Strength in rural market
IN the past 12 months Ray White Rural Queensland has noticed the rural and rural lifestyle market going from strength-to-strength, with the market generally seeing an upswing in buyer confidence.
The continuing high demand for agricultural commodities, especially beef, has contributed to this confidence and as a result has seen many large scale property transactions take place in the past 12 months.
This year the Ray White Rural Network has handled $1.4billion in sales, up $75million on last year a record for the group.
Ray White’s Peter Douglas said the buoyant residential market, combined with the agricultural market, has transferred through to rural lifestyle properties in South-East Queensland.
“This has seen an increase in transactions happening across multiple price points and types of lifestyle property.
“We have also seen an increase in transactions of property in the Ipswich area and Scenic Rim where there were very few sales above $1million in the last few years.
“However, the 16/17 financial year has seen multiple sales ranging from $1.2million to $2.75million for lifestyle properties. Of these sales was Walker Downs which sold for $1.6m and Bremer View which sold for $1.375m, both prior to auction.’’
The Sunshine Coast has also seen an increase in sales over the past 12 months with several high end properties selling after several years in the market.
One of these sales was The Lookout, a 41acre country estate at Mount Mee sold at auction for $1.375million and the neighbouring property selling five months later for $725,000 - also at auction.
Barry Quinn and Jez McNamara handled both these sales, with more than 50 inspections in a four-week period on each property.
“They (and the vendors) are very pleased with the response,” Mr Douglas said, “and said it was a good case study as to the level of buyer interest being achieved across multiple price points of property.
“Just up the road on the banks of Somerset Dam, Andrew Goodall and Jez sold a breathtaking lakefront property at auction with 10 registered bidders.
“It has been great to see so many sales in the rural lifestyle market. However, there has also been strong interest and sales in South East Queensland of larger more commercial agricultural properties.’’
These include horticultural, cropping and grazing properties. Several local Brisbane sales include Bremer View, Bominda, Bomarick, Scotchy Pocket and Walker Downs which all traded in the multi-million market.
The broader rural market has seen many significant sales this year with the sale of Glenalvie at Ebor, near Dorrigo in NSW, that sold in excess of $17.5m and Manners Creek, north-east of Alice Springs in the NT, which sold for $15m. Both sold to well known Australian rural family businesses.
The Ray White Rural team all have noticed that with the properties they have marketed in 2017 that close to 60% of all enquiries have inspected the property.
What has been noticeable is the way properties marketed well in print media have been bringing potential buyers to inspect properties, Jez McNamara said.
“This is evident in the rural and lifestyle properties Ray White Rural Queensland/Brisbane have sold this year across all market segments and we see no reason this will change in the coming 12 months.”