BUSY START TO NEW YEAR

Surge in demand for land and rush of southern buyers sets tone for 2021

WELL it’s the first official week back from what has been, for many of us, a much-needed break and the New Year hasn’t wasted any time as things are already picking up faster than usual. To be fair though, they’ve really continued apace the entirety of the holiday season, albeit in different segments of the market.

The traditional slowdown between Christmas and New Year, while felt in established homes, was definitely absent for land and new builds, with a last-minute rush as buyers sought to lock in the full $30,000-$45,000 in government grants available before they scaled back to $15,000-$30,000 on January 1 (my apologies and thanks again to the solicitors I bombarded with countless contracts in that time).

The only thing that seemed to hold this up at the end was the lack of available and suitable land and the tight time frames to have building contracts signed. It will be interesting to see how demand runs with the lesser (but still excellent) government grants now in place as new land is rushed to market.

For those prepping their properties for sale, this recent wet weather, while nothing new for Cairns, is also not particularly helpful for those getting their homes in order.

Expect soft ground and unruly gardens for the next couple of weeks, though this can be a great opportunity to get to work inside instead — declutter, touch up paint and the magic of silicone and grout to tidy up wet areas.

Given how often this comes up in building and pest reports, a bit of trial and error to sort it yourself is a lot cheaper than having to deal with it later.

While we wait for the weather to pass and suppliers to get back in order (this isn’t the week to be looking for a property photographer), this is an excellent time to be finalising your choice of agent and your strategy for the coming weeks.

Given what we’ve seen over the last few months and the continued interest from southern buyers looking to relocate, an earlier launch than usual might be in order to take advantage of current demand. Going hard with digital is going to be more and more important this year, though print continues to have its place in the market, particularly with special homes.

2020 might not be everyone’s favourite year, but it did leave opportunity on the table for 2021 — so let’s make the most of it.

TOM QUAD IS REIQ CAIRNS ZONE CHAIRMAN