http://www.couriermail.com.au/life/...ns-in-queensland/story-e6frequ6-1226250615239
BARGAIN hunters are snapping up holiday homes in coveted beach locations up and down the Queensland coast as desperate owners slash their prices by up to 70 per cent.
Others are taking a chance on dirt-cheap properties in remote coastal towns in the hope they become the next tourist hot spots.
While prices soar in some coastal towns close to mining centres, astute buyers are managing to secure ocean- front homes in traditional tourist locations for $500,000 or more off peak prices as vendors cave after years of trying to sell.
One buyer scored an oceanfront unit in a marina development at Cardwell, halfway between Cairns and Townsville, for $157,000 - almost $300,000 less than it sold for in 2006. The unit had been on the market for three years.
A penthouse with ocean views in the same development sold for $570,000 less than its 2007 sales price.
"I would suggest it is the cheapest marina land in Australia," said Cardwell realtor Robert Boothey, who handled the sale. "With the environmental issues now, it will never happen again."
Property searches by The Sunday Mail found buyers were knocking $50,000 to $200,000 off the price of other popular holiday spots. Investors were also eyeing off less well-known locations in the hope they could become the next 1770, or Noosa.
RP Data has named Halifax, 130km north of Townsville, and Rollingstone, 54km north of Townsville, as among Queensland's 10 most-affordable coastal locations.
The sleepy seaside town of St Lawrence, about two hours drive south of Mackay, was the cheapest with a median house value of $135,695.
Median house values for Rollingstone and Halifax were $252,070 and $254,699 respectively.
Other coastal districts with property going cheap included Deeral, south of Cairns; Alva, south of Townsville; and Lamb Island in the Redlands.
RP Data senior analyst Cameron Kusher said buyers of the most affordable seaside holiday homes needed to be prepared for a long commute. But he said coastal market values had fallen across Queensland, meaning bargains could even be found in popular locations.
"There are opportunities virtually everywhere, but what people need to do is make the assessment whether or not they think prices are going to be cheaper if they wait a bit longer," he said. "If they are looking for prices to rebound to their previous highs, obviously there is scope for that to happen at some point in the future but the question is how quickly they get back there. En masse, there hasn't really yet been any sign of recovery."
Buyers were cleaning up in locations including Noosa, Mooloolaba, Moffat Beach, Broadbeach, Southport, Hervey Bay, Bargara, Surfers Paradise and coastal towns near Cairns, according to Mr Kusher.
Chain Sales and Contingent Offers
When all else fails, buyers accept any offer they can get including contingent sales as noted by The Age in Risky ride on the vendor-go-round.
SELLING a home is stressful at the best of times. Failing to sell at auction in the midst of a property downturn can be its own kind of nightmare.
But imagine if it turned out that the only way to sell your home depended on the buyer having to sell theirs first.
It is a scenario Gavin and Verity Carson never considered when their Abbotsford terrace house went to auction and was passed in.
After later negotiations with a bidder broke down, they were left at a loss about what to do next. Looming was the threat of a lengthy wait in the private sale market, already flooded with thousands of unsold homes.
"All the people that had been interested were no longer interested - we had to really start the campaign from scratch," Mr Carson said, adding that they already faced a $10,000 advertising bill for the auction.
"Ideally, we would have sold at auction," Mr Carson said. "We did end up taking a lower value than we were expecting but that's really just indicative of the market at the moment. We're glad that it's over - put it that way."
In Britain, subject-to-sale transactions can often evolve into "chain" sales involving multiple properties that must all settle on the same day.
BARGAIN hunters are snapping up holiday homes in coveted beach locations up and down the Queensland coast as desperate owners slash their prices by up to 70 per cent.
Others are taking a chance on dirt-cheap properties in remote coastal towns in the hope they become the next tourist hot spots.
While prices soar in some coastal towns close to mining centres, astute buyers are managing to secure ocean- front homes in traditional tourist locations for $500,000 or more off peak prices as vendors cave after years of trying to sell.
One buyer scored an oceanfront unit in a marina development at Cardwell, halfway between Cairns and Townsville, for $157,000 - almost $300,000 less than it sold for in 2006. The unit had been on the market for three years.
A penthouse with ocean views in the same development sold for $570,000 less than its 2007 sales price.
"I would suggest it is the cheapest marina land in Australia," said Cardwell realtor Robert Boothey, who handled the sale. "With the environmental issues now, it will never happen again."
Property searches by The Sunday Mail found buyers were knocking $50,000 to $200,000 off the price of other popular holiday spots. Investors were also eyeing off less well-known locations in the hope they could become the next 1770, or Noosa.
RP Data has named Halifax, 130km north of Townsville, and Rollingstone, 54km north of Townsville, as among Queensland's 10 most-affordable coastal locations.
The sleepy seaside town of St Lawrence, about two hours drive south of Mackay, was the cheapest with a median house value of $135,695.
Median house values for Rollingstone and Halifax were $252,070 and $254,699 respectively.
Other coastal districts with property going cheap included Deeral, south of Cairns; Alva, south of Townsville; and Lamb Island in the Redlands.
RP Data senior analyst Cameron Kusher said buyers of the most affordable seaside holiday homes needed to be prepared for a long commute. But he said coastal market values had fallen across Queensland, meaning bargains could even be found in popular locations.
"There are opportunities virtually everywhere, but what people need to do is make the assessment whether or not they think prices are going to be cheaper if they wait a bit longer," he said. "If they are looking for prices to rebound to their previous highs, obviously there is scope for that to happen at some point in the future but the question is how quickly they get back there. En masse, there hasn't really yet been any sign of recovery."
Buyers were cleaning up in locations including Noosa, Mooloolaba, Moffat Beach, Broadbeach, Southport, Hervey Bay, Bargara, Surfers Paradise and coastal towns near Cairns, according to Mr Kusher.
Chain Sales and Contingent Offers
When all else fails, buyers accept any offer they can get including contingent sales as noted by The Age in Risky ride on the vendor-go-round.
SELLING a home is stressful at the best of times. Failing to sell at auction in the midst of a property downturn can be its own kind of nightmare.
But imagine if it turned out that the only way to sell your home depended on the buyer having to sell theirs first.
It is a scenario Gavin and Verity Carson never considered when their Abbotsford terrace house went to auction and was passed in.
After later negotiations with a bidder broke down, they were left at a loss about what to do next. Looming was the threat of a lengthy wait in the private sale market, already flooded with thousands of unsold homes.
"All the people that had been interested were no longer interested - we had to really start the campaign from scratch," Mr Carson said, adding that they already faced a $10,000 advertising bill for the auction.
"Ideally, we would have sold at auction," Mr Carson said. "We did end up taking a lower value than we were expecting but that's really just indicative of the market at the moment. We're glad that it's over - put it that way."
In Britain, subject-to-sale transactions can often evolve into "chain" sales involving multiple properties that must all settle on the same day.
