REAPING REWARDS

HOUSES SELLING WITHIN HOURS

1SOME properties are reportedly being sold within hours of being listed and often above the asking price as the Far Northern real estate sector fires up.

REIQ Far North zone chairman Tom Quaid has credited the surge in demand to sustained low interest rates and a low number of property listings.

“And we’re likely to see those interest rates remain low for at least the next 12 months,” Mr Quaid said.

“That’s where buyers are getting their confidence from as well from how things have been going with coronavirus – we’ve had our restrictions come off. The lockdowns have allowed people to think about what they want and now they’re confident with how things are moving.”

He said while the high-end luxury residential market remained unchanged in the Far North, properties close to their suburb’s median price were certainly selling either above asking price or above the seller’s expectations.

“With less choice in the market people are starting to recognise if you don’t act quickly you miss out, so buyers are bidding much stronger than they might have at the start of the year,” Mr Quaid said.

He said the most active demographic in the Far North at the moment were first home buyers and that, despite the perceived demand, total sales were down compared to last year.

“This period we’re having right now is really just making up for a very slow period in the earlier months,” he said.

One of the beneficiaries of the current demand has been Terry and Kerin Skinner (right) who sold the home they built 42 years ago at 5 Lorikeet St, Freshwater for “well above” their expectations, just five days after listing, through Elite Real Estate Services’ Karl Latham.

However, they aren’t the only sellers to have their property snapped up in a short time. Here is a list of another 19 rapid or interesting sales in recent weeks, in no special order.