is giving away 50 breakfasts to celebrate her 50th sale in The Wave. Picture: Jerad Williams

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“We thought we would give 50 free breakfasts to the purchaser of the 50th,” she said. “So basically you can have your smashed avo and your luxury property. We are really excited Crema Espresso Cafe directly below the building has jumped on board.”

The notion spending $22 plus a pop on smashed avo on toast was a hit to housing affordability was first suggested by commentator Bernard Salt in 2016 – it went viral when he wrote “ … $22 several times a week could go towards a deposit on a house”.

But it hasn’t deterred Ms Stafford’s clients buying apartments in The Wave from her since before it was built 15 years ago: “I’ve had a lot of clients who not only purchase one apartment, but they love the building so much they purchase a second and a third. I even have one client who has four.”

Gold Coast real estate agent, Rima Stafford, in front of The Wave. Picture: Jerad Williams

As the dominant agent, she was nicknamed ‘Queen of the Wave’.

“It’s a bit of an embarrassing tongue in cheek. But I genuinely love the building and am very passionate about it.

“When you’re achieving record prices and people are happy with your service they keep coming back.”

Her 50th sale is a three-bedroom apartment with 280-degree views on level 19.

“Not in my wildest dreams did I envisage selling 50 apartments in the one building,” she said.

Agency Principal Lucy Cole said: “Rima’s an outstanding representative of Prestige Properties and knows Broadbeach backwards. She just loves The Wave building and what it has to offer.”

The Wave, at the corner of Surf Pde and Victoria Ave, is 111m high with 34 floors.

The post Free breakfast for a year with Gold Coast property purchase appeared first on realestate.com.au.

PRD Hobart director Tony Collidge. Picture: ROGER LOVELL

TASMANIA’S property market is holding up, despite the impacts of COVID-19, a market analyst and commentator says.

While there has been a significant drop in transaction numbers over the June Quarter — down 24.4 per cent on the March Quarter, per the latest REIT report — sale prices have not fallen.

With sales down, the total value of property sales has also retracted.

REIT numbers show nearly 860 million in sales in the quarter, down 21.7 per cent compared to the March quarter.

PRD Hobart director Tony Collidge said the June quarter saw decreases in median house prices in Hobart and Launceston but this can be “attributed to proportionately fewer sales” occurring in each city’s upper end of the market.

“Claims that COVID-19 would decimate real estate markets across the nation has not been witnessed to date,” he said.

The investor market has been hit hard, says PRD Hobart director Tony Collidge.

Tony said it was the investment market that had been most significantly impacted by COVID-19.

He said the new Real Estate Institute of Tasmania data showed a 47.3 per cent decrease in investors numbers over the quarter compared to the March results.

“Fortunately Airbnb owners moving back into the medium and long-term rental market enabled this sector to overcome any shortfall in rental supply and shore up consumer needs,” Tony said.

“The drop in investment activity within this state should be of concern to government over the long-term.”

Over the past three years interstate purchasers acquired 19.2 per cent of Tassie properties.

About 42 per cent of these mainland buyers were investors while the remaining 58 per cent were buying property to move in to.

“In the June quarter, only 82 interstate investors acquired property in this state down a whopping 57.9 per cent on the previous quarter,” Tony said.

“Those looking to move here was also down by 39.7 per cent.

“Our market is now being almost totally driven by local activity and interest.”

Tony believes the No.1 factor that has contributed to the stability of Tasmanian property prices is the scarcity of stock with buyer demand significantly outstripping supply for the past five years.

He said this lack of supply has contributed to the continued increase in real estate prices making Tassie one of the best performed real estate markets in Australia.

An example of the shortage, he said, can be seen in the Hobart where there were 57 properties for sale last month compared to 79 one year prior and 162 in 2012.

Throughout the state the story is the same with SQM Research figures showing a drop off in listings that stretches far and wide.

“Clarence receded from 330 eight years ago to 109 in June, Glenorchy from 214 to 70 and Launceston from 939 to 306,” Tony said.

“There remains a void of thousands of properties which the construction industry has been unable to fill and current red tape will ensure that this gap will continue to exist.”

The post Stock low, prices hold while transactions slip further appeared first on realestate.com.au.