Lifestyle at forefront of rush for acreages

BUYERS seeking a lifestyle property have plenty of options at the moment in the notoriously scarce acreage market.

From space to run cattle near Mirriwinni to hectares of open space beyond the Macalister Range, Cairns property buyers are spoiled for choice.

Sales agent Fiona Green said her phone had been running hot with calls about properties near Gordonvale she had listed.

“Because there is not a lot of acreage around when it comes on the market it is in demand,” she said.

“Anything from three acres up to 12 acres is popular – there is a specific lifestyle people are wanting to seek seeking.

“The chats I’ve had range from conversations about families looking for space for their boys to ride bikes and run around to people who have horses.

“It is nice to walk out your backdoor and have your horses in your own paddock, rather than pay for agistment somewhere else.

“Acreage will always be in demand.”

Ms Green pointed out that the south side of Cairns was particularly appealing to horse-lovers who could take their animals on long rides through rainforest and scrub.

“They can ride everywhere, they’re not in among suburbia like those properties at Redlynch,” she said.

“That’s a big drawcard for acreage on this side of town. You can also have other animals – I have three dogs, horses and about 60 chooks on my property.

“And it is something you can’t compare to homes in Whitefield or Edge Hill.”

Further south in Mirriwinni, Cairns Property Office’s Robyn Hawley-Whitton is marketing a 15ha working cattle farm which comes with goats, pigs and chickens.

She said the five-bedroom, two-bathroom home on Hanley Rd, named Rainbow Flats, had plenty of space for extended families including a two-bedroom, one-bathroom granny flat.

“That property is going to suit someone looking for an income or quite a lot more room to run a farm or have quite a few animals,” she said.