New Qld hotspot sees sales double
Australians are flocking to the Whitsundays as the ongoing international travel ban pushed them to look closer to home for their next holiday.
The Whitsunday Islands have been witnessing an influx of both buyers and holidaymakers, resulting in a surge of million-dollar sales in the past months, Ray White Whitsunday principal Mark Beale revealed in a recent statement.
According to Mr Beale, sea-changers have driven most of the 16 $1-million-plus sales in the Airlie Beach market in the last six months – a number that has skyrocketed by more than 300 per cent compared with the same time year.
“The market is quite strong, but we are seeing a different demographic of people,” the principal said.
“We are doing almost 100 per cent more sales compared to pre-COVID times last year and the numbers are just outstanding.
“There are a lot of families moving to the region that are involved in mining or other jobs like nursing and technician roles. It’s quite encouraging that we are not just reliant on one industry such as tourism or mining alone,” Mr Beale revealed.
He noted that buyers are increasingly holiday-letting their properties, in between staying in the property themselves with friends and family.
“What we are finding is that people from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane who would normally be travelling overseas are saying, ‘Let’s go to Queensland’.
“Buyers also want a property up here that they can lease during the year and get holiday accommodation income from, then come up and stay with family friends for the holidays,” he commented.
Mr Beale pointed out that most owners are now earning between $10,000 and $15,000 in income per month.
“Holidayers are checking out the calendar and seeing a property that is almost fully booked out. It's getting to the point where the owners need to book their own holidays way in advance or they will miss out,” he concluded.
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