Owners urged: Get smart to close sale
Cairns market still tough
CAIRNS property sellers have been urged to be proactive and shrewd to help maximise returns in what remains a buyers’ market.
The latest Pain & Gain report by CoreLogic highlights the testing market conditions still facing regions outside Queensland’s southeast corner, including the Far North.
The data shows that 24.8 per cent of homes sold in Cairns over the three months to January 1 went for below their previous sale price, a slight increase from the previous quarter.
While the proportion of houses selling at a loss was less than 15 per cent – below the regional Queensland average of 17.1 per cent – more than 40 per cent of unit sales did not make a profit.
According to the report, the amount of “loss-making resales” in Brisbane over the same period was 7.9 per cent and 9.3 per cent on the Sunshine Coast.
Elite Real Estate Services Cairns principal, Karl Latham, said it was crucial for locals to make their homes as “sellable as possible”.
“The longer a home is on the market, the less buyers will want to pay,” he said.
“Pricing the home well early will increase the chance of competition among buyers.
“Cast the net wide open, and develop a marketing strategy that covers both print and digital media.
“You can’t control the market, but you can control price, presentation and promotion.”
Head of research at CoreLogic Cameron Kusher said the Cairns market was stronger than other regional centres, with Mackay (54.8 per cent) and Townsville (42.6 per cent) recording higher proportions of loss-making sales. “It is certainly not as bad as other parts of Queensland like Wide Bay, Townsville, Fitzroy and Mackay,” he said.
“So in terms of the kind of northern Queensland markets it is definitely one of the stronger ones, although it is just not performing like we have seen in the Southeast Queensland coastal markets.”
Mr Kusher expected some “moderate improvement” in the Cairns market.
“It is really going to be dependent on if people want to make that move to Cairns and we haven’t see a lot of that over recent years,” he said.
Kirsty Strout and her husband Adam have recently listed their five-bedroom home (pictured) on Leonard St, Kewarra Beach, for offers above $799,000.
Selling agent Shira David Stern said the home, open for inspection from 1pm today, had been “well prepared” for the market.
“The house is immaculately presented and nothing needs to be done to it by the buyer,” she said. Grab your Real Estate Guide in today’s Weekend Post.
THE LONGER A HOME IS ON THE MARKET, THE LESS BUYERS WILL WANT TO PAY. PRICING THE HOME WELL EARLY WILL INCREASE THE CHANCE OF COMPETITION AMONG BUYERS ELITE REAL ESTATE SERVICES CAIRNS PRINCIPAL, KARL LATHAM