The Weekend Post - Real Estate
Remote locations attract interest
ALITTLE slice of Queensland paradise has a for sale sign hammered into it and it just happens to be north of Cairns.
PRDnationwide research analyst Rob Matta said Queensland still had “hidden gems” which could turn into satellite townships and the potential for investment.
“A remote locality affords residents with genuine seclusion from the masses and a more intimate sense of community and appreciation of the environment,” Mr Matta said. “It provides a rare lifestyle that is, in fact, one of the key drawcards to these areas.”
Those areas include Wonga Beach and Cow Bay, north of the Daintree River, where buyers can find houses below market price.
Raine and Horne Daintree agent Mark Whitham said there were properties on large parcels of land within walking distance to the beach with a listing price between $250,000 and $300,000. He says the majority of buyers are retirees, emptynesters and cashed-up miners.
“The reason people move here is because it’s a way to the city but close enough to commute, he said. “There is peace and quiet, serenity and beauty all around.
“About 20 per cent of the buyers are retirees, about 50 per cent are from the mining crowd and the remaining are mostly people (from interstate).”
Mr Whitham said a coal miner recently put a contract on a one-bedroom timber cottage at Cow Bay which was listed at $190,000.
“This is one of the few places in Queensland where the market prices are really at the bottom. There are still a lot of places holding on to their 2007 dream price.”
While getting to Cow Bay requires a ferry crossing, further south at Wonga Beach it is also affordable, says Mr Whitham.
“Wonga Beach is still a cheap place to live near the sea and it’s only 15 minutes from Mossman. It’s probably a split between retirees and first home owners.”
And if you are wanting a business sea change, there is also a resort with 59 rooms and two inground pools at Cape Tribulation for sale, priced at $1.4 million.
“It has been really red hot. There has been a lot of interest (in the resort),” Mr Whitham said. “That has been on the market for about six weeks.”
Ray White Port Douglas agent Ritsuko Dickinson said a three-bedroom house overlooking Cow Bay on White Beech Rd has been gaining interstate interest.
Listed at $590,000, Ms Dickinson said the view has been the biggest selling point.
“Many people have inquired because of the pictures and also the view,” she said.
“Recently I had a lady who is from the Northern Territory, from Darwin, who rang to have a look. You can walk to the beach in 10 minutes and by car it is two or three minutes. The current owner has made a walkway down to the creek.”
There are currently 11 properties listed at Cow Bay ranging from two-bedroom cottages in the rainforest to $1.1 million blocks of land and a three-bedroom house with ocean views. In Wonga Beach, blocks of land start at $105,000.