Online offers drive market
A Townsville real estate has become the first in the city to sell close to a $1 million worth of property through online auctions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eager buyers snapped up two properties through Ray White on Monday: 7 Townsend St, Mysterton sold for $450,000 and 116-118 Martinez Ave, West End went for $545,000.
Ray White office principal and selling agent Julie Mahoney said the auctions drew in a large range of bidders, including some from interstate and a few international viewers.
“We had bidders aged from 70 plus online and one of my vendors who will be auctioning later in the month watched from England,” she said.
“There was also a buyer watching from Ingham and one of the vendor’s family members from New Zealand.”
Real estate auctions joined the list of “prohibited activities” released by the Federal Government last month, while open house inspections need to be by private appointment.
The West End and Mysterton properties received strong inquiries, with Ms Mahoney explaining it proved Townsville’s was resilient.
“We obviously had the 2019 floods and all regional markets have been tough but before recent events we were seeing really good activity in the January and February markets,” she said.
“But we’ve been through tough times so it’s nothing new to us and I don’t think it will affect prices too much. We’re very resilient here and people are still buying in the marketplace.”