PROPERTIES WITH A LIFESTYLE

Places too good to leave

THEY are the best places in our region to find a lifestyle block and they are also spots where property owners aren’t going to sell up easily.

Tully, Innisfail Estate and Babinda are home to the most tightly held properties with an average hold period of 20.4, 18.4 and 15.6 years, respectively.

Yorkeys Knob owners won’t sell until after an average of 15 years while Kurrimine Beach, Woree, Manoora, Freshwater and Bingil Bay residents hold their properties for an average of between 15.7 and 15.1 years.

Cairns suburbs Mooroobool, Holloways Beach, Bungalow, Caravonica, Bayview Heights, Cairns North and Westcourt all recorded average hold periods of between 13.9 and 13 years, according to Core Logic market trends data for February 2019.

Independent mobile realtor Karen Ranie is selling a 4ha (10 acre) property at 488 Walter Lever Rd in Tully and said the town’s farming families would have contributed to its long hold time.

But things could be changing in the future.

“Basically it’s farming people who run their businesses,” she said.

“Before the kids would take over the farm and the property, but now kids don’t do that, so the farming couple find the home is too big for them and they downsize.”

Ms Ranie said the privacy of the Tully home and its proximity to shops and the beach was the biggest drawcard.

“The best part of it is that it is sitting on a small hill, nobody can see inside and there are breezes blowing through. It is an ideal spot,” she said.

“The rest of the 10 acre property is flat land. It is just a fluke in geography.

“It’s absolutely beautifully set up for someone to work from home and the lovely vil- lage of Silkwood is just a few minutes drive away.

“There are primary schools and high schools nearby and it is only 15 minutes from Kurri- mine Beach so if you’re interested in fishing it’s perfect.

“The home is in a comfortable location halfway between Innisfail and Tully.