TOWNSVILLE’S prestige market continues to see strong results, with a luxury house complete with its own exclusive marina berth selling for $2.3 million during the height of Queensland’s pandemic crisis.
Located at 8/48-55 Sir Leslie Thiess Drive, the luxurious property is the city’s top sale so far this year, and was designed by Greg Van Dinter and built by Glenn Sexton Constructions. It was sold by Ray White’s Julie Mahoney, who has dominated the top sales list so far this year, taking out four of the top five spots. Ms Mahoney’s other top sales have been in North Ward and on Castle Hill.
Julie Mahoney PICTURE: MATT TAYLOR.
“The prestige market is in high demand, particular in that $1 million to $1.5 million bracket,” Ms Mahoney said.
“I am getting multiple buyers for million-dollar properties … and it is all local interest. They are retirees, business people, medical professionals, its across the board so there is confidence returning again.”
Castle Hill retains its crown as Townsville’s most expensive suburb with a median sales price of $865,000, albeit it has seen a drop of 5.7 per cent over 12 months.
Castle Hill and The Strand
North Ward holds the second spot with a median sales price of $642,500, but the beachside suburb posted a whopping 23.6 per cent increase over 12 months.
Interestingly, the realestate.com.au data shows that the other three top spots were taken out by suburbs away from the city.
They were Alice River, Jensen and Alligator, with those largely acreage suburbs recording median sales price increases of 19.3 per cent, 32.2 per cent and 24.1 per cent respectively.
The other property to land a spot on the top 5 sales list was 30 Palm Street at Rowes Bay, which was sold by Tracey Stack of M Property Townsville. Ms Stack said finding the right buyer was key. She said she was seeing an increasing number of buyers in the $1.5 million to $3 million price bracket.
30 Palm Street at Rowes Bay sold for $1.65 million
“I think there has been more buyers in that top end than we have seen in years,” she said.
Ms Stack attributed that to high-wage earners in the defence, health, university and infrastructure sectors, plus the influence of low interest rates and a change in priorities.
“I think when people were in lockdown the value of having a home they felt comfortable in became more apparent,” she said.
“A lot of buyers have also been looking for a home they can work remotely from.”
That has included increased interest from both intrastate and interstate buyers and investors.
“I have seen a lot more inquiries from Victorians … I recently also had two buyers, one from the ACT and the other from NSW, who took the opportunity to move north before the lockdown,” she said.
“People are wanting more space, more comfort, and to be living in a place they really want to live.”
“I have even had inquiries from some organisations looking to regionalise some of their workforce.”
Ms Stack said that the silver lining of the pandemic could be a population shift towards the regions.
“There has been a noticeable shift in sentiment because movements have been restricted, forcing buyers to really think about where and how they want to live,” she said.
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