MARKET REPORT - August 2008
The MARKET with Tom Offermann
Noosa is buzzing as new housing construction and renovations take place everywhere. There are few streets without tradesman’s utes or other signs of building activity, and the quality of housing and apartments is lifting before our eyes.
Areas like Noosaville are being transformed as higher quality homes and apartments replace the older ones. If you haven’t taken a drive through the streets behind Gympie Terrace lately you may be surprised at how it has changed.
There are 12 new homes under construction at Noosa Waters as well as 24 major home renovations underway. Despite it being a relatively new estate, homes are already being demolished to make way for better. Two 10 year old waterfront homes in Masthead Quay have just been demolished to make way for a home to be built across both lots, making it the eighth multiple lot home in Noosa Waters.
There are 20 major renovations in Sunshine Beach too, and some homes currently being built have construction budgets around $8m each. This general trend of refurbishment is occurring right across town which demonstrates a major commitment to Noosa’s future by property owners.
The Hastings Street streetscape renovation is nearing completion, the new surf club is underway, and a major upgrade of the park at the end of Noosa spit has just been completed.
Around a billion dollars of development is currently underway in just four large projects. Noosa Sanctuary, Elysium Noosa, Viridian Noosa Resort, and Settlers Cove are offering a diverse range of choice and new levels of luxury for permanent residents, investors, and holiday makers.
We are experiencing a continuing flow of people coming into this area, people who are cashed up from a life’s work elsewhere and now wanting to enjoy the Noosa lifestyle. The Noosa lifestyle has many contributors, not least being it’s ideal climate, its beautiful natural environment, and an exciting calendar of events and festivals.
Noosa is renowned around the world and has massive appeal. We are in daily contact with large numbers of people who are planning to move here, so it is not difficult to predict what is going to happen to real estate prices in the future.
The present market forces have provided a brief reprieve from normal price escalations and strong competition from other buyers. The sub-prime mortgage fallout and share market falls earlier this year have caused many potential buyers to wait on the sidelines trying to figure out when the time is right to get back into the market. Much of this is caused by media-driven fear and low consumer confidence.
Buyers who take a long term view of real estate values should recognize that the selection is better now than it has been for many years, and if they can find a property they really like, price appreciation will occur over time.
The market facts are telling us that right now there is a truly unique window of opportunity for well-informed buyers of residential real estate. As we look back historically, there have been previous ‘windows of opportunity’ for buying real estate. How many times have we heard those familiar words, “I sure wish I had bought back then”?
The problem for many buyers is that these windows of opportunity are easy to see historically but are easily missed as they occur. Buyers currently sitting on the sidelines might be wise to contemplate the age old adage that ‘you make your profit when you buy and not when you sell’.
If however you are planning to sell in the current market, seek expert advice to ensure you have an achievable price expectation based on solid research and facts. After that a professional marketing campaign should deliver a successful result.