Adelaide couple turn Hamilton Island dream into reality
An Adelaide couple has found paradise in Queensland’s Whitsundays.
Adelaide Hills businessman Randell Hodgkinson and his wife Marelle have turned their dream of owning a lifestyle property on Hamilton Island in Queensland’s Whitsundays into a reality.
The tropical climate, beautiful landscaping and some $450m ploughed into the island by its owners, the Oatley family, contributed to the appeal, as did the potential for a solid rental return.
“I loved it straight away,” Mr Hodgkinson said after he and the family returned to visit the island 10 years ago.
The Hodgkinsons were among the first to buy off the plan at Hidden Cove, a luxury apartment complex on the northwest of the island, when it was launched to the market in 2015.
Completed in 2018, Mr Hodgkinson said the location, stunning views and potential return made it an astute property investment and smart lifestyle choice.
“We have lived in the Adelaide Hills for the past 20 years, and it’s been great while the kids were growing up but they’re in their 20s now and we were keen to get away during winter, so the appeal of getting up to the Whitsundays was huge,” Mr Hodgkinson said.
“Now our daughter works at Qualia as well, so we come regularly. We also see it as a place where our kids could come in 50 years’ time with their grandkids.”
Regular visits have been hard to make during Covid, but since October 2020 after travel restrictions lifted holiday occupancy rates in the Whitsundays soared above 90 per cent.
Queensland Sotheby’s International director Wayne Singleton said as the holiday rental market ‘‘went gangbusters’’, buyers came looking for luxury homes, pouring millions of dollars into glamorous tropical holiday houses in lieu of a European sojourn.
The trend isn’t restricted to Hamilton Island. Airlie Beach median house prices are up almost 40 per cent to $935,000 according to CoreLogic data, while Ray White Whitsunday has recorded 20 transactions worth $1m or more in the past six months, four times the number sold in the preceding 12 months.
Days on market have halved to 60 days compared to the long-term average and stock levels across the Whitsunday postcode of 4802 have fallen consistently since September 2020. They are now at their lowest monthly level in more than a decade, according to SQM Research.
“Demand is strong. It’s the strongest I’ve seen in 20 years,” Mr Singleton said.
“Previously we used to sell four houses a year but we’re already up to 16 this financial year.
“People can’t go overseas and are discovering north Queensland.
“A lot of buyers we’ve had through can now work from home and are finding they’re more productive, so are choosing to relocate or split their time between the city and here.”
Interest in premium property priced between $3m and $8m has been high, particularly from NSW and Victorian buyers who are seeking a combination of lifestyle, views and room for the family.
Notable transactions include Lotus House, a luxurious Chris Beckingham-designed four-bedroom property on Hamilton Island with views over Fitzalan Passage, which sold for more than $6m, sight unseen, to an interstate buyer in December.
Last month Sydney investor David Kingston offloaded Long Island, located between Hamilton Island and Airlie Beach, to Sydney-based hotelier Bill Gravinas for $20m, while several blocks of residential land within One Airlie, a premium 12-lot subdivision close to the Port of Airlie Marina and Airlie Beach town centre, have been snapped up for between $1.4m and $1.5m.
A 2242sq m block with 100m of direct water frontage remains listed, advertised for $2.495m.
The popularity of the Whitsundays and tropical getaways to Hamilton Island may have dampened plans for the region’s property owners such as the Hodgkinson family to take an occasional impromptu holiday, but they have discovered a clever workaround.
“We just bought a boat in the [Hamilton Island] marina that’s like a little caravan for us,” Mr Hodgkinson said.
“It worked out cheaper for us to buy that and sleep on it then try and book our own apartment.”
