Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin - Property
Stock still elusive
Listings are down drastically on the past year putting sellers firmly in the driver’s seat
NATIONAL residential property listings rose in July by 1.1 per cent to 238,834 from 236,218 in June, according to data from SQM Research.
It’s not a mammoth gain but in a market where demand has been far outstripping supply for months, any upward movement could be considered a win.
Until of course you see the year on year comparison, which shows that stock levels are down 23.6 per cent.
The locations in lockdown suffered the biggest drop in listings over the past month. As the Gold Coast goes into day seven of its restrictions, only time will tell if it will suffer a similar fate.
The situation is hardest for buyers, with agents reporting seeing the same faces turning up to auction after auction, after missing out on property after property.
One couple bidding on a home in Mermaid Waters that went to auction just before lockdown last weekend went home bitterly disappointed after losing out to another buyer.
Selling agent Christine Tucker of Harcourts Coastal said they had been looking for five months so fought hard for the house at 50 Volante Crescent but just could not compete once the price swept to $1.5 million, forcing them out. The successful buyer was a local investor who intends to rent the property.
Ms Tucker said it was an excellent result for a single-storey property on a dry block in the suburb.
Finding stock for some agents has meant taking matters into their own hands. Many have been tapping up their lists of previous buyers, doing letterbox drops or knocking on the doors of homeowners to try and secure off market sales.
Homeowners that are in a position to sell right now are certainly in the driver’s seat, gleaning top dollar for their homes.
A $6m offer was made last week for the renovated Sovereign Islands home at 15 Westminster Court of insurance king-pin Peter Edwards and his wife Christine. The couple, who live in another property on Sovereign, sold the house to waterskiing champion Glenn Thurlow and his wife Lisa in a deal done y Edin Kara of Ray White Sovereign Islands.
The Thurlows had been eyeing off the property for some time, and now have their house, around the corner, on the market.
In nearby Paradise Waters a mega mansion at 104 Admiralty Drive has sold for an undisclosed sum through Ryan Ward and Claire Dai of Kollosche.
The property owned by interstate sellers had been on the market for some time with various agents but has sold to a local buyer who will look to inject new life into the main river home.