Margate a firm market

MARGATE and Battery Point are property markets that are rarely discussed in the same paragraph but they share at least one thing in common — the lowest average vendor discount in Tasmania.

CoreLogic RP Data tracks the difference between the original asking price and the eventual sale price of house and unit sales, which is represented by a percentage.

The organisation’s latest Market Trends report shows Battery Point and Margate homeowners who sold below their original asking price, gave the smallest discounts at only 2 per cent.

The majority of the smallest discounts were from city suburbs such as Hobart, Dynnyrne and Sandy Bay, plus high end areas such as Tranmere and trendy, upwardly moving West Moonah. Each suburb has an average discount between 2.2 and 2.5 per cent.

Margate was the only suburb outside the city and its surrounds to crack the top end of this list.

For Real Estate Institute of Tasmania president Tony Collidge, Margate’s high ranking came as little surprise.

Mr Collidge said it had wide appeal.

“Margate offers a rural setting that is about 20km out of the CBD and only minutes drive from Kingston,” he said.

“It also offers waterfront properties.

“Outside of the main hub of the town, many properties are on acreage.

“There are marinas and waterways in the area which will appeal to sea or tree change buyers.”

Mr Collidge said Margate was a desirable suburb with “village-like” appeal.

“The REIT has looked at the areas that are of most interest to interstate buyers who are coming to Tasmania to live, and we found that Sandy Bay, the Meander Valley and the Huon Valley, where Margate is located, were the most popular,” he said.

There are about 20 houses and units for sale in Margate and about 10 blocks of land.

Prices range from $945,000 to $239,000 for dwellings or $150,000 to $320,000 for land.

The largest vendor discounts were in the North and West, in Burnie, Queenstown, Rosebery, Rosevears and Strahan.