INTERSTATE JOSTLE FOR SLICE OF COOLY
WITHIN a week of Suzanne and Michael Longly placing their Coolangatta family home on the market, they had two-dozen interstate inquiries – and counting.
The Longlys are reluctantly selling because border closures have played havoc with their working lives. They live on the idyllic southern tip of the Gold Coast yet work in NSW.
In the 30 months they have called 73 Dixon St, Coolangatta home, Ms Longly says they have invested heavily in the property.
“It was to be our forever home and we would love to stay, but I work in Kingscliff and I’ve been offered more work in Ballina,” she said.
“He works with animal rescue and it impacts him too because he works both sides of the border and it has been challenging. We are selling and moving (to northern NSW) to simplify our lives.”
The number of interstate inquiries has not surprised real estate agent David Marshall who recently sold a house in a nearby street for $1.45m to a NSW buyer.
Mr Marshall, who has been selling homes on the Gold Coast for almost two decades, said interstate inquiries had skyrocketed.
“There have been more than 60 inquiries for this property and more than a third have been from interstate,” he said.
The Southern Gold Coast Realty principal said reopening the border would ease the angst of Victorian and NSW buyers who have been buying homes based on a video-streaming walkthrough.
“There has been a lot of frustration with buyers having to rely on virtual tours ... but that will change when restrictions ease,” he said.
And while the Longlys were reluctant to sell, Ms Longly said: “The market is quite strong so we thought we give it a crack”.