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Zach Reid from First National Real Estate Atherton . PIC: Supplied

Land has been “flying off the shelves” in the Tablelands with real estate agents explaining sales were being driven by government money available to build a new home.

Zach Reid from First National Real Estate Atherton said that, during the past month, land sales had taken up “a reasonable percentage” of business with blocks that have been on the market for years suddenly snapped up.

“Land has traditionally been hard to sell in the Tablelands and, as an example, the blocks at Sunset Ridge have been available for two years with only one of the 11 sold in the first 18 months,” he said.

Land for sale. PIC: Darren Leigh Roberts

“In the past three months nine have sold – it would have been all 10 but a contract fell apart due to finance – and we’re seeing that in the other parts of Atherton. As the land is selling we’re seeing people pushing out further to take advantage of the grants.”

Mr Reid said it was predominantly first-home owners taking advantage of the $45,000 in grants established to stimulate local economies.

Aurelia Rogato from Rogato Real Estate said her Mareeba office “had never seen so much action” with land sales.

“There’s interest from first-home owners because receiving $45,000 from the government is unprecedented,” she said.

“The estates are very popular but even the five-acre blocks are getting a lot of ­interest, out in places like Rodeo Acres where the land starts at $219,000.”

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Buying site unseen is fast becoming the new norm for southern buyers.

Today’s border closure is unlikely to deter tech-savvy southern buyers who are turning to the Gold Coast as a safe haven during the COVID-19 crisis.

Agents across the city are reporting a surge in transactions made sight unseen by buyers interstate, with no signs of slowing down.

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The Gold Coast residential real estate sector continues to perform.

Ray White Surfers Paradise Group chief executive Andrew Bell said the COVID crisis had made the Gold Coast more attractive than ever.

“With the outbreaks in Melbourne and NSW doing all it can to keep things under control, for people down south the Gold Coast looks like a safe haven,” Mr Bell said.

While the border closure would restrict the ease of doing business, Mr Bell said buyers had become more confident making virtual transactions.

“The weekend before last we sold nine properties to people in Sydney, ACT and Melbourne who bought sight unseen,” he said.

“With the greater use of technology, people are not prevented from buying.”

Holiday accomodation provides may feel the pinch of fewer tourists travelling over the border. Photo Matt Roberts/Getty Images

Five of the nine parties bidding on a Broadbbeach apartment on Wednesday were from Sydney and Melbourne.

“Four of them hadn’t viewed the property personally but had done a private FaceTime inspection and were more than happy to proceed on that basis,” said Harcourts Coastal agent Tolemy Stevens.

“If you take that back to the numbers two or three months ago, the trend is doubling, if not tripling, with buyers in the marketplace happy to do business via FaceTime.”

Holiday rentals may feel the pinch

While the residential real estate sector is in a strong position to weather the border blockade, holiday accommodation providers may bear the brunt.

“Hospitality and holiday rentals will feel the majority of the impact,” said Andrew Henderson, Real Estate Industry of Queensland Gold Coast zone chair.

“If the border isn’t open for the next school holidays, it could really hurt a lot of operators.”

Mr Henderson said Queenslanders had “taken up the baton” to support tourism by booking holidays within the Sunshine State.

The weather, beaches and property prices are attractive to southern buyers. Photo: NCA NewsWire / Steve Holland

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113 Commodore Drive, Paradise Waters.

The sale of a historic Surfers Paradise mansion is among a string of high end transactions on main river during the height of the COVID-19 period.

An unnamed local buyer paid $5.5 million for the riverfront residence at 113 Commodore Drive in an off-market sale handled by Michael Kollosche and Jay Helprin in June.

113 Commodore Drive, Paradise Waters.

The historic house was built in the late 1980s for Keith Williams, the legendary entrepreneur who built Sea World and developed resorts at Hamilton Island.

The home was later owned by Dreamworld founder John Longhurst and was most recently sold by Flora and Sep Abedian following a seven-year tenure.

113 Commodore Drive, Paradise Waters.

Features inside the iconic estate include a three-level staircase inspired by the Vatican, arched windows, wrought iron chandeliers and Roman bath-style pool.

The 1489 sqm property also enjoys one
of the largest water frontages in Paradise Waters, looking across to the grounds of
The Southport School and north to the Southport skyline.

15 Southern Cross Dr, Cronin Island sold for $12.45m in June.

Mr Helprin said the sale reflected confidence at the top end of town with buyers turning to the security of bricks and mortar.

“We’re seeing significant strength in the prestige market,” Mr Helprin said.

Kollosche agents report a string of main river sales in recent months, led by the $12.45m deal on 15 Southern Cross Drive, Surfers Paradise in June.

327 Monaco St, Broadbeach Waters sold for $5.7m in July.

A grand Broadbeach Waters mansion at 327 Monaco Street sold for $5.7m on July 11.

A contract for $2.855m was signed on 25 Ipsley Drive, Broadbeach Waters in June while a vacant 1013 sqm lot at 85 Commodore Drive fetched $3.1m in May.

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There has been an uptick in the number of million-dollar properties for sale in Darwin

THERE has been an uptick in the number of million-dollar properties for sale in Darwin – a sign of confidence from the higher end of the market.

Based on realestate.com.au listings, there were at least 40 properties for sale for $1m or more in the Greater Darwin area at time of print.

O’Donoghues First National managing director Jeremy O’Donoghue said while it wasn’t unusual for there to be million-dollar properties on the Darwin market, the pandemic may have prompted owners to take the plunge.

“I think that maybe they’ve been holding back a little bit throughout the (pandemic) … and given the supposed stability of Darwin, people are realising that now is a good time (to sell),” he said.

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“These properties are probably pretty good value at the moment.

“What might be worth $1m today might have been worth $1.2 or $1.3m five years ago. So it’s definitely an opportune time for buyers to come in and look at this sort of property and get some pretty good value.”

He said the willingness of more sellers to put high-end properties up for sale could be seen as a sign of confidence in the Darwin market.

“The premium market and the market in general up here in Darwin is quite strong.

“It’s quite positive and encouraging that a lot of the activity that we are having is from local people that are maybe going all right in their business, downsizing or moving around and they’re identifying value. And the premium market’s no different.”

“I think there are people coming out of a $500,000, $600,000 or $700,000 house in the northern suburbs and are looking to upgrade for their family. So it’s very genuine – it’s not speculative.”

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Real Estate Institute of the NT chief executive Quentin Kilian said there were plenty of buyers but low stock, so ­realistic sellers could attract a lot of interest.

“It’s a bit of a feeding frenzy from buyers, so for a seller you’ve got a real opportunity to move your property quickly if you price according to what the market’s asking,” he said.

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56 East Parade, Kingswood. Supplied by Williams Real Estate

Why spend time and money renovating a grand character home when you can move in to this one, where all the hard work has been done for you? That’s what’s on offer in this stunning Kingswood home Simon and Louise bought just a few years ago, attracted by its picturesque gardens and stunning street appeal.

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“The previous owners were commercial gardeners so they built up the garden beautifully,” Simon says. “There are a set of gum trees on the back boundary which are just gorgeous and at night we have koalas in there, so we’ll sit out the back with a wine in hand spotting the koalas and watching them. This place really had us at the front door.

56 East Parade, Kingswood. Supplied by Williams Real Estate

“The previous owners did the extension a few years ago and kept the 12-foot ceilings throughout, and used the original sandstone – they just did it right, in terms of the scale and scope of it.”

The home features up to five bedrooms – the master with a walk-through robe and an ensuite – formal and casual living areas and a spacious open-plan kitchen, dining and living at the rear that opens to a covered terrace overlooking a sparkling inground pool.

“It’s very functional because it’s got two-and-a-half bathrooms, all the space you need, a guest bedroom and all of that, so it’s been great living in it as a family,” Simon says.

56 East Parade, Kingswood. Supplied by Williams Real Estate

“There’s a really nice room at the front which gets the afternoon sun and we use that as the winter room and hunker around the open fireplace – and in the summer we’d be out in the back living room which has the pool – it’s a really fabulous family home and the previous owners did a terrific job of it.

“We did our bit to it as well and spent a fair bit of money on it, like putting in new airconditioning ducts and motors right through it, we put on a side garage and did a big electrical upgrade too to include LED lights, so we’ve just topped it off and modernised it a little bit, but it had beautiful bones and a beautiful layout when we got it.”

56 East Parade, Kingswood. Supplied by Williams Real Estate

Simon says the home’s versatile floorplan made it a great entertainer, and capable of handling even large crowds with ease.

“The big bifold doors open up from the informal dining room to the outdoor area, and we’ve had some pretty decent nights there, particularly in summer when you’ve got all the kids in the pool and the adults hanging out in that outdoor area,” Simon says. “The kitchen flows really nicely out to that living area and the outdoor area, and then there’s quite a big backyard that sits off to the side behind the pool. There’s a quadruple garage too, so we can open that up and then have the bar inside and have up to 80 people there quite comfortably.”

56 East Parade, Kingswood. Supplied by Williams Real Estate

“I’ve done the garden myself since we bought it and it’s a big garden, but the previous owners designed it to be very low-maintenance – it only needs an annual cut back and fertilise, and then you mow the lawns and blow the leaves once a fortnight. When I bought it I thought it would be a fair bit of work, but it’s not.”

The family have loved the home but the time has come to move on, with Simon saying they’ll miss not only the home, but its location too.

56 East Parade, Kingswood. Supplied by Williams Real Estate

“Everything you need is at hand here,” he says. “Our girls go to Walford, but you’ve also got Unley High and Scotch within a stone’s throw, and Mitcham Shopping Centre is really close too, which is great because it’s such a brilliant shopping centre. The creek walk is great too – I would follow the creek up through Torrens Park, through the old Mitcham Village and all the way up through Brown Hill Creek and you can literally start doing that from the end of the street. The plan was for it to be our forever home, but our plans have changed and we’ve come to the point where we have decided to sell it. We’ve had three or four houses so far and this has been my favourite house we’ve ever had. It’s a fantastic home and I hope it goes to a family that will love it for the next 20 years.”

56 East Parade, Kingswood. Supplied by Williams Real Estate

56 East Pde, Kingswood

Contact agent for price

Agent: Williams Real Estate, Stephanie Williams 0413 874 888, and John Williams 0411 747 555. Land size: 1360sqm. Expressions of interest: Close Wednesday, August 26 at 2pm.

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