How far your property dollar goes in the regions vs big city

We compared one of the priciest local house listings with a Sydney city dwelling of the same price. There's a clear winner when it comes to bang for your buck.

VALUE BUY: The house at 830 Fingerfield Rd sits on 77ha of sub-tropical rainforest.

WHILE the region's property market has suffered over the years, Gladstone may be experiencing a buyer's golden hour as the market remains on the mend and luxury houses are affordable.

Baffle Creek's 830 Fingerfield Rd is for sale for $1,185,000 making it the region's priciest non-farming residence with one major living structure, based on non-private online listings.

FOR SALE: 830 Fingerfield Rd, Baffle Creek.

RE/MAX Coastal Lifestyle listing agent Sue Robertson said the pristine 77ha property spanned two titles of sub-tropical rainforest and had about 1km of tidal frontage with easy access to the water for boating.

The house has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, six parking spaces and comes with a separate renovated two-bedroom cottage.

Interior features include spacious rooms, high raked ceilings, a fireplace, hardwood timber floors, large balcony overlooking the land, plenty of glass for natural lighting and a kitchen fitted with quality appliances such as Miele.

FOR SALE: 830 Fingerfield Rd, Baffle Creek.

Residential property researcher Terry Ryder said one side effect of the region's market crash meant its properties now provided much better value for money than those in metropolitan cities.

For instance, one online listing shows an apartment on Sydney's Elizabeth St for sale for $1.75million, a close price to the above Baffle Creek estate.

The apartment has one bedroom, one bathroom and a total plot allotment of just 72 sqm compared to the 768,903 sqm available at the estate.

Mr Ryder said buyers in Melbourne faced a similar situation, wherein it was "mainstream” for residents to pay up to $1million for a mid-range property and the median house price in the metro area was $750,000.

Moreover, it is estimated the city's affluent suburb of Toorak alone has more than 20 houses worth $50-$70million.

"We know that if you go through the suburbs of Gladstone median prices are around $200,000-$300,000 following the recent market decline,” Mr Ryder said.

"Typically in Gladstone you'd be paying maybe a third of the price you'd pay in Melbourne for a similar property.”

FOR SALE: 830 Fingerfield Rd, Baffle Creek.

FOR SALE: 830 Fingerfield Rd, Baffle Creek.

And apart from houses being comparatively cheap, Mr Ryder said anticipated industry projects, particularly in the LNG sector, would result in a welcome market improvement following "a long grinding downturn”.

"This would force prices up over time, it would be a simple product of supply and demand ... and that will happen (in Gladstone),” he said.

"You don't have to be close to a capital city hub to get those higher prices.”

FOR SALE: 830 Fingerfield Rd, Baffle Creek.

FOR SALE: 830 Fingerfield Rd, Baffle Creek.