Hearts in Mermaid but time to downsize
A CHANGE of lifestyle was what led Mark and Marcelle Small to leave Sydney behind a decade ago and relocate their family to the Gold Coast.
After renting near the river for two years, the Smalls, who have three children, couldn’t bare to be too far from the ocean and so in 2013 bought a home in the beachside suburb of Mermaid Beach for $1.665m.
The suburb is one of the Gold Coast’s best performers when it comes to house price growth, rising 10.7 per cent and ranking sixth in the region in CoreLogic’s latest quarterly figures.
“Living on the canal was nice, but having to use the car to get to the beach was quite a barrier,” Mr Small said.
“So we looked for a home on the beach.
“We like Mermaid because it still has that ‘villagey’ feel to it. We love how friendly the patch is between the highway and the beach. If you’re outside, there is always someone stopping to have a chat or say hello.
“And some of the Coast’s best cafes and restaurants have sprouted up here since we’ve been here, so we’re very lucky.”
The Smalls, who live in a Hamptons-style home, were in 2105 able to acquire a knockdown property on an adjoining block for $1.25m, so they could have a larger back yard.
“We wanted the children to have somewhere they could run around, play cricket and be outside,” Mrs Small said.
They also built a second Hamptons home on the block.
Eight years on and with two of their three children having left home, and their youngest child, Elleisha, spending more time at ballet school in Burleigh, the Smalls said it was time to sell.
“We’ve loved it here,” Mrs Small said, “but we need to downsize. The house is far too big for the three of us now. Ideally, thought, we would like to stay in the same area.”
The house at 16-18 Francis St is being auctioned through Eoghan Murphy and Michael Kollosche of Kollosche on Sunday July 25 at 3pm.